Sunday, December 29, 2013

Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait: Francis Bacon

















Memories cast; black and white—
     images that once were clear
     begin to fade and disappear…

Life is a reflection
of everywhere we’ve been,
where we come from; who we are;
filled with introspection,
we can never start again.
Looking toward the light
profiled in the lens—
each deed and every sin;
colors fade with time,
only memories remain.
So what will the camera capture?
Who are we in the end?
What image left to ponder:
     a life full of regrets—
       or one filled with love and friends?

©    Ginny Brannan 2013

Written for The Mag #200. Image provided by Tess Kincaid, she provides the image, we the story!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

December's Gift



Once upon a winter's night
the snowflakes gathered on the ground;
while through a tattered cloud-filled sky
the moon and stars stood shining down.

‘Twas in the early morning hours
long before the light of dawn
we headed west on empty road
through ice and snow, we traveled on.

You were not anxious to arrive,
I paced the floor and spoke in tongues—
we waited hours for you to come
then finally...the struggle done.

As daylight once again rolled dark
our December babe was born
our hope, our gift, and our delight
to love and cherish, evermore...


©  Ginny Brannan 2013 

Sharing at The Mag #199. Image provided by Tess Kincaid, she provides the image, we the story!

For us, Christmas will always bring to mind two December babies—one born in a stable long ago; and one born shortly after 7 pm on 12/23/85. Two different children to be sure, one would be the hope for All Nations, one the simple pride of his mom and dad. And did I speak "in tongues"? You betcha--just ask the husband, who will be happy to share the tales!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Casting Stones

How often during a single day
do we make a judgment call
to criticize what others say
and judge what we don’t know at all?

Perhaps it is some ingrained need
to voice superiority,
or conflicts with what we perceive
that makes us act pejoratively.

But what gives us a special right
to cast out stones so randomly—
with cruel and zealous words indict
while spreading the hostility?

For only He who holds the key
to kingdom’s gate can truly know
what’s inside another’s heart
the rest of us should let it go.

© Ginny Brannan December 2013


















A bit of a rant, in light of the social networking commentaries abounding the past few days. So many criticisms, not enough understanding. If we judge others harshly, with out-of-context facts and no attempt to understand their side, what kind of person does that make us? 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

O Tannenbaum

Through the years we all will be together,
if the fates allow…

The beads are hung, the garland strung
the candles glowing bright—
"Babcia"
our family comes together
to trim the tree tonight.

Unpacking very carefully
the treasures we’ve collected;
some fragile from the wear of years—
wrapped gently and protected.

Each piece has a tale to tell
the brass one from your dad;
the embroidered one your mother made,
a soft cloth bear in plaid…

a Beleek plate from Ireland,
those tiny leprechauns;
my little Polish babcia—
blue gingham kerchief on…

a painted seashell from the Cape,
a jingle bell or two—
in case an angel “earns its wings”
...this year, there’s been a few.

Each piece becomes memory
recalling loved ones gone,
and so we gaze upon the tree
and know their love lives on.

© Ginny Brannan 2013        

Brannan tree 2013
















Forgive my lapse into simple rhyme--I tend to wax nostalgic this time of year. True though, the memories. The Polish "babcia" (grandmother) ornament, a favorite of mine,  was gift from my dear Aunt Helen. Remembering some of the 'angels' that earned their wings this year: Aunt Helen Sak; cousin Patti Unaitis; neighbor Donald LaPointe; childhood neighbor & friend’s dad, Clayton 'Gris' Griswold; my dearest sister-in-law Susan Brannan

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Peacemakers










A child in the ‘sixties
the Civil Rights movement,
the March on Birmingham
were but excerpts on the evening news…
things I didn’t really understand.

Now that I’m older, I’ve come to learn
of the peacemakers,
the innovators of change—
Martin Luther King,
Rosa Parks,
and eight thousand miles and half a world away—
Nelson Mandela.

They called on us to rise 
above learned hate and discrimination.
We are better people because of them.
May we never forget…

© Ginny Brannan 2013
**Image: Google Images, Mandela quotes.