Start Close In
-David Whyte, "River Flow"

 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 to begin the conversation.
Start with your own question
Give up on other peoples questions
Don’t let them smother something simple.
To hear another’s voice
Follow your own voice,
But 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.

{photo by cory}