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During the late 1960s, when Rudolf became a regular visitor to Stroud Typewriting, Rotaprinting and Duplicating Service to begin work on his first artist’s book with Patricia Scrivins and her son John, their conversations touched on the fact that Viola had been ill for several years and recently suffered a stroke. Patricia had nursing qualifications and offered to assist Rudolf with caring for Viola. The three formed a close bond. When Viola died, Patricia continued to be a companion to Rudolf, visiting him daily, accompanying him on his travels around Stroud and helping him publish his three volumes of poetry, Crie du Coeur, A Soothing Wind and A Loving Cup. In addition to thanking Patricia by name in all these volumes, Rudolf wrote and dedicated number of poems to her, among them one which conveyed his deep appreciation of their companionship:
I
We must have dialogue—
all the time, my dear,
let word descend between us
like a dove—
no hawks between!
and may our tongues be lit,
as now, with love.
But if at times
the dove is sick
and ecstasies grow dull.
caress again with life
the bird of peace.
Touch me, my dear,
and I will understand.
II
In life together
There are many things—
strange, unaccustomed things—
a thousand marriages to make
between the various aspects
of our lives.
For you have fifty years
of living in one world,
I more than seventy
in another world—
True marriage of two worlds
is not an easy thing.
But where love is
the subtle current flows
through everything—
as we are linked;
so when the shadowing hawk is dark
between us and the sun
touch me— and I
will try to understand.
The strong relationship between Patricia and Rudolf deserves attention for fundamental reasons: it helped to preserve Rudolf ’s work after his death and, ultimately, it helped to make this book possible.
Rudolf named Patricia an executor of his will along with Alan Meyer, an attorney with the firm Halsey, Lightly and Hemsley. In this way, Rudolf passed to them equally the copyright in his entire body of work.
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