Beginning

The writing prompt said only "write a poem about beginnings." I thought about it, then finally went to the thesaurus to see what other words meant "begin." Amazing how many there are! That prompted the following poem, owed entirely to the thesaurus:

Begin

I will start
induced by a cause
a great occasion
an open invitation
to generate--what?
a new beginning?
I will create something, anything,
a poem.
I will impel my words
across this page,
produce an effect
that will launch meaning
into empty air,
mount feeling on paper
if only virtual;
do it, she said
get motivated,
where is your drive,
your animation?
And so the challenge
to institute some order
generate worth, or words,
undertake this task;
act instead of dream,
introduce the boggarts
that originate in sleep
found in deeper recesses
established there as
actualized fantasy
triggered by one word
--begin

cSusanna Holstein 2007