Whose Reality?

When I think of family
I think of my father
He is the man who cherishes his daughters
And accepts his fate as one without a son
To temper the feistiness of his four girls
He is the one who taught me that its heaven not HHEVEAN
A bit horrified at my H inflection
He is the one who confidently said
“I will follow my daughters to a place they will fear no more”
And even when the four of us collectively test his patience
Which truthfully, is all the time
He tucks in his pride
And becomes a father
Our father

When I think of family
I think of mother
Home, womb, lover, everything
She is the woman who wants all her daughters to be the best
Home, womb, lover, everything
She is e v e r y t h i n g
And the glue that holds us all together

When I think of family
I sometimes think of the little big annoying things
And the acts of love
That makes the big annoying things
Little specks of dust

It’s hard to beat the values of a family

When I think of family
I think of the first sister who I love so much
The feistiest of us all

When I think of family
I think of the second sister who I love so much
Always smiling, never angry for too long
Just like me!

When I think of family
I think of the third sister
Our undoing
The nemesis of all the troubles we put our parents through
Unlike me!

When I think of family
I think of my husband
The most annoying person I will ever love
At least, before the kids come

When I think of family,
I think of friends who stick closer than brothers

When I think of family
I think of rainbows
And a million shiny stars

* This piece was first performed on the 26 th of November 2018 at Redefest Music Festival, Northumberland