Now Let Us Begin Poem by RIC BASTASA

man if he is true to be man, is more real if he is at first
less of himself, when he is empty, when he is emptied,
when he is emptying. It is like the stomach, you feel it more
when it is empty rather than when it is full
it speaks to you when it is hungry

it grunts
it growls
it even howls
and sometimes it whistles

than when it is bloated with so much food
and wine and desserts.Because in hunger, in the hopelessness
of our state, in the emptiness of our being
we know where we will place

everything.


we will know our dreams, we meet our hopes,
for the first time
we know precisely when to wish,
and where to put them

when we are emptying,
when we are emptied
and now we are sure when we are filling.

let us begin.