You are 'Here'

 

Who’d have thought that we’d be here

in this place of doubt and fear,
where laws are broken constantly

and hate spreads rampant, like disease

and nothing is exactly clear

Who’d have thought that we’d be here?

The happiness we used to feel

seems far away and so surreal.

We’re struggling to keep afloat;

I think we’ll need a bigger boat.
Who’d have thought that we’d be here,

led by cons and profiteers?

Yet I, for one, won’t give up hope;

for that would be a “slippery slope..”

I’ll stand my ground and persevere–

Yet who’d have thought that we’d be here?

© Ginny Brannan 2026

"Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love." J.R,R. Tolkien

"Never be cruel,

Never be cowardly...

Remember hate is always foolish

Love is always wise

Always try to be nice,

but never fall to be kind."

—The 12th Dr. Who

"Testing, Testing...One, Two, Three"

 

Hope lies between the lines

of dreams and of unanswered prayer

as we, mere mortals, search to find

peace from pain we've buried there.

               *  *  *  *  *

Believe in the power if you choose

that parts the seas and turns the tides

Could such entreaty be refused;

a whispered word of urgency

from the place where love resides?

 

When all else fails we’re left to conjure

hope beyond all hope to cure

the ills from which there’s no returning;

I watched you fade into thin air...

you wonder why faith disappears?

 

How many prayers have you seen answered?

How many hearts are left to bear

the pain of loss despite “believing”

that there’s a God that truly cares

while undeserving loved ones leave us

    lost in our unanswered prayer.

                  *  *  *  *  *

“No” has always been the answer,

reprieve short lived; the end’s the same.

We look to pin the fault on someone,

but really there’s no one to blame.

Miracles are not forthcoming

we bear our loss as best we can

our questions gather dust, unanswered

derived from pitting God to man.

© Ginny Brannan 2024

Image: Photographer C. Parant, Appetite for Photos. Used with espressed written permission.

Between Hostility and Humanity

 

I see their images shared

the sweet little blonde girl taken from family,

the little boy in a Spiderman costume

no family left to mourn him

  no one left to call Kaddish.

    no one to sit Shiva.

Some are collateral damage

others taken with intent

meant to inflict maximum damage;

scorched earth policies in a land

already burned by desert sun 

and too many years of conflict.

There is no place safe from those

intent on doing such harm; no words 

to quell the loathing and madness

that births such heinous acts: 

militant groups filled with rancor and vitriol

defined by being selectively blind 

to the pain and the suffering they leave behind.

Hate begets hate in this land

of an ‘eye for an eye’ reputation, of

biblical vengeance and ramifications,

where double-edged swords

cut to the bone and no one

is safe, no one is left unscathed.

Too many years of resentment have honed

this building enmity, and frayed the fabric of the land.

And we, we talk the talk of civilized nations

while bearing our own conflicted emotions

wondering where we are on this scale between

hostility and humanity, probably closer than 
we realize to the ones we deem "savages."

And we pray, in our ‘holier than thou” way, 

that we never grow numb, that we never succumb

to the baser extremes of raping women

or murdering innocents in the streets.

So look upon these obscene attacks

with eyes wide open, with your heart still intact,

and remember that there, but for the grace of God 

(or whoever you believe in and pray to) 

goes each and every one of us.

© Ginny Brannan 2023

       

My heart aches for the children of Israel, the innocents wounded, taken, killed in the attack perpetrated by the group known as Hamas. I see posts every day shared by a dear friend here in the U.S., and my heart breaks for her loss of family and friends. Hate groups that exact revenge on innocents do so to inflict their terror and scare others into submission. It is neither acceptable nor condonable, and all of good heart must condemn such actions or we are no better than they.

For AZ and those lost that she carries in her heart.

 

So Close, and Yet So Far

 

I can’t believe we’ve come this far

and yet, no nearer to our goal.

So much hate and anger here

it breeds disdain, corrupts the soul.

 

With each new day the tension builds...

I can’t believe we’ve come this far–

the lies the twists, the rising scorn

with facts and truth in disregard.

 

Another day and we’re on par

to disassemble what we've built...

I can’t believe we come this far

  just to see our garden wilt.

