You Begin Not Knowing
April 27, 1997
by
Alan Shefsky
Sunday,
10:20 am
this small person who was not
now is
pink
black hair
soft
at mother's breast
sucking
held
swaddled
footprinted
pinpricked
piercing cry
opening eyes at last to who knows.
He has a name-Joseph
he doesn't know this
a world surrounds him
he doesn't know this
he reaches or cries for what he needs
he doesn't know this.
You
begin this way
you begin not knowing
a congruity of eyes-mouth-hands-breast-taste-need-grab-rest-cry
you begin this way
held-warmed-bathed-touched-responded to-suckled-loved
you begin this way
seeing-tasting-grasping-responding-smelling-wanting
you begin this way
not knowing, and then knowing
you begin knowing this way in the world.