the invitation

it doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. 

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

if you have been opened by life’s betrayals 

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

i want to know if you can sit with pain, 

mine or your own, 

without moving 

to hide it or fade it, or fix it.