My Place Poem by Edward Clapham

My place

There also is my place, where I explore my understanding
Of words that are said and thoughts revealed, interpretations made;
Intimacy shared and dissected, speculations proffered and discarded,
And wisdom is given and received, the acolyte at the master’s feet.

It is my space and, like another place, is defined
By boundaries that keep us within the precincts of confidentiality;
Although I unspokenly stretch these boundaries to my own ends,
And bring my world into the professional arena of supervision.

I look within, to my past and the life I have lived,
And Terence speaks across the centuries to remind me:
'Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto', restatement
That I am human, and live and feel as do those I counsel.

We live in parallel worlds, my client, my supervisor; and me,
Who counsels others yet who explores himself, whose
Understandings of others are but insights into his own
Psyche and his struggles for understanding and closure.

Nothing human is alien to me, and I forget my role, sometimes;
And move into my own spotlight, that I may illuminate
Myself with the insights gained from you, who is here,
Before me, my supervisor and unwitting therapist to me.

And you? You also watch, alert to my half spoken thoughts.
A mirror, that bends and shapes the reflection of myself
To reveal unformed understandings, to give them meaning
And substance; a shaft of sunlight penetrating murky
Waters, that both teaches, and counsels me.