My Matter?

Written by Haven Duddy

Wait - do I matter?

Am I matter that matters?

And how do I even know that I matter?

Do I matter because I say I matter,

or because you say that I matter?

Is matter something you can prove -

or just something you decide to believe in?

And if I'm made of matter,

does that mean the proof of me

is somewhere between my skin and my story?

If I stopped believing in myself,

would the atoms still hold?

What is matter, really?

A collection of pieces pretending to be one thing?

A dance of particles keeping time to a rhythm we

call "real"?

Or is matter just the pause between two thoughts -

a moment where energy decides to be seen?

And when we talk about what matters,

is it the same thing?

Do we mean importance, or existence or both?

Maybe that's the trick.

Maybe what matters most is simply noticing what does.

Because sometimes the smallest things -

a glance, a word, a kindness -

changes the entire shape of the day.

And other times, the biggest things

-the titles, the trophies, the noise - fade like smoke

So how do we decide what counts,

what tips the scale,

what adds weight to the invisible?

Maybe the answer is:

we don't.

We just feel t.

And the feeling becomes the fact.

And maybe - just maybe -

that's enough to say that I matter.

That you matter.

That everything, somehow, matters.

And if it doesn't?

Well.......that's the joke, isn't it?

Because if nothing matters,

then anything can.