Hope Is Alive Poem

This is a poem that I wrote early in my career, to help me maintain healthy boundaries in my role as a licensed marriage and family therapist. I hope that it can help my fellow healers out there to cope with the angst that sometimes arises as a result of the stories and wounds that we have the privilege of holding space for.

Transcript

Welcome,

I'm Crystal.

I'd like to share a poem that I wrote early in my career to help me maintain healthy boundaries in my role as a licensed marriage and family therapist.

I hope that it can help my fellow healers out there to cope with the angst that sometimes arises as a result of the stories and wounds that we have the privilege of holding space for.

It's called,

Hope is Alive.

I want to save every last one of you,

But you cannot be saved.

You are the rainstorm ripping through the shutters and howling at the moon.

You're the fire igniting from a spark and devouring all that comes across your path.

You are gemstones forged of molten magma and crystallized into something so beautiful,

One cannot help but stare in wonder.

You do not need to be saved,

For your resilience shines through like a beaming lighthouse guiding lost souls home from the darkness.

You are strength,

Freedom,

Passion,

Fury,

Determination,

And joy all wrapped up tightly.

I cannot save you.

All I can do is honor your struggle and give you space to bloom into the exquisite wildflower that you are.

And through your journey of growth,

I will find that I was the one who was saved.

For it is your story that I have always waited for,

That will see me off to sleep blissful in the knowledge that hope is alive.