I Want to Matter

by Kathie Lee Gifford

I want to matter,

To have meant something special to somebody else,

To have made a small difference simply being myself,

To believe this three-ringed circus

Has fulfilled some earthly purpose.

I want to matter

Before I am gone,

To have once been the shoulder that someone leaned on,

To have been the safe harbor in someone’s sad storm,

To know someone was blessed because I was born.

I want to matter

As much as I’m able,

To be more than a faded face framed on some table.

For if I’m to be framed, I want it to be

In somebody’s heart for eternity.

Though I’m fragile and foolish and flawed, I’m sincere.

I want someone to fondly remember me here.

More than being praised, more than being flattered,

I need to know without a doubt that somehow I have mattered.

And if I’m really honest,

I would like to write one song

That someone will be singing long after I am gone.