Woman Stumbles On Her Husband’s Secret Notebook Of Poems, Only To Discover Something That Put His “Love” For Her In Doubt
A private notebook raises questions about love and validation.
Every morning, before the day fully starts, OP has a small routine he keeps to himself.
He pours a cup of coffee, opens a little black notebook, and writes a poem. It’s not for an audience.
He doesn’t publish them, post them, or even reread most of them. The notebook lives in a desk drawer, and the writing is more about clearing his head than creating something polished.
Over the years, the notebook has filled up. Close to a hundred poems now. Some are about simple things. The family cat. A tree in their front yard. Passing thoughts that come and go while the house is quiet.
His wife didn’t know much about what was inside until recently.
Out of curiosity, she went through the notebook without asking. What she found didn’t upset her at first. What bothered her was what wasn’t there. Not a single poem about her.
She confronted OP and told him she expected at least one. The conversation quickly turned emotional. She questioned whether he really loved her if she never inspired a poem, especially when he had written about so many other parts of their shared life.
OP tried to explain that the poems weren’t a measure of love. They were personal, unfiltered, and written only when something genuinely moved him.
That explanation didn’t land. His wife asked him to write her a love poem anyway. Unfortunately for her, he refused.
He told her that forcing himself to write one out of obligation would feel fake and dishonest, and that he didn’t want to turn something meaningful into a performance.
Since then, she’s been distant and hurt, and OP is left wondering if holding his boundary makes him selfish.
Keep reading and scroll through the screenshots below to see how a quiet creative habit turned into a deeper question about love and validation.
Let’s dig into the details
Reddit.comA bit of backstory
Reddit.comOP’s wife went through his notebook without permission and found about 100 poems that he wrote. Interestingly, she got angry that none was about her
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His wife demanded that he write a love poem. However, OP explained that he writes by inspiration, not obligation. Ever since, she has been sulky
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We gathered some interesting comments from the Reddit community
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“What a cruel thing to tell your wife, that she doesn’t ever inspire feelings in you…”
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“I don’t think you should write a disingenuous poem. But I also don’t think it’s unreasonable for your wife to feel hurt.”
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“You’re straight up telling her that the way you feel about her is not enough to inspire one poem from you…”
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“You didn't nothing wrong other than this half court dunk that even the Monstars couldn't defend.”
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“I just don’t understand is why the woman you love, the mother of your child has not inspired you. At least once.”
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“I have been happily married for 14 years and I have never written a single poem about my husband because I do not write about love.”
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“Not only do I think you don’t owe her a poem, I think you’re being very generous by not being upset with her for going through your book.”
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OP sees his poems as private reflections that lose meaning when forced. His wife sees the absence of a poem as a sign she’s being overlooked or taken for granted.
Neither of them seems wrong for wanting what they want, but the hurt comes from unmet expectations and a boundary that was crossed without permission.
What do you think? Should love be expressed on demand, or does it lose something when it is? Share your thoughts in the comments.
