A Poem

“If I really cared…

I would look you in the eyes

when you talked to me;

I would think about what you are saying

rather than what I am going to say next;

I would hear your feelings

as well as your words.

If I really cared…

I would listen without defending;

I would hear without deciding

whether you are right or wrong;

I would ask you why,

not just how and when and where.

If I really cared…

I would allow you inside of me;

I would tell you my hopes,

my dreams, my fears, my hurts;

I would tell you when I’ve blown it

and when I’ve made it.

If I really cared…

I would laugh with you but not at you;

I would talk with you and not to you;

And I would know when it is time to do neither.

If I really cared…

I wouldn’t climb over your walls;

I would hang around until you let me in the gate.

I wouldn’t unlock your secrets;

I would wait until you handed me the key.

If I really cared…

I would love you anyhow;

But I would ask for the best that you can give

And gently draw it from you.

If I really cared…

I would put away my scripts,

And leave my solutions at home.

The performances would end.

We’d be ourselves.”

Ruth Senter- “Startled by Silence”

Daybreak Books (Zondervan)

– Ruth Senter- “Startled by Silence”