The Voices

So familiar
So divergent
So unwelcome
Voices
A melange
Spewing their righteous counsel
Their wisdom knows no bounds
Mordacious
Pointed
Bony

The doubt
Ooh the self doubt
Like a sting
No, more like an ache
A deep ache
In my bones
Morning’s buoyancy
The hopes of a fresh start
Quickly doused
Smothered
Drowned

The questions
The accusations
The insinuations
Like a tightening noose
“You ruined that friendship!”
“Are you sure your motives are pure?”
“Do you know what you’ve put your family through!?”
“You’re very average at your work”
“Do you know what those people really think of you?”
“Your wife finds you boring”
“Your sons tolerate you”
“Do you even know what you believe!?!”
“Cheer up. You can’t always be so intense”

This thick fog
This icy mist
These hooked thorns
The tugging
The tearing
The stumbling
The falling
The… silence
Ooh… the silence

Where is the light?
The Light
The sun
The Sun to burn this mist away.