I Go Door to Door

Katherine Tunning

with my name in a bag
and the truth on a tag on my breast
to air out my questions:

like what fruit from this heart?
like what minute to clock it?
like what wire to cut when they all lead me here?

I have pamphlets if you want to know more
but I have no pamphlets for knowing less

if you’re not careful, and no one is,
I will make myself at home on your sofa
and drink all of your tea

if I’m not careful, and I never am,
the ark I build to hold my questions
will make a high gold temple of us both

I came here to tell you what I know
which is all an eye knows

when it looks through its own lid
when language lies loose
as a nail in its bed

I came here to tell you what I know
which is that the opposite of the body is not the soul
the opposite of the body is the world

nothing is not a love poem

the opposite of the soul is also the world

I am home now, if home is temporary ceasefire
I am home now, if home is caesura
I am home now, if you’ll have me

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Katherine Tunning lives in Boston with her partner and a highly variable number of cats. Some of her recent work appears or is forthcoming in Washington Square Review, The Penn Review, and Arc Poetry Magazine. You can find her online at www.katherinetunning.com