Today I Befriend the Person I Already Am by Unknown — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

Today I Befriend the Person I Already Am where Cape winds bend trees horizontal and flatten grass against stone outcrops I find myself waiting, salt-crusted and worn, like driftwood long tumbled at Scarborough's edge the baboons come down from misty heights mothers clutching infants to their chests watching me with eyes that know something about surviving in exposed places the baboons come down from misty heights mothers clutching infants to their chests watching me with eyes that know something about surviving in exposed places I didn't search for this self, just stumbled upon her sitting on a boulder hair tangled by southeasterly arguments skin burnished by decades of harsh light the peacock's cry tears across afternoon stillness his longing splitting mountain from sky— how familiar that sound, that blue-throated yearning For someone who might never appear we sit together on this peninsula edge myself and I, drinking silence that stretches across years like fynbos after fire, tough-rooted, patient for the blooming what strange mercy this is - to recognise my shadow on Porcupine Ridge to trace the outline of my own silhouette against this ancient, folded landscape the ocean pulls and returns, pulls and returns teaching me how to stand my ground while surrendering everything to the inevitable tide of becoming I didn't claim this peace, just learned to breathe between heartbeats where my scattered selves gather at twilight like cormorants coming to roost now we walk the Longbeach coast together my footprints no longer separate from my journey while below, the kelp forests sway in rhythms I finally recognise as my own.

Translation (English)

Today I make friends with who I already am where the Cape winds bend trees flat and press grass against rocky outcrops I find myself waiting, covered in salt and worn out, like driftwood that has been tossed around at Scarborough's edge the baboons come down from misty heights mothers holding their babies close watching me with eyes that understand about surviving in open places I didn't look for this self, just came across her sitting on a rock hair tangled by the southeast winds skin darkened by years of strong light the peacock's call cuts through the afternoon stillness his longing separating mountain from sky— how familiar that sound, that deep yearning For someone who might never come we sit together on this edge of the peninsula me and myself, drinking in the silence that stretches across years like fynbos after a fire, strong-rooted, waiting for the bloom what a strange kindness this is - to see my shadow on Porcupine Ridge to trace the outline of my own shape against this ancient, folded land the ocean pulls and returns, pulls and returns teaching me how to stand firm while giving up everything to the inevitable tide of becoming I didn't take this peace, just learned to breathe between heartbeats where my scattered selves gather at twilight like birds coming to rest now we walk the Longbeach coast together my footprints are no longer separate from my journey while below, the kelp forests move in rhythms I finally recognize as my own.

About the Poet

Unknown (Contemporary)

The poet of this work is not widely recognized or documented in major literary sources. The poem appears to be part of a modern collection, possibly shared on platforms like Wattpad.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Free verse
When Written: Contemporary period
Background: The poem appears to explore themes of self-discovery and acceptance, using nature as a metaphor for personal growth and introspection.

Sources: https://www.wattpad.com/1530882341-poetry-collection-napowrimo-april-2025-day-2

Detailed Explanation

This poem is a reflective piece about self-discovery and acceptance, set against the backdrop of a natural landscape. The speaker describes a journey of coming to terms with their identity, using vivid imagery of Cape winds, driftwood, and baboons to symbolize resilience and survival. The repetition of the baboons' descent from misty heights emphasizes the theme of survival in harsh conditions. The poem explores the idea of finding peace and unity within oneself, as the speaker befriends their own identity. The peacock's cry symbolizes longing and unfulfilled desires, while the ocean's pull represents the continuous cycle of change and growth. The poem concludes with a sense of harmony, as the speaker's journey and identity merge, symbolized by the synchronized rhythms of the kelp forests. The use of nature as a metaphor throughout the poem highlights the interconnectedness of personal growth and the natural world.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
befriend	make friends with	to become friends with someone	bi-friend
Scarborough's	a place name	a location, possibly a coastal area	Skar-buh-ruh's
southeasterly	from the southeast	winds coming from the southeast direction	south-easter-ly
burnished	polished	made shiny or polished by rubbing	bur-nished
fynbos	a type of vegetation	a type of shrubland vegetation found in South Africa	fain-bos
silhouette	outline	the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background	sil-oo-et
Porcupine Ridge	a place name	a specific location, likely a ridge or elevated area	Por-cue-pine Ridge
cormorants	a type of bird	large seabirds known for diving to catch fish	kor-muh-rants
kelp	seaweed	large brown seaweed found in ocean waters	kelp
peninsula	land surrounded by water on three sides	a piece of land almost surrounded by water or projecting out into a body of water	pe-nin-su-la
inevitable	unavoidable	sure to happen; can't be avoided	in-ev-i-ta-ble
yearning	longing	a strong desire for something	yer-ning
baboons	a type of monkey	large monkeys found in Africa and Arabia	ba-boons
driftwood	wood washed ashore	wood that has been washed onto a shore by the action of winds, tides, or waves	drift-wood
tumbled	fallen	fallen or rolled over	tum-bled