One If By Land...

We are the sons and daughters of liberty;

we remain steadfast and diligent 

in honoring our legacy,

in maintaining our rights to life, 

liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

These are the times that test our resolve.

We have a choice of staying silent, staving ourselves

against the steady and sure breakdown of democracy,

as we watch the dismantling of our rights

and the destruction of all we know and hold dear.

We can give in to the demands from those

who wreak havoc against our core principles,

against the laws of God and country.

What do we do when governance declares themselves

not the protectors of law, but the law itself?

When they declare that we MUST toe their line,

and bow to a leader who cares not for the people

he pledged to protect, but only those 

who pledge their allegiance to him?

It seems we’ve been here before…
So hang your lanterns; ring your bells;
print your posters; share the truth.

Our forefathers understood the cost.

They taught us that It matters not 

should you fail or should you fall—

only that you rise again.

We draw our strength from history.

We know not how our story ends

but that each must do their part,

knowing we are duty-bound

to honor all who stood their ground.

© Ginny Brannan 2025

On the 250th Anniversary of the hanging of lanterns and the ride that changed the course of history, we must remember to never take liberty or democracy for granted.

A Good Day for "Tea"

 

Unstable, he teeters on wobbly ground
the earth is shifting all around him.

Truth doesn’t matter, it’s precarious at best,

and he won’t waiver once invested.

He’s never wrong he’s always right,

but damn, he won’t give up the fight!

Facts aren't necessary, he’s “in it to win it”

and who needs proof when you have experts?

When you surround yourself with rich men who

pledge allegiance just to you.

The problem with this stance, once taken

–where information is paramount–

is that you’re exposed to being “eaten;”

and even “kings” can lose their crown.

We’ve thrown the tea crates in the harbor.

When threatened, we’ll defend our ground.

Massachusetts will not cower;

and so it starts in Boston town.

When the dust clears, will it really matter?

What will history portray?

We dwell inside this pivotal moment,

it matters what we do today.

© Ginny Brannan 2025

As Trump threatens to block funding, Harvard University takes a stance, 

joined now by Yale, Brown, MIT, the University of Illinois,

Princeton, the California Institute of Technology, and more.

Newsweek article

A Cold Day In Hell

 

Despite chill and April wind

and being soaked down to the skin

we stood out fighting for democracy;

a message sent to those in power

showing that we would not cower

nor give in to their cruel autocracy.

It’ll be a cold day in hell before we bend

or let some sorry puppet win,

we’ve worked too hard and know what it entails.

No rest until the stars align

and we’ve revoked all orders signed,

as we prepare to stand against gale

—knowing what it means if we should fail.

© G.B. 2025

An Obstinate Lot

 

I come from an area of proud tradition

filled with people as tough and as strong

as the seasons that rule it—

Farmers who toiled the rock strewn fields

turning soil to grow their food

learning to make do; to build stone walls

with the rocks they turned each spring.

We forged the rivers, sending lumber

from the northlands to the mills 

 and factories in the south.

We built bridges. 

We built the first navigable canal.

We stood our ground against tyrants and kings.

The "shot heard round the world?"

That was us!
We know that democracy is right,

that oligarchy can never be our course.
We gave birth to founding fathers

and Presidents: John Hancock,

 John Adams, John Quincy Adams

Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Pierce, 

and John F. Kennedy were born here.

Our heroes did not wear capes.

They stood their ground against tyranny.

Ethan Allen, Deborah Sampson, Paul Revere,

just some of the names from our past.

Ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances

carving their place in our country’s proud history.
People like Joshua Chamberlain of Maine

who, at 34,  despite  the odds,

led his troops to victory in the battle

of Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Today I've chosen remind you of just who we are—
We are a tough and obstinate lot, we New Englanders.
We are not afraid to ruffle feathers and go against the grain.

We don’t hold to lies nor cruelty; we grew up around cows

and can smell the bullshit long before we see the bull.
Our countenance is as tough as the hills, the valleys

and the rocky shorelines that we come from.

Our humor is as dry as our August summers.

We stay here not because of the frozen winters

the muddy Springs, the heat of our summers, 

nor even the brief reprieve of autumn.

