Begin Again

by Leonore Hildebrandt

To discern layers
of sound and scent
begin again
to focus sink and strike
begin to rise into the rising
begin in silence.

Begin with a question
the human dilemma
of purpose and failure
your immutable tracks —
begin again
like a woman in childbirth
wailing toward her opening.

Begin again
bent over worksheets
appendices
longhand or shorthand
blurry–eyed
calculating remainders —
begin again in laughter.

Learn mathematics
aerodynamics and flow rates
angles of concrete
fire codes —
rearrange tree–rings
work in plaster or bronze
begin in the flesh.

Begin as a wound
a city in rubbles
cracked like industrial colors —
record your confinement
and mold a black–barren garden
of abraded plaster
torn like the sound
from an open mouth
begin with a trickle of water.

Like a seamstress
assembling pieces
begin again
disrupted disjointed
begin with a whimper
unquestioned.

Begin again calmly
to trim and focus the light
set accents in red
a black panel tone
sustained —
be unconstructed
unconsoled
unstoppable
your hair pulled back
your head close–shaven
begin again naked and wet.