When I was younger, I was richer
Not in coins or bills, but in things I didn’t yet know I’d lose.
When I was younger,
I was richer.
Not with money—
but with time I didn’t count,
questions I wasn’t afraid to ask,
and the quiet magic of believing
that people stay.
I was rich in messy mornings,
unfinished thoughts,
a heart that hadn’t learned
to guard its gates.
Laughter came easy,
and love didn’t need proof.
Now, I keep receipts
for everything—
even joy.
And somehow,
the older I got,
the less I carried
that couldn’t be measured.
But some days,
in a breath,
in a breeze,
I feel her—
the girl who lived richer
because she didn’t know
what could be taken.
~I didn’t plan to write this—but my heart remembered what my mind forgot.
About the Creator
Dua Nouman
I write what I can't say out loud-raw thoughts, untold stories and emotions that demand to be felt. If you're here, you're meant to read something real.
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Comments (3)
This was so deep and true. And hard hitting as well. Loved your poem!
You were certainly blessed when you were a child. Some parents keep their kid so busy with instruments or dance classes that some kids don't have cartoon time. I do get your point in your poem for sure. I read a lot of time management books.
Dua, this resonated for me so much. So often I look back at all the time I feel I've wasted and the freedom to not let that trouble me. I especially loved this line: "I was rich in messy mornings". I know exactly what you mean.