Start close in, don’t take the second step
or the third, start with the first
thing close in,
the step you don’t want to take.

 Start with the ground you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own way of starting
the conversation.

 Start with your own
question, give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them smother something
simple.

To find another’s voice
follow your own voice,
wait until that voice
becomes a private ear
listening to another.

 Start right now, take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused, start close in,
don’t mistake that other
for your own.

 Start close in,don’t take the second step
or the third, start with the first
thing close in,
the step you don’t want to take.

David Whyte, Start Close in