Legacy

God bless the man who stood his ground

and never wavered from the truth.

He stayed his course, duty bound,

exposing lies and travesty

enduring grave indignity–

honor bound in sacred pledge

to take the lawbreaker to task. 

A promise made, a promise kept

the leader, corrupt and inept;

a lawyer with no axe to grind,

leaves his legacy behind
unveiling the hypocrisy,
deception and delinquency,

the fraud and criminality

of the leader, now unmasked.

© Ginny Brannan 2026

Robert Swan Mueller III  8/7/1944 —3/ 20/2026



Robert Mueller was an American Lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2001 to 2013  He was a graduate of Princeton University and NY University. He served as a Marine Corps officer during the Vietnam war, receiving a Bronze Star for heroism and a Purple Heart. He later attended University of Virginia School of Law, and served under Presidents George H.W.Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

In 2017 Mueller was appointed to special counsel to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election and related matters. A total of thirty-four individuals and three companies were indicted by Mueller's investigators. Eight have pleaded guilty to or been convicted of felonies, including five Trump associates and campaign officials. None of those five convictions "involved a conspiracy between the campaign and Russians and "Mueller did not charge or suggest charges for whether the Trump campaign worked with the Russians to influence the election”. The investigation was, however, more complex. On May 29, 2019, in a press conference, Mueller stated that "If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime... 

A president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office.

 

Trump claimed the report “proved him innocent”

Source: Wikipedia

Be Careful What You Wish For

 

Setting pen upon the page

thoughts a-jumble in my head

I cannot write for fear that you

will judge me by my simpleness,

the insufficient words I choose.

There is no ‘grandness’ in my speech

no eloquence from bygone years

no flowing lines inspiring awe

to elevate the common reader.

I fall somewhat short of Yeats

more Seussian in awkwardness.

The script inside this muddled brain

is clamoring for liberation,

yet just as fast as it arrives

it twice as quickly dissipates

inside of failed imagination. 

I will never soar to heights

with such a feeble grasp of words,

and there is little I can share

that won’t offend a finer writer

Guess that makes you the “better fool”

to entertain this hopeless mess

as an equal, or at best

a dalliance for entertainment.

Whatever reason that you choose

I feel it best that I disclose

you’re also here at my behest,

sharing your thoughts unopposed,

because you pique my interest.

              

Beware this humble scribe you see

for there is much that waits for thee.

© Ginny Brannan 2026

Mud Season in VT

 

Ice melts, water flows

rivulets run down dirt roads

the night slips back to winter freeze,

the change is measured in degrees.

The pas de bourrées now begins,

step light lest you get sucked in,

as winter cedes a fast retreat

we’re stuck in the muddy street.

© Ginny Brannan 2026

Undefined

 

I’m drawn to the broken poems

written in imperfect rhyme

painting shadows on a page

where emotions intertwine
Where lines may halt without good reason

breaking formulaic rule;
scripted for some revelation–

a purpose-driven, cryptic sign?

Or a puzzle with some hidden meaning,
meant for someone else to find.

Hiding truth protects the bearer,

in life riddled with old scars

candor hurts as well as heals

and yet, defines just who we are.

With no proof that you are worthy

I build a wall till trust is gained
not meant to hide my broken parts
but to protect all that remains.

Our stories lie outside the lines

and sometimes in the broken poems:

where two divergent souls align

in friendship from a different time.

Some might say that “It’s a sign”
I just call it ‘undefined’

© Ginny Brannan 2026

Keep Making Noise

We would do well to remember who we are

–to protect the vulnerable

–reject the hate

–inject compassion into all we do,

to embrace our better angels.

The practice of hate in our country

tastes like rust in our mouths,

like the blood of those shot in the street

not because they were criminals

but because they had the audacity
to to stand up for their beliefs–

to speak for those whose voices 

have been stifled for far too long.

A government that is not for its people

isn’t right, it’s just wrong.

A president who profits off the marginalized

while wielding the knife that slices through

all that we are and all that we do

is no more than a dictator in disguise.

Open your eyes to this darkness

that threatens our very soul.

We have a choice:

stay silent in the face of autocracy

and watch these blatant atrocities,

or use our voice

no matter how difficult

no matter how long it takes
keep making noise.

© Ginny Brannan 2026

Credit for top photo: Roberto Smith AFP, Getty Images

Credit for bottom photo: Stock Photo Dreamstime.com

Bulbancha

 

There sits an almost eerie chill

on these cobblestone sidewalks and empty streets

where footsteps of a storied past 

can still be heard while the city sleeps.

Scrolled wrought iron balconies

overlook the avenue;

gaslights fade in the early dawn,

the jazz clubs silent and subdued.

The hectic pace is different here

slower, almost cavalier

as the “Easy” spins her silken web

on all who choose her streets to tread.

Through the shrouded morning mist

a single silhouette appears

its darkened presence more distinct
than the apparitions of yesteryear.

Slow, a new day has begun…

her ghosts are fading with the sun

while in the purview of their gaze,

their spirits keep the city safe.

Ginny Brannan 2025

Bulbancha is the Choctaw (Native American) name for New Orleans.

Image credit: David Florentine, Florentine Photography.com. Shared with me by a friend from NOLA