We are All Warriors

When we stand up to life no matter how hard

square off with the day, what comes our way

while we ache with a sadness that will not subside,

and the goals we must reach seem so very far

as the clouds and the thunder hold sway.

When we put on our game face though we are afraid

because so many things can go wrong,

and we smile and pretend as we try to fend

and downplay these emotions displayed

with no clue where our journey will end.

When forces of nature silence our song

and threaten to eat out our soul;

when we’re overcome and we’re left feeling numb

spinning out of control as we’re pitching headlong

that we’ve somehow lost sight of our goal…

We pause and we watch our emotions unfurl

trying to focus on what is at hand;

defying the darkness, the fog that feels hopeless,

as we step to the plate once again,

with our sword in our hand to defend.

For we are all warriors no matter our battle

when push comes to shove we must stand

let the passion that guides us well up inside us

the troubles that plague us be damned

as the warrior inside takes command.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

Through Thick and Thin

We measure life through what time’s wrought

families, children, what we’ve gained

the joy and sadness that we’ve seen

and all the little things in between.

We reminisce about the years

and everything that’s brought us here,

all the moments we’ve been through

—to just say thanks would never do.

These gossamer ties by which we’re bound

can’t be described in words alone;

it’s in the love that we have shared

and in this friendship we have found.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

For my friend Karen on this, her birthday. There's no friendship quite like the one you've had since you were 5!
Image circa 1961 or '62

Summer Samba

Sun slowly slides through western sky 

preened  for the eve in peach and gold.

Full moon appears in a gauzy pink shirt

to flirt across the deep blue vault;

two star-crossed lovers, unable

to conquer the sky that divides them,

caught by chance in this fleeting dance—

a very tenuous relationship at best

as moon rises in the east, 

       and sun sets in the west.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

All that Matters

1. All that Matters~

There is no time to collect my thoughts

to put down what I’m feeling.

Would it matter anyways?

I am struggling on this path,

on this endless quest of healing

where the only thing that matters

 is you.

When everything else falls away,

     you are all that matters.

2. Getting By, Getting Through~ 

 I look at who I am compared to who I once was

and I see
— courage in the face of adversity

— strength hidden inside the chaos

—the ability to pull myself together

   even when my mind screams to fall apart

The anger that you sense is not personal…

it allows me to put on my “game face”

it strengthens my resolve to get through this.

So do not judge me by what you see

but understand what you don’t see.

This is me, doing whatever it takes

to get through this moment in time.

This is me

3. A Late Night Pondering~

And in the end

when days grow short

when the mountains fall

when the seas disappear

When we’ve done all we can,

will we still have the wherewithal

to remember our story

to remember what it was like

to love and be loved?

4. Friendship~

I don’t have to talk to you

to know you hear me

I don’t have to see you

to know you‘re there.

We are connected, you and I,

and for that I am ever grateful.

5. Repairing Ourselves

When I fell apart and shattered

you swept me up

and pieced me together again.

Sometimes we need to shatter

to expand, to grow

not only to hold on to who we are

but to become who we need to be.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

Image taken by author: Barnstable, Cape Cod Massachusetts

What's Behind the Curtain

We are bigger than this, better than this...

this image that stares back at us

is not who we are

nor who we want to be

—it is not me.

There's no place for the constant lies,

the blatent impropriety.

I won’t disguise my own disgust.

It’s sad we can’t instill our trust,

when we’re repulsed by what we see;

    – this isn’t me.

If nothing else we've been exposed

to the dark side of society:

the ignorance, unfettered hate;

the blatant disregard, the blame–

for some it’s only just a game
to shore up their hypocrisy 

  ...this isn’t me

While children sleep in concrete stalls

on the border in our keep;

and politicians fight their fight

to salvage our democracy,

this helplessness morphs to disease

a place where no one is appeased...

some alternate reality—

    This isn’t me.

And so I've shared a thought or two:

but words are words; when all is done

will our values be intact?

Or will the profligate have won?
We each make choices, you and I

but all the rhetoric is lost

when we can see the final cost.

Will you sacrifice your soul,

     morality and decency?
Or will it stay intact and whole?

 How many of you will agree...

     This isn’t me!

© Ginny Brannan 2019

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

In her "Glory" days . . .

She’d wear her hair tied with a bow

a bit of lipstick applied, just so

some jewelry to accessorize

and she’d stop and chat when passing by.

Had no children of her own

but kept a dog when she was home;

she’d left it in a dear friend’s care

and both would come to visit there.

That was in her glory days

before time stole her memories.

I choose to remember the her of “then”

to see her smiling face again:

upon her lap, her dear pup lies–

there’s no more sadness in her eyes.

We each have our own cross to bear

a twisted path from here to there,

we do our best because we must

before we fall apart and rust.

I believe when this life’s done-

that a new one is begun—

a place we shall meet again...

until then, rest in peace, my friend.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

*Image: Google images. Representative for depiction only, not actual subject of poem.