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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Yes, we allow our 9-year-old out on her own. The real monsters are inside on the internet
This is how it started: Daughter Number Four would ask to take little expeditions by herself. A walk around the block or a short bike ride. And, because she's nine and we want to foster a bit of independence and resilience and all that good stuff, we'd say yes. Not that this was easy. The first few times we were in bits, glued to the front windows waiting for her to return. Then we'd have to act all cool when she got back, unharmed and totally unfazed by her solo travel experience. But quickly – far more quickly than we imagined we would – we got used to it. There was a natural progression to allowing her to go to the park – a five-minute walk away – where she would meet her friends. The occasional weekend excursion turned into every weekend. Now we can't keep her in the house. There is a golden rule that you should never, ever criticise another parent's decisions. To their face, that is. Wait until you get back to your own house. But given that you're reading this, you can get stuck into the judgment straight away. There are parents who wouldn't dream of allowing their children to leave the house by themselves. The world is too dangerous, too full of potential threats. Or that's the way it seems. READ MORE [ My daughter drags us on to rollercoasters but is wary of the monkey bars. People are a mystery Opens in new window ] Being a parent nowadays seems to involve the grim business of risk assessment. So here is ours: last Christmas, we got her this phone/watch yoke that allows her to call friends and family and also allows us to track her location. Her friends have similar devices. We know where she is and we can check in on her to make sure she's okay. Some of her friends live right beside the park, so we know an adult is less than a minute away. We also live in a very child-friendly area: the park is routinely filled with children and parents. If Daughter Number Four got into some sort of difficulty, I'm sure they would intervene. But most of all, it's down to Daughter Number Four herself. She's careful crossing roads (which aren't busy anyway), and it's been drilled into her to be wary of adults she doesn't know. Especially if they claim to know me or her mother. Does this absolutely guarantee her safety? Of course not. We could have opted to go full helicopter and accompany her to the park, but that goes against the very idea of going out to play, of exploring her environment, using her imagination, of building up her own social network – the same way we did when we were children. The slight risk is worth that enormous benefit. And how great is the 'risk' anyway? Panic-inducing social media and nervous parents WhatsApp groups would have you believe that our public spaces are crawling with child abductors. But such cases are, in reality, exceptionally rare. Keep them at home, and give them internet access. That's where the real monsters are. You might have detected a slightly defensive tone here: and you'd be right. Every time she leaves the house, we both experience a low hum of anxiety. We check in on her regularly. She always answers our calls and comes home when she's told. And when she returns, she always has something to tell us: a squabble among her group or something she witnessed in the park. One day she ended up going to a barbecue. On a recent Saturday I rang her to tell her to come home for lunch. She answered, 'Okay. How long will that take?' And for some reason that flung me back to my own childhood. Not a specific memory; more a feeling of what it was like. It's not the most appropriate word, but it was intoxicating, being out playing with friends. Far more important than boring lunch. And that's how it should be.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Irish Times
Happy holidays on the bog
Sir, –Ella McSweeney's article on the recreation of our disappearing bogs I found informative and awe inspiring (' Ireland's remaining bogs can have a second tale – of creation rather than extraction.' ) Our annual family day on the bog was similar to the holly day when the family gathered holly to decorate our home for Christmas – key days in the family calendar. In Ella's article there are many interesting facts about our 10,000 year old bogs. I recall our family's annual day in the bog where we spent the day on my father's favourite patch of bog which he had purchased years earlier. We learned how turf was harvested or saved as it was called – just enough for family use. The big event of the day was the tea and sandwiches – eaten as the smoke from our very own turf fire billowed around us. READ MORE So special are those memories that I can almost see them up against the background of white bog cotton waving gently or furiously in the breeze depending on the weather pertaining on the day – a strange and eerie picture perhaps but historical nevertheless. It is a special moment reading of the progress which is being made in reviving these stretches of wilderness by the dedication of many who silently work on various projects of renewal of our bogs. It is an ongoing process of patience and work – going well beyond our own lifetime, as Ella points out. – Yours, etc, MARY RIGNEY, Kilgobbon, Dublin 18.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Irish Times
Jury being picked in trial of Dublin firefighter accused of rape in US over St Patrick's weekend
Jury selection has begun in a Boston court in the case against a Dublin firefighter charged with raping a woman in a hotel during St Patrick's Day weekend in 2024. Opening statements are expected on Monday at the Suffolk Superior Courthouse in the trial of Terence Crosbie (38). Mr Crosbie faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty over the alleged assault of a 28-year-old woman in a Boston hotel room. He has pleaded not guilty and denied having 'any sort of sexual contact whatsoever' with the woman, his attorney Daniel C Reilly told the court. READ MORE He is accused of assaulting the woman after his colleague Liam O'Brien met her at a nearby bar and brought her back to the men's shared hotel room. Mr O'Brien is one of more than two dozen witnesses expected to testify, the court heard on Thursday morning. Potential jurors were informed that detectives, crime lab specialists and Boston area residents were also expected to testify, in addition to Aer Lingus staff. Mr Crosbie flew into Boston on Thursday, March 14th, 2024 with his colleagues to take part in the city's St Patrick's Day celebrations. On Thursday, Judge Sarah Ellis asked potential jurors if the defendant's nationality 'or the fact that he speaks with an accent' would make it difficult for them to be fair and impartial. She also asked them about their personal histories with sexual assault, alcohol consumption and other potential biases. US assistant district attorney Erin Murphy previously told the court that the accuser and Mr O'Brien met at The Black Rose, a downtown bar, and left together for the Omni Parker House, a historic hotel in Boston, at about 11.30pm. It is claimed that the complainant then had consensual sex with Mr O'Brien before falling asleep. According to Ms Murphy, Mr Crosbie entered the hotel room at 1.55am and the accuser woke up to find Mr Crosbie 'actively raping her.' The complainant allegedly asked Mr Crosbie to stop and he did not. Instead, he is alleged to have said he 'knew that she wanted this' and that it was 'pathetic' that his colleague was asleep. The complainant reported the alleged assault to police the following morning. After being questioned by Boston police about the alleged assault, Mr Crosbie attempted to leave the country on an early flight home. Mr Crosbie has been held in the Nashua Street jail in Boston since his arrest. His attorney previously claimed he was unable to make bail.