We stay because we are as a surly lot

as surely a part of this place

as it is a part of us...

and we are family, and like family

we may argue amongst ourselves

but, God forbid, you go after any one of us,

then you face the wrath of all!

Never forget who you are 

Never forget the ones who forged the path you walk.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2025

Image: Early view of Bellows Falls, VT borrowed from Bellows Falls Historical Society page.

 

 

Intervention

 

They say it “wasn’t sustainable”

the years of growth and community

of peace, and sensibility.

That our differences are “too widespread,”

our beliefs are "too far apart."

And so they came, trading decency for hard-line tactics

erasing truth with false statistics.

They say that we need to “buck up”

we’ve gotten “too soft”

as they gaslight,  rewrite history,

releasing those who broke the law

with no thought to what they’re breaking.

Money can’t buy everything.

While it bought the presidency 

and much of his immediate constituency.

with the promise of “legal” tax evasion,

it’s showcased our fragility.

Feeling lost, without direction.

we can’t give up and can’t give in—

We are the candles in the dark

the truth that cannot be erased.

The darkness holds a million stars

and we, the carriers of the light

must stand firm against the night.

 

© G.B. 2025

Credit for Image: https://starwalk.space/en/news/why-is-the-sky-dark-at-night

For the "Dreamers"

 

I live in the realm of hopes and dreams

where life is more than what it seems

where kindness fills the emptiness;

where givers give with open hearts

and expectations don’t exist.

Where the broken and the scarred

are not dismissed as too much risk.

Where strength and fortitude are honed

and sculpted out of dirt and clay...

 and man does not exist alone.

A broken vessel on display

holds so more than what is seen,

and who are we to wipe away

existence of another’s dream?

 

© Ginny Brannan 2024

From the Observation Deck

9/11/2001
My husband and I worked for the same supermarket company, at that time both in the same store. I was Customer Service at the Front End of the store. His job of Security Receiver had him at the back entrance to take in the trucks and various vendors that supply the store. The radio was on in Receiving. He was one of the first to hear the news, but it was hard to take in. Surely it couldn't be true. That couldn't happen here. The ripples came through the store. Employees passing through the backroom lingered to hear some word of what was happening. We got home that afternoon, put on the TV to find the images. Surreal. We watched again and again until our hearts were so overwhelmed and so broken we could not watch anymore...

In the days directly after 9/11, our local Red Cross was swamped with calls and donations. My employer generously sent volunteer employees to assist them, paying our wages for our time with them. I was honored to be one of those employees, and spent the next 3 weeks there. The flow of generosity was overwhelming. When the chips are down, we Americans do what we do. We give what we can, then do it again. The stories that came with the donations wrenched our hearts. The head of our local Red Cross would reach out to families who had lost friends or loved ones. One such story was as finding three separate checks from three separate locations given by the same man, with the notation that he had lost his daughter in the towers. No matter who you are, you knew someone...friend, family member, family of your co-workers. No American spared.

In the days that followed 9/11, we rallied. Heartache gave way to anger, but also a newfound pride arose. We are Americans after all. When push comes to shove we won't be intimidated. We raised our flags, we stood tall, we volunteered, we give whatever we could, we gave till it hurt because our "family" was hurting. And for awhile, we became a kinder, gentler nation. We will NEVER forget the ones lost, but we would do well to remember that we are all brothers and sisters, we are all family. No matter who tries to break us, to divide us from outside or within, we are better, stronger, more resilient than they can even imagine, and our better selves will always rise again.

The Ones Who Ne'er Came Home

God bless the ones who took a stand

who stood their watch on foreign soil

duty-bound by their command

God bless the ones who held their ground

who never waivered in defeat

when fires from hell came raining down

God bless the ones who ne'er came home

the ones who paid the highest price

with grateful hearts we bow our heads

and honor what you sacrificed.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

Trucking with "Heart"

Mile markers tick by as time suspends

on this endless road from here to there.

Carcasses of whitetails and strips of black wall

litter the shoulders while the vultures soar

overhead in anticipation of dinner.

We pass big rigs, too numerous to count,

everyone on their way to somewhere else.

