How to Begin

There are ways of beginning.
Take a handful of nothing
and breathe a living breath
all over it, as you shape
and create a new meaning.

There are ways of beginning.
Take her hand in yours and walk
slowly through your young lives
along the beaches and dark streets
creating a new meaning.

There are ways of beginning.
Take a paintbrush in your hand
and all the colours of a lifetime
across bare paper or canvas
to create a new meaning.

There are ways of beginning.
Put your hand on her stomach
and feel the kicking moment
take hold of its own life
to create a new meaning.

There are ways of beginning.
Take a handful of these words
and scatter them across the page
to turn a story into living
and create a new meaning.

There are ways of beginning.
Take a small hand in yours
then crouch down to see
how big this strange world can seem
as it creates a new meaning.

There are ways of beginning.
shape a note from silence
and let it fly on the open air
to echo around this stillness
while it creates a new meaning.

There are ways of beginning.
pause at the school gates
as your child walks on, away,
not looking back, but forward
to creating her own new meaning.