After Spring’s disguise
of bud and blossom
Summer’s foliage,
the fruit of Fall
we return
to the inner shape,
the true self of Winter.
The trunk grows still,
gnarled and patient,
the sap subsides,
the branches reach
tentative fingers
into the icy air.
Remembering,
waiting.
Islamabad, May 2001
See Context
Therese Benadé, author of Kites of Good Fortune, writes about her heritage and upbringing in South Africa and her travels and living experiences on five continents. A Canadian citizen, she lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts with her husband, Jim Armstrong. Her two adult children are Rex and Kirstie van der Spuy. Read more...
A story about the lives of the author’s ancestors at the Cape of Good hope in the 17th and 18th centuries. Published 2004.
The Afrikaans translation of Kites of Good Fortune.
Set in South Africa between 1880 and 1927, the book explores the intellectual and moral influences on South African women of the ‘head, heart and hand’ education brought by American teachers from Mount Holyoke College.
Stories from my life touching on my childhood, my travels and teaching career, on being an immigrant, on learning languages and unlearning racism.