Open House ~ A Poem by Theodore Roethke

Open House

Theodore Roethke

My secrets cry aloud. 
I have no need for tongue. 
My heart keeps open house, 
My doors are widely swung. 
An epic of the eyes 
My love, with no disguise. 

My truths are all foreknown, 
This anguish self-revealed. 
I’m naked to the bone, 
With nakedness my shield. 
Myself is what I wear: 
I keep the spirit spare. 

The anger will endure, 
The deed will speak the truth 
In language strict and pure. 
I stop the lying mouth: 
Rage warps my clearest cry 
To witless agony.

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