At My Side

START CLOSE IN

by David Whyte

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.