to begin with <br />he smiles and they begin to like him <br />because he is contagious <br />his smile travels from one place to another <br />like the way the butterfly hovers from one flower <br />another flower in the garden of <br />peace and quiet <br /> <br />to begin with <br />he keeps a hold on something that makes him happy <br />despite the odds <br />despite the fact that it is his own house that is burning <br />despite the fact that all the bridges going to his place have all been broken <br /> <br />to begin with <br />he is naked and he has nothing to cover himself anymore <br />to begin with <br />he is foremost his own being <br />and it is only this that all of them cannot take anymore <br /> <br />and so he keeps the promise <br />to maintain this emptiness so they may all become full <br />and guilty and sad.<br /><br />RIC S. BASTASA<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-begin-with/
