When you knocked at my door,
I, hesitating, opened it;
Slowly, Oh! So slowly,
I swung it wider open
For you to enter into my house.
I was unsure of you:
Did you wish to talk;
Or were you merely curious
To scoop out a few
Details of my past;
Or were you here to sell
Some new soap to me,
Something to wash my life with!
I was complete inside me,
So I thought I had
No need of you.
I could perhaps help
Your distress find ease-
In arrogance I presumed!
But when you held my feet
Between your palms,
And searched my eyes for healing,
It was not you, but I
Who needed to be healed-
And into those hands
I gave my soul,
To wash, to embalm, to bind,
To heal with a new pain-
A pain that reassured me
That I lived still-
That I felt
The myriad pin-pricks
Of a circulation long numbed-
Let me kneel before you,
For you have taught me how.