Traffic slows as gawkers rubberneck a semi pulled

over ahead, flames shooting from a locked wheel.

Driver fumbles the cab for an extinguisher—too late.

We hear the tire “POP” as we pass by.

We pass another truck; traffic slows in our lane

and he passes us. Now his lane slows and we

are side-by-side. The words “Make-A-Wish”

catch our attention. Names, too numerous to count,

encircle the words and cover the side

and we conclude that these are the children

who 'got' their wishes; for many, their last.

Catching the driver’s eye, I point to the names,

mouth the words “Thank you,” and give a big

thumbs up. He smiles, waves back, and is left

somewhere in the slower traffic behind us.

And me? My heart is filled; renewed by this reminder

there is still much kindness this world, after all!

© Ginny Brannan 2018

Eight hours into our “6-1/2 hour trip” from Massachusetts to Carlisle, PA on 8/09/18, while stuck in rush hour traffic near Harrisburg, we passed this truck. The date we saw was current, 2018 being the 17^thyear they’ve done this. Anyone who works to put a smile on some child’s face, to give a family a lovely memory to hold onto, is okay in my book!!

My personal thanks to all who volunteer and fundraise for the Make-A-Wish foundation and other such charities for the children. My young cousin was gifted with a trip for her little boy before he passed, and I know how much it meant to them.

More on this particular Make-A-Wish convoy can be found here: https://fox43.com/2018/05/06/truck-convoy-for-wishes-rolls-through-adams-county/

Legacy

What was it that you did that caused

so many to be so angry…

was it the color of your skin,

or that you were educated, well spoken

rose to a position that they couldn’t fathom

because they were so color-blind?

With an impeccable record, devotion to wife and family,

class, faith, dedication, selfless love of country

you were everything they were not.

They hated that you were unimpeachable.

They thwarted you at every turn,

resorting to epithets and insults.

Maybe it was your easy manner, your ready smile,

your rapport with others

your unwavering sincerity,

and the ability to see through lies,

identifying those who’d try

to pass something by you.

Your one fault: your faith in humanity;

your belief that even those who disagreed 

would finally see, would come around

to recognize the end results, 

this legacy that you would leave…

but they couldn’t get over the anger they felt

or the color, the color, the color of your skin;

discrimination by any other name is still the same.                  

The ugly green-eyed monster embarks on his campaign

using fear and ignorance to build up his own gain.

his constant rants become a chant, the anger his achievement

at every turn he’d watch you burn while citing disagreement.

Yet history will long denote the ones who gave their best

who knew the laurels of the past are not a place to rest;

the ones who shored democracy; unselfishly they stood,

the ones who had integrity, who worked for greater good…

no matter who comes after, their legacy remains

known not just for who they were, but the leader they became.

© Ginny Brannan 2018

Image credit: Stencil by Stencilstarter JB at DeviantArt

Safe Haven

Times were so much simpler then

the world so big and far away,

future bright and full of promise—

had our family, had our friends

no worries to get in the way.

But as we grew, our differences

rose more pronounced with each new day,

yet our core values still remained

beneath it all, the emphasis:

no matter what, we’d be okay.

Perhaps it is naïveté

to think that things could stay the same…

nestled safe in our cocoons

where outside world was kept at bay,

and innocents were not consumed.

But life, we learned, is not a game—

the moral values we once claimed

no longer deemed necessity;

coping skills, so long ingrained,

now lost inside complacency.

The darkness spreads now unconstrained,

our safety net has long been torn.

We can’t go back to where we were

but can’t continue in this vein

where daily shootings are the norm.

As NRA renews platform;

quotes amendments, seals their base,

how do we protect our children?

No safe haven from this maelstrom

so those “paid off” will not lose face.

Comes a time to stop discussing

before another school’s laid waste

words are nothing without change

until then there is no trusting.

Don’t forget now, we are watching

when vote comes you’ll be replaced.

© Ginny Brannan 2018

Another day, another school shooting. Thoughts and prayers, or voices and change. You decide. 

My love goes out to all the mothers, fathers, families and friends in Parkland who have had their hearts ripped out in this horrible massacre.