JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<p>This is a bunch of content to illustrate the effects of setting a border on the first letter.
   Notice how only the first line is indented, much the same as if you'd inserted &amp;nbsp;'s
   or other such nonsense.

CSS

p  { background-color: yellow; }
p:first-letter { border-left: 1em solid red; }