It Doesn't Matter

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for,

and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

 

It doesn't interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,

for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

 

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow,

if you have been opened by life's betrayals,

or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!

 

It doesn’t interest me if you care about my pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain,

your own, without moving to hide it or fade it and mine or fix it.

 

It doesn’t interest me to know your joy.

I want to know if you can be with JOY, mine or your own.

If you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us to be careful,

to be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

 

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another

to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal

and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithless

and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty everyday

even when it is not pretty,

and if you can source your life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure,

yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of the sea

and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes”!

 

It doesn't interest me

to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up

after the night of grief and despair,

weary and bruised to the bone,

and do what needs to be done for us.

 

It doesn't interest me

who you are, or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand

in the center of the fire with ME and not shrink back.

 

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have touched.

I want to know what sustains you

from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,

and if you truly like the company you keep

in the empty moments.

 

It doesn’t interest me to know

if you love me.

Because I know that I love you.

I want to know if you need me.