! ! Teacher As Healer: An Observation Poem by Michael Shepherd

Even before the question put,
they’re full of quiet attention; something
is already being listened to.. makes
that space, in which a question
may be floated on the air..

tentatively perhaps, or self-concerned,
the question’s put; and listened to;
perhaps with gentle nod of head;
a keen attention; even a half-smile:

you and they are meeting now
in the fullness of the heart, in
a place that’s fully shared:

the teacher, almost eager, so it seems,
to hear more of your truth;
to hear the truth of you.

And as the question nears its end,
the answer floats upon the air
as if it and the question are but one;

the answer gently given, as if
already shared; not given,
not received; but already shared;

(and I saw: each time they said
the words ‘it is’, their spine
relaxed into a greater straightness..)

Who can describe that unity of mind -
as joy in stillness; or the bliss of peace?
Somewhere in the world of name and form,
something has been healed;
wholeness has returned to wholeness;
perfection taken, and returned;

the teacher, too, is still;
gifts of grace have been exchanged.