# Does Not Matter It does not matter if the autumn leaf falls on a king's crown or a beggar's mat— it falls the same way, turns the same gold, whispers the same goodbye. It does not matter if you love with a thousand words or love in silence— the heart knows only its own beating. It does not matter if the river flows to the sea or the sea flows to the river— water remembers no master, only thirst. It does not matter if you build cathedrals or gather pebbles— dust settles on all things equally, patient, indifferent, kind. It does not matter if you are remembered or forgotten— the stars shine anyway, the grass grows anyway, the morning comes anyway. So perhaps this too does not matter: that you are here, that I speak, that these words reach you like autumn leaves, falling, falling, the same gold into the same dark.

No matter how rich you are,
unless you share your wealth with your brother,
no matter how much you know,
if you don't clasp a friend's hand,
no matter how powerful you are,
if you turn away from the world with cold eyes,
it doesn't matter how good you are,
if your gift lives in shadow,
no matter how far your sight reaches when trouble stirs,
your keen ear and all your gold mean nothing
the moment the poor man's cry goes unheard,
no matter how much you love,
if love flows without purpose, without weight,
it doesn't matter how adorned you are,
if beneath the surface your soul is cheap,
experience, the years—they count for nothing,
if wisdom has left you a stranger to yourself,
name and gender don't signify,
if you strut about like a pompous fool,
no matter how brave your heart,
the instant you bow before a tyrant,
no matter how composed you seem,
if loneliness haunts you even among your own,
it doesn't matter what I say,
once you've found your way back to the true path!