The Teacher
Sometimes full-circle moments in life appear,
Where you realize there is more to this physical world.
That spirit brings us into relationship with people to heal.
Tethered throughout the fabric of time,
We are brought together in this present life,
To clear our karmic and ancestral wounds.
That a third-grade teacher ripe in mourning,
Models to a nine-year-old the importance of grief,
And how to authentically embody her emotions.
That poetry can open doorways,
To different planes of existence,
Allowing the body to engage in somatic expression,
And that the written word is a powerful spiritual tool.
That our ancestors want us to heal ourselves,
Bringing our nervous systems to completion,
We are the generation to release the wounds of our lineage.
Fifteen years later I sit next to my teacher,
The Chicago River flowing behind us,
Tears fall as we read poetry together.
We heal each other.
And I realize the opportunity to heal is everywhere,
That every relationship is a greater vessel for expansion and release.
I know deep within my being my life’s work,
And I am grateful.
*This listening session was conducted at The Congregation in Detroit, MI April 2024.
Origin Story
“This person gave me the tools to heal from a very young age,” the poemee recounted. In this listening session, the poemee was reflecting on her desire to attend graduate school to become an art therapist and meditating on the importance of her relationship with her third-grade teacher as a turning point in her childhood.
Fifteen years ago, the poemee’s teacher suffered the loss of her teenage daughter unexpectedly in a tragic accident. Instead of hiding her experiences of deep grief and mourning from her young students, the teacher modeled how to embody emotions in raw, authentic, and appropriate ways.
This was a gift for the poemee who as a nine-year old was a sensitive child but did not have other adult figures who modeled emotional regulation in the same way. This teacher also planted the seeds of creative expression as a powerful healing tool by sharing her love of poetry and the written word.
Now, years later, after a recent meeting where the two met to read poetry together, the poemee was reminded of how some relationships feel like they were meant to be, a relationship beyond this physical plane, and a chance to offer deep personal and spiritual healing within this lifetime.