Their Silent Shame

I am the quiet sigh behind their proud smiles— the child they never brag about, the name that never shines. Every step I take feels wrong, every effort… almost enough, but never the thing they hoped for— never the victory they wanted to love. Others bloom like summer, I wilt like a forgotten flower. They rise, I sink. They shine, I dim. And somewhere between trying and failing them again, I learned to walk softly, so my existence hurts them less. Maybe in another life I’ll be someone they can cherish. But in this one, I’m the crack in their dream— the disappointment they don’t say out loud, but I hear… in every silence.