The Silent Witness
I was the breath that never came,
the cry that never filled the room.
I was the light that flickered,
then faded before the dawn.
Yet here I linger,
a whisper in the walls,
a shadow in the corner of your eye,
watching as you grow,
baby sister and brother,
two lights that shine where mine could not.
I see your first steps,
the stumble and the rise,
the way you reach for the world
with hands I never had the chance to hold.
Your laughter fills the spaces
where my silence lingers,
each giggle a note of a song
I never sang.
You wear the love I never physically felt,
the warmth of a mother's embrace,
the pride in a father's eyes.
And I am here, just out of sight,
the sibling you never knew,
a memory before there was memory.
But I am not sorrow,
not a tear in the tapestry of your lives.
I am the quiet witness,
the guardian of your days.
I watch you grow,
rooted in a love that never withers,
in the hearts of those who remember
what could have been,
but find joy in what it is.
You carry me in ways you'll never know,
in the way you hold each other close,
in the sibling bond that ties you tight.
I am the thread in the weave,
invisible but strong,
binding you to me,
and me to you.
And though we never met,
and I never grew,
I am with you in every step you take,
in every breath you draw.
I am the unseen,
the silent,
the ever-present
the big brother who loves you still.
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