... Another Nail

 

Tap…tap…tap….tap…

The sound aroused him from his sleep,

a steady tapping in the dark;

in groggy fog he searched for context.

"A leaky faucet," he concluded,

“Someone will have hell to pay

if I have anything to say.”

He started to doze off, and then

after a brief interlude

the tapping started up again.
He slowly opened up one eye

but only darkness greeted him

“It’s the middle of the night,

the witching hour has come and gone

it’s not even close to dawn.”

Once more exhaustion drew him in

in this dark and warm cocoon,
“I think I’ll cancel my agenda.

Hell, I might even sleep till noon!”

He didn’t notice right away

how the air was growing thin, 

and as he slipped to dreamless sleep

the rap, tap ,tap, began again.

“Enough’s enough!” he screamed out loud;

the sound lost to the confined space.

And so he finally realized

there was something quite amiss.

He couldn’t move his arms or legs.

It seems his bed had been replaced.

“Who might want to do such thing?”

he could not extrapolate

“It’s not as if I wasn’t liked.
“Who would send me to this fate?”
Now he’d reached a panicked state.
He clawed the wood as best he could
the beating of his heart grew louder

deprived of precious oxygen

till darkness finally swallowed him.

Revenge for his depravity?

For sins committed in his youth?

For lies and infidelity?

No one really knows the truth.

Buried in an pauper’s grave,

someone hung a wooden sign:

“For all the people this man hurt,
 he finally got his “just deserts”

© Ginny Brannan 2026

"As we sow, so shall we reap"

Image taken by author

Obstacles

 

Hope is the culmination of wanting

something you cannot have

and believing, despite the odds,

that it is within your reach

For so long, I held on to hope

–the dreams held there, just out of reach–

I believed in “just rewards,”

that with “hard work,” you could achieve.

But life designed a different route

rife with detours, twists and turns–
with illness, loss and so much pain

so easy to veer off the course,

so hard to find that path again.

Like the sailor men of yore

lost inside a starless night

with no sightline back to shore,

 there is no going back in time

…just another storm to face

    just another hill to climb.

© Ginny Brannan 2026

The Devil's Hour

 

I try to chase disturbing thoughts

that want to dance inside my head—

You know, the ones that come to call

allowing you no rest at all?

That 3 am parade of hits

that pulls you from a fitful sleep…

The hauntings of the daylight hours

and uninvited afterthoughts–

postponed, till festering they arise

from the depths where they abide.

Once again, I close my eyes,

it seems that rest has taken leave.
I slowly watch the minutes pass

ever hopeful for reprieve

—another night with no relief.

© Ginny Brannan 2026

So Much to Do, So Little Time

 

I’m always late, I have to run

I have no time to stop

I can’t rest for a moment,

I’m always on the clock.

The second hand is spinning

– No thanks to the Hatter;

his tea party’s disorganized,

to him time doesn’t matter.

Currently the dormouse 

is sleeping in a pot

while the Cheshire Cat fades once again:

he’s there, and then he’s not!

The caterpillar’s always high–

his smoke blows in my face;

how often I have wondered

what I’m doing in this place!

Tweedledum and Tweedledee 

can’t make up their minds;
and some strange girl slipped down a hole

and claims that it was mine.

And me? I'm just a rabbit

in a pocket watch and vest…

I cannot stop to talk to you,

there isn’t time to rest!!!

© Ginny Brannan 2026

Prompted. The challenge? Brainstorm a list of fairy tale characters. Choose one and write a poem from the perspective of that character. Bonus points if you use the poem to secretly reveal something about your own life. 

Valinor

If I were to tell you that there is a light 

that is waiting for you, 

even if you cannot see or feel it, 

you probably wouldn’t believe me.

Nothing we do in life is ever easy. 

Carrying the pain of another

is harder than most. 

It is constant, It is exhausting;

and all we can do is hope 

that in some small way

we have made a difference…

            * * * * * * * * * * 

You came to us after the hurricane.

Amid chaos and confusion,

you quietly picked up our broken pieces.

You were the calm after the storm,

the safe space we all needed.

You gave us back our sanity, our security.

Never selfish. Never loud. Never self-serving.

You worked behind the scenes without accolade.

You didn't need to be the center of attention.

Now the Grey Havens are calling

where a ship awaits to carry you west

to the undying lands.
While those you love may not yet follow,

there will come a time when you will meet again.

Rest easy, knowing that you always did 

the best you could; that your legacy will live on.
Let the warm winds carry you to journey’s end,

where the ones who have gone ahead

are waiting to welcome you...

 a place of no more pain, 

 no more worries, 

  —only peace.

© Ginny Brannan 2026

For Jo, and Joe B. and family, and all who are dealing with their own loved one's illness or loss.

Photograph:"Rockport Harbor" Charlie Parant at Appetite for Photos

*Used with expressed written permission

                                                   * * * * *

"We are all broken, that's how the light gets in" Ernest Hemingway

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, 

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Excerpts from The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-12

"Valinor" is a fictional place spoken of in J.R.R Tolkien's writings where the Elves and the Ring-bearers go when their time on Middle Earth is done. It is comparable to the Garden of Eden before the fall of man. The technical rule is that mortals aren't allowed—the real rule is that the Valar make the determination and can make exceptions. From "Fans of Middle Earth"