 

I hear the scorn and am repulsed–

the animus in each remark:

like poison creeping through our veins

—I can’t believe we’ve come this far.

 

© Ginny Brannan

At What Price?

 

Can you feel the thunder

as it echoes through the valley?

Did you see the sky flash

from the latest storm?

Can you sense the danger

sneaking up beside you?

Just another shooter 

bent on doing harm.

 

Did you feel the shudder

from the latest volley?

Did you hear the screams,

see how the children ran?

Did the guards rush on in,

did they dare to face the bullets,

to stand between the unarmed

and the angry gunman?

 

Once more we hear the thunder

as it echoes through the valley

we watch another shooter

cut short a dozen lives–

See how the owners lobby

for their right to carry...

How many of our children

will have to pay the price?

 

© Ginny Brannan 2023

Between the Open Palm and Fist

 

Between the open palm and fist

the seeds of anger root and grow;

and rage becomes a catalyst.

Between the open palm and fist

we can elect to coexist

or drown inside the undertow–

between the open palm and fist

where seeds of anger root and grow.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2023

Lost in Translation

 

So fast to pass judgment, so quick to criticize

whenever someone lives outside the confines of your norm—

how long before you realize all the ones you’ve victimized,

the many you have ostracized because they don’t conform?

You believe in black and white, day is day and night is night,

boys are boys and girls are girls and that's how it should be.

But we each see things differently,  I accept all equally

while you proclaim them ‘deviant,’ aberrant in your sight.

So quickly you embrace ideas that play to one another’s fears

never looking further than the lies that you dispense—

now someone I thought I knew shares his narrow point of view

reduced into a bigot who embraces ignorance.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2023

A Fool's Lament

 

I wait for a day without anger and hate

no reckless remarks filled with venom and vile

from impotent men with a need to berate.

feeding some need to debase and defile.

We are defined by the words we have spoken

yet no one’s committed to fix what is broken.

Perhaps we are testing, awaiting our score,

to see how much discourse that we can endure.

There’s no compromise when deceit is abundant

as “normalcy” cedes to different incumbent.

Since when does America bow to sedition,

and what happened to keeping oaths that are pledged?

Forgiveness not found in some act of contrition,

where facts take a backseat to what is alleged.

We walk on a treadmill of misinformation

used to propagate bias and discrimination.

our proof to the contrary risks being maligned

but refraining from doing so just countermines.

So bury your head in the sand if you want to,

swallow the bait being used as a lure

follow the lies in the feed and the fodder

refrain from the data you choose to ignore.

Those who have known you now ask who you are

and you can't even see that you’ve gone too far.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2022

Green Sneakers

 

She wore green sneakers on her feet

a heart drawn on the toe

a Marine Biologist future planned

her dreams were set and well in hand

Corpus Christi she would go…

 

I wonder what he thought that day 

as he strode into the school?

What could make a person do

that things that he would do?

Was he lost inside his head,

could he hear their screams…

as he tore their lives apart

cutting short their dreams?

 

Another school has fallen prey,

how many look the other way?

“Thoughts and prayers,” is what they say,

then leave it for some other day.

 

Another child’s life cut short

how hard is it to know

you claim to be “pro life” and yet,

by avoiding you abet

with the 'same ol’ same' retort.

 

We birth our children, raise them up

they are the seeds we sow;

their dreams are ours, we hold them close

never to let go,

then find them in a body bag

a tag upon their toe.

     

The repetition of this crime

reminds us that there comes a time

when we can’t let it go—

for those green sneakers on her feet

 with the heart drawn on the toe.

© Ginny Brannan 2022

Between Despot and President

 

When everything goes status quo

and you’re no longer “relevant,”

and people go about their lives

and think you insignificant,

so you decide to start a war

bring guns and planes, and armament

a force of will on full display

between despot and president.

We watch from half a world away

anticipating what comes next.

What will come of this dispute?

What catastrophic end of day?

Our politicians posturing,

to minimize and underplay.

Shall we stand or do we flee?

What advantage will be gained?

I’ll side with democracy

and I for one stand with Ukraine

 

©  GB 2022

Let "Freedom" Ring

We parade the world stage with our grand old flag

a symbol of  freedom and pride

but what of the elephant in the room

and the jackass that stands by its side?

