Only Begin

22 September 2016

For J. Alfred Prufrock and his admirers

If I could only begin,
I would end alright.
But time is riddled with sin.

Lovers never win
with all their might.
If I could only begin

To tell you all of thick and thin
I might get things right.
But time is riddled with sin.

So let me come in,
up out of this night.
Then I could begin

To speak in both sound and sight
of ample groves and measured flight.
But time is riddled with sin,
so I could only begin.