Voices

That familiar lullaby
Playing the night through
A cacophony of voices
When there’s really only two.

Maternal and Paternal
Fight like cat and dog
Poison clouds the air here
Thick as sulphurous smog.

Deafness what I’d pray for
Wishing for an end
Why couldn’t they be nice?
What was wrong with being friends?

Shutting out the voices
Into my pillow I cried
And then, four months later
Paternity went and died.

Five years he’s been dead
Yet I still hear them shout
Every November
When his death day comes about.

Voices down the years
Voices in my head
Memories so painful
Of a family long dead.