i saw you gliding overhead, a guardian — no! a saviour! —
supported by your wondrous widespread wings.
your notes flowed, soft and smoothly, then crescendoed, growing braver.
euphoria is when an angel sings.
you saw me lying on the ground and wiped your muddy boots,
then walked away, without a second thought.
no backward glance; no hesitance; proceeding on your routes
and humming to a tune i never caught.
i see you now for what you were: an innocent young fool,
who knew not who he was, nor what he’d done;
who, though being so careless, never meant to be so cruel.
who focused solely on the words he’d sung.
-Aaron Ó Cléirigh
Aaron Ó Cléirigh
Aaron Ó Cléirign is an English Literature student at UCD. He has been writing poetry for a few years. His writing is confessional and intimate, and in it he aims to take snapshots of his deepest, messiest thoughts and feelings, which is definitely the case for this poem.
