Poetry, Theme Prompt, Writing Challenge, Writing Prompts

If Wishes Were Horses

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Wea’ve Written Weekly.
Our PoW Benjamin asks us to write a
poem about dreaming of having more
time to ourselves …. but how do we
feel after the novelty wears off?

Image by Me & ChatGPT

I whispered to the spider on the wall one weary night,
“Someday they’ll be older, and this house will hold less light….
less noise, less need, less tiny hands still reaching out for mine,
and I’ll have hours that are only mine, and I’ll finally be fine.”

The rooms went quiet, like I’d wished, the mornings stretched out wide,
No small feet on the stairs at dawn, no one calling from outside.
I sat with all that emptiness I’d dreamed of years ago,
And found it didn’t satisfy even though I wished it so.

I hadn’t known that quiet has a weight all of its own,
That freedom, when it finally comes, feels a lot like all alone.
I missed the noise I used to curse, the chaos and the mess….
Turns out the fullness of my life was no burden, I confess.

I still talk to spiders now, and empty rooms, and air,
Not because I’m lonely, but because love left something there….
An echo in the quiet, proof that I was needed then,
And maybe, if I’m patient, I’ll be needed once again.

NAR©2026
#W3

This is “The Spider and the Fly” by The Rolling Stones

W3 Prompt #218: Wea’ve Written Weekly

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, except where otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

31 thoughts on “If Wishes Were Horses”

  4. Nice post, Nancy. That heavy absence of noise forces us to sit with our thoughts, unpack experiences, and sometimes confront the unspoken things lingering between people. It is a gravity we all feel, but rarely voice.

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  5. I noticed as I read this that the different between your bid for freedom with your own time and mine- was the silence, the being alone- was something I have lived with all my life. This was beautiful Nancy.

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    1. That’s an excellent point, Jodi. There was never really “silence” in my life, not when I was a child or young adult and not even after my own kids flew the coop. Life just got a little quieter …. and then the grandkids came along! The only time I am truly alone are the days Bill goes fishing; the house is empty and still and I relish every second of solitude …. but if I’m being honest, I am always the most happy when he comes home. 😊

      Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts with me.

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