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.

Pathways and Passages

Ten thousand memories in my head

upon this path that intertwines;

our early days a movie reel

of small town streets we left behind,

the neighborhood where we once played

—slip past slowly till they fade.

Others come into our lives

enhancing who we’re meant to be:

the oxygen that feeds our souls

and forms into the air we breath.

I know the earth from which you come

the warmth that nourishes your soul

how together you have grown

how the other makes you whole

So every story has its seed

and every tale must have a start

you are the sapling, he your sun

inside your journey of the heart.

By those we love, our lives defined,

    upon this path that intertwines.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

So many memories! Ever blessed by forever friends.
With love on your 42^nd Anniversary!

Rooted on the Wind

I am the sworn protector of all that I hold dear

if push should ever come to shove, I’ll still be standing here

and though you may not recognize this me that I’ve become:

I'll finish what I’ve started; I’ve only just begun.

To those who sit in judgment pretending that you care,

and all the trolls with empty souls, sent out to spread despair;

we adapt accordingly, going to great lengths

to draw upon our character and play upon our strengths.

Remember how the tiny wren sings her song so clear,

the way her notes hang in the air before they disappear?

Or how the slightest little seed can turn green into gold

when it lands on fertile ground, roots firmly taking hold?

I scatter words upon the wind into the stratosphere,

and raise my voice to amplify reminding all that I’m still here.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

Who Watches the Watchers

Who watches the watchers who watch from afar?

Who polices the ones who are near?

Who upholds the law while the lawmakers sleep?

Who’s guarding the door that’s ajar?

How can a president dictate the rules

to favor just folks like himself–

ignoring the congress, while senate bows down

and taking the country for fools?

We sit and observe trying to follow what’s right

but the playbook is torn and redacted,

Tell me are we to wait while the circus debates,

while democracy falls in our sight?

Could be that this plan was in place all along

to take down our walls from within;

to weaken our ties with false alibis

while denying there’s anything wrong.

The eunuchs in senate are silent at best

and at worse they are part of his scheming

to break down the law, to flail us till raw,

right now this is more than a test.

We need to address this before it’s too late

not wait as more laws are unwritten,

call a lie for a lie, stop the denial

stop debating as he spews his hatred.

Who watches the watchers who watch from within

aren’t there laws put in place for this reason?

Let’s call out the liar, just stop the denial...

The infraction?  Why, that would be ‘treason.’

© Ginny Brannan 2019

Limbo

I’ve forgotten what it’s like

to feel the sun upon my face

to smell the earth after a storm

to hear the crickets singing 

underneath a crescent moon…

I’ve forgotten what it is to eat

a meal in my own home,

to not be always on the run

to not feel so alone.

Be careful what you wish for

or it may come to be…

I never, ever wished for this,

it’s nothing I'd conceive.

Time grows ever shorter

in our road from here to there,

it’s hard to reconstruct our lives

when this world’s in disrepair.

We wallow in some limbo

and have more than paid our dues

this never-ending road we’re on

is tiring, in truth.

Don’t know where we’re going to land

—or if we’ll land alone,

so I hold you in this moment

and pray you'll soon be home.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

Grasping at Straws

Hope is elusive thing…

it sprints ahead of us

never quite in our grasp;

we see its glimmer in the distance

and wonder if it truly exists

or if it is just an illusion...

and yet, we are compelled to follow

  because sometimes it's all we've got.

© Ginny Brannan 2019

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