The Starving Artist's Club

 

Starving artists searching for identity

tortured poets searching for our place

bleeding tales of love and of humanity

confessing the challenges that we face.

Drawing from the past, where we retrace

all the things that we’ve repressed;

in rhyme, or simple turn of phrase

our failures and our dreams confessed.

 

And each experience? A test—

in every hurt that leaves us scarred,

in love that’s carried, unexpressed,

and all the secrets that we guard.

 

And we wonder what our words impart–

Common ground? Familiarity?

In meting out pieces of our heart

we share our vulnerability

 still searching for identity

 

© Ginny Brannan 2024

A Certain Slant of Light

 

There’s a certain slant of light

that casts on us in Spring

it calls the flowers to come out

and prompts the birds to sing.

 

The days stretch longer than before,

the stars are slow to shine;

an ocean breeze is sent to tease

and we respond in kind.

 

We watch the young males preening;

–a startled flock taking flight;

with each new dawn so earth responds

 to this new slant of light.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2024

 

Using NaPoWriMo 2024 prompt for Day 24, to start a poem with the first line of a favorite poet, mine is from Emily Dickinson’s  “There’s a Certain Slant of Light”

'Practical' Magic

 

It calls to us in the predawn hours,

sweet on the lips, warm to the touch–

like addicts we follow, like moths to the flame;

 its heady aroma drawing us closer–

arousing our thirst, staking it’s claim.

What can this be, this curious thing

igniting our senses to make us give chase?

An unknown enigma? A wonder vaccine?

Or a magical potion that’s brewed from a bean.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2024

From Writer's .com for Day 23: Write about a mundane task that (secretly) doubles as a magical ritual.

 

Broken Heart Syndrome

 

How do I mend a broken heart

that doesn’t want to mend?

How do I piece the shards together

to make it whole again?

How do I rebuild something

that no one else can see–

shattered into a thousand pieces

there, inside of me?

The ache I bear weighs heavy

and makes it hard to breath;

it would have been much easier 

 if you didn't leave.

There is little to be done

 and nothing to be gained...

the wind blows through this broken heart

and tears, they fall like rain—

tell me why is it when someone leaves,

it’s we that bear the pain?

 

© Ginny Brannan 2024

*Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or "Broken Heart Syndrome" is when the heart muscle becomes suddenly stunned or weakened. It mostly occurs following severe emotional or physical stress. The condition is temporary and most people recover within two months.

Good Universe Next Door prompt Say 22 How to Survive Heartbreak. I have no answers, just do the best you can, I guess.

When Everything Turns Gray

The charcoal sky grows darker

with the impending storm,

the shadows blend together

where they cast across the lawn.

Hear the thunder rumbling

its drum-roll lingers on...

lightening flashes thunder crashes–

the leaden sky responds.

Everything turns monochrome

as earthen as the clay;

mood is foul and scowling

as blue sky turns to gray.

Bleak and austere scene is cast

does nothing to allay;

the ashen clouds foreboding

to add to somber fray.

A pall is cast across the land

where once bright colors shone

we’re left morose and resolute

standing here alone. 

 

 © Ginny Brannan 2024

From NaPoWriMo 2024 prompt to write a poem that repeats or focuses on a single color. Mine is less about repetition and more about different iterations of a certain color.

An Ode to the Outspoken Woman

 

 

How very swift we tend to overlook

the woman fighting for equality

wanting to discover who she is—

how often she has been misunderstood.

 

And should she take a stance, politically

while fighting to preserve the greater good?

It’s always been the same through history:

that girls who speak their mind are seen as rude,

redacted for their nonconformity.

© Ginny Brannan

NaPoWriMo Prompt for Writers .com Day 18 Write an ode to something you've seen hundreds of times that has never lost its beauty.  And what is more beautiful than a strong woman that knows her own mind and fights for the greater good?

Against the Wind

 

I try to put my best foot forward

even when the skies are gray;

the darkness always reaching toward us

 

still all my best laid plans are thwarted.

I stumble trying to make headway

while trying to put my best foot forward

 

I doubt I’ll ever be rewarded

for even those we love betray;

the darkness always reaching toward us

 

each new strategy, aborted

our cards are dealt then cast away

while trying to put our best foot forward

 

the words I hear appear distorted,

spinning thoughts in disarray

—the darkness always reaching toward us

 

I do my best to be supportive

while you discourage and upbraid

I try to put my best foot forward

the darkness always reaching toward us.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2024

"I’m older now and still running against the wind"  Bob Seger

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Day 17 NaPoWriMo 2024 prompt: A poem inspired by a piece of music. Can be used as title