To signify freedom we fly it for all,

yet some feel betrayed by the sight—

and while we don’t feel what these others may feel,

leaving us question what’s true and what’s real,

 doesn’t diminish their strife

If this were an illness, some kind of disease

with labs on the verge of a cure,

if we could eradicate, help symptoms ease

  would we turn a blind eye, a deaf ear?

Those in denial will never seek truth

while others live hatred each day;

some only believe what they choose to hear

they don’t see a problem,  say what they say

facts do not matter, just get in the way—

     Is it their pride? Or just fear?

My ancestors settled long after the war*

they came here to make a new life­–

they too were insulted, derided, berated,

judged by their customs, so many were hated

    while having their freedoms denied.

Yet through their insistence, faith and persistence

while acceptance still came at a price, 

it isn’t quite fair to even compare

the difference between black and white.

 

We’ll never shed shackles where silence condones,

where everyone’s guilty, but no one atones,

and those passing judgment have cast the first stone.

Until we hear song that the caged bird sings,

   it’s then, only then, that our freedom will ring.

 

© Ginny Brannan 7/04/2021

 

*Reference to Civil War. 

**A work in progress, doesn't quite feel 'complete.'

The Reign of the 'Baffle King"

 

The change began slowly as things often do

we tuned out the missteps and hoped for the best

 we watched the attacks when the press shared their stories

most of us hoping he’d give it a rest.

But he pedaled his thoughts and his misinformation

—If you say it enough times then it must be true—

his people believed and thought him their savior,

taking all at face value without a review.

And then the vote came, the people had spoken:

they’d seen through his lies, enough was enough,

though the margin was wide, his reign finally broken,

he’d never concede, he’d rebuke and rebuff.

And so comes this time in this great nation’s trials

where a leader spews racism, division, and lies,

never yielding to go ‘gently into that good night’

there’d be no transition and no compromise.

How many bought into his tales and his falsehoods

distortions, dishonesty that changed by the hour

his tainted relationships with all of our allies

the forging of friendships with communist powers?

There was truth to be found in his constant barrages

examine the wording, what’s being said—

more often than not the ones he’s accusing

were being accused of what he’s done instead.

And now an attack on the seat of our nation

enablers empowered by discourse and hate

and he sits alone in his ivory tower

a byline in history, he can’t see his fate.

We mustn’t forget how this all came to pass

our guilt notwithstanding, it’s something we own

unless and until recognition’s forthcoming

all of us liable for the silence we’ve shown.

And those we’ve elected seem no better for it

“Hands tied, “ they have said, there is “naught to be done.”

as we watch in horror and shock at the havoc

the blame is all ours, and none of us won.

I wonder how long it will take to deprogram?

How many years, how much discipline?

His reign has revealed that we’re broken and hurting

that bigotry, bias lies just ‘neath the skin.

Denial won’t heal all the wounds of this country,

there’s work to be done, four years to rescind

and we must admit that we too are complicit

before we can ever move forward again.

© Ginny Brannan 2021

 

 

Same Story, Different Day

It’s really alarming the news is disarming

the words keep encroaching each day,

we walk a fine line as we search for the lining

to hold the naysayers at bay.

And I will admit that it’s hard to get through it,

reveal how we feel like we’re drowning;

we try to survive as we search for the light

with the negatives so overwhelming.

The constant barrage while no one’s in charge,

each quip a new skip on the record…

told nothing to fear, while the other side’s cheering

the frustration we feel is collective.

These daily attacks, while we can’t change the facts

what we can change is our gut reaction,

yet even to breathe while feeling aggrieved

is hard with such noise and distraction.

Yes, our world is insane, but we must remain

steadfast in commitment to truth.

Would we be sated if we took the bait

and gave in to the lies and the ruse?

So let me remind that history’s unkind­

recording each smile, each gloat;

each angry rant, each sycophant,

and each time some lawyer invoked.

And as we await while both sides debate

with words well-dispensed to provoke,

and though all seems dour, we still have the power

to change where we are by our vote.

So take a deep breath, hold onto the truth

hold onto what’s right and what’s decent;

and call out the lies, the baseless denials

lest we ever become too complacent,

while we bide to decide his replacement.

© Ginny Brannan 2020