Beginning is always a struggle to forge adequate form,
which does not betray, but carries aloft the flame of
inmost necessity. Left unexpressed, it burns
everything to ash, yet might illuminate
the path, if expressed faithfully.
All true voices join the whole;
singing tunes the soul.
No real founding is a creature
of the subjunctive, but a revelation.
Not desire, conceit, nor imposition, but
a living unity capable of bearing fresh stories.
Abandoned half done—were it better never begun?
All true voices join the whole;
singing tunes the soul.
_____
Nihal Singh