Catalyst

I wake up wondering what news

the night has brought, so fraught

with “He saids” “she saids.”

Forced to wait as the sides debate

trying to get their stories straight,

rehashing words until they dissipate

into yesterday’s news. And nothing changes.

Living in the shadow of the Night King

where a sunny day dawns colorless,

or at best faded, we’ve become ‘jaded.’

Congress has been invaded by “enablers”

pitting us all against each other.

Opposites with no attraction…

each side demanding action for

different reasons while stuck

in a state of permanent winter.

We mustn’t compromise as we

 seek the “Truth” that outshines the lies

so those who doubt will finally rise

to realize that we can do better than this.

Whatever hate lies in our hearts is fed

by chatter that eats away at all that matters.

until we become visceral, rabid;  infected

by the daily dose of kool-aid we have been

given to drink. Perhaps that is the plan, after all:

to make us all numb and uncaring,

unable to think for ourselves. A flock led

by wolves in sheep’s clothing.

We need to heed the call from within

that says “Enough!! Enough Already.”

We must start this new year with renewed determination

to save our nation from corruption, and daily disruption

that we might breath again, agree again, rise again.

 Make our words count. Make our voices heard.

 Rise up! Work together! Be the change!

©Ginny Brannan 2018

Trolling

Out of the cracks in the woodwork they pour

like cockroaches from the slums they come,

garbage feeders swarming the newspaper headlines.

Unable to separate sweetness from stench,

they invade everywhere, from swanky penthouse

to cottage, to poorest tenement, no discrimination.

They leave a track of dirt and distraction,

their words, twisted lies and destruction,

while trying to control the court of public opinion.

For most, just a sour taste on the tongue;

for some, becoming a festering infection,

‘blind eyes’ and ‘deaf ears’ two of the symptoms.

Tired of living in the wake of lies that compromise

our very existence.  Can a single dung beetle

be so powerful as to be above the law,

stuck in a track of deny and deflect, rejecting

common sense while his pile of shit gets bigger each day?

While sentinels and drones control his feed

we await the exterminators, those with the means

and determination to destroy this infestation…

Not an easy task, examining every crack

in the plaster, under each floorboard,

following pipelines for hidden trails,

leaving neither tile unexamined nor path ignored.

In a time of instant gratification it is a slow and tedious job…

too slow at times, but we need it done right:

no question unasked, no stone unturned,

as they take this affliction to task

Let the cockroach have the penthouse

let him troll through the night,

while others work to destroy this blight;

yet in doing so we must acknowledge it for what it is:

   a sad scar, a deep mar on our democracy,

        and a hard and very difficult lesson learned.

©Ginny Brannan 2018

"Some days you eat the bear, somedays the bear eats you." Feeling "consumed" by the constant barrage of Twitter-speak, lies and innuendo. Can't seem to get away, so attempting to write my way through once again.

Another Auld Lang Syne

Haviland Pond, Ludlow, MA Image by author.

One year ceases, another dawns…

we move forward with certain givens:

that love will find some while abandoning others,

that new life will arrive

while others move on—

woven onto the thread of infinity;

death as imminent as birth

for we have yet to uncover

the secrets of immortality.

We stand on the cusp of renewal—

as days grow longer, we embrace their light

searching for our balance;

thwarting off indignity so often in disguise,

holding out for certain truth 

while sorting through the lies.

Another year of endless possibilities

  looms before us

    ...shall we begin?

© Ginny Brannan 2018