Stephen S. Madsen is an attorney with an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a law degree from Columbia. His works have appeared in The Lyric, The Mississippi Review, and other journals. While he has not sought publication of his own poetry in some time, he took an interest in the poetry column of The American PsychoanalystWe welcome his contribution as a guest poet.
The evolution of hope is very apparent in this poem. It grows, alongside of trust in the analyst and the process. This poem strikes a poignant note of faith in the joint work coupled with enduring momentum and acceptance.
During the time when I was on the couch,I couldn't really tell if you were kind.You were young then, just starting out. Your touchWas always to ask questions, just as trained:What comes to mind? What are you thinking about?My answer, then, was mostly sullenness—No rush of insight, memory, or thought.Still, though, I healed, left, married, found success.This time around, I've faced you in your chair.The decades passed give pain new urgency.I speak my feelings, and you tell me where,Deep in my heart's dark maze, their source may lie.And now I see the kindness in your eyes,Your growing faith in all that loves, and dies.
Sheri Butler Hunt, M.D., is a graduate analyst in the adult and child divisions at the Seattle Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. A published poet and member of TAP's editorial board, she welcomes readers' comments and suggestions at .