Steal a Pencil For Me

Not long ago I saw a documentary about a couple from Holland whose personal story is incredible. The documentary, Steal a Pencil For Me is based on a book written by the subjects of the documentary Ina Soep and Jaap (pronounced "yop") Polak. Set during the years of the Holocost it is an incredibly inspirational testimony of the endurance and strength of real love in the most adverse of situations. I am the biggest sap for a good love story and it touched me so much that I wrote a poem in honor of them. I would love to send them a copy of it, but I have searched and found no contact info for them.

Ina and Jaap

They met at a party, simple enough
And yet right from that moment on
He knew in his heart that she was the one
Though a wife he had on his arm

Their love affair grew from a friendship brief
But soon it was clear how they loved
Through two years of Nazi imprisonment
Into filth, disease, death they were shoved

His love never flagged, hers never wavered
They kept one another alive every day
With letters they wrote in shaky handwriting
That kept their depression and gloom at bay

Her shorthand gave them the means to an end
Providing paper and pen for the pair
He wrote ‘Steal a pencil for me, darling girl’
And to her all his love he did swear

After the war he dissolved his stale marriage
To a woman, who in truth, loved his father
But soon to embark on a match made in Heaven
Ina and Jaap never let it them bother

Now in their nineties, the two of them spry
The magic still clear in their lilt
More than sixty years married, loving like kids
With the toughest bond Love ever built

This story I tell you now for a reason
As this from my heart I can say
That if they can survive through Holocaust’s grip
Then we’ll be together some day