Gina Turpin

~Ghazal Poem~

Papaw
By Gina Turpin

He was the man who raised me, not my father, but my grandfather.
He was the man who claimed me, not my father, but my grandfather.

A father brings wisdom and guidance but for me it was Papaw.
He’s was the hand that guided, not my father, but my grandfather.

Papaw was a strong man, a tender man, a bluegrass man, a cabinetmaking man.
He sang his songs to us, not my father, but my grandfather.

He supported me no matter what I did.
He praised me and scolded me, not my father, but my grandfather.

And when it’s time to be thankful for a father on this father’s day.
It will be this man who I called Papaw that I will praise, not my father, but my grandfather.

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Click Here to Listen To Audio for Albert King - Blues Man

~Persona Poem~

Albert King – Blues Man

By Gina Turpin

I've had hard luck some call it bad luck
I spend my nights in smoky juke-joints and cheap hotels
Leads to the path of a blues man’s life

I can make the angels dance, swing and sway to the rhythm and rhyme
I can stop time for a moment, while my soulful tunes grab your soul
My wailing guitar riffs under pressure they ride high

I am a blues man baby, that’s what I am
I go deep and touch within your soul
I touch your sensual side that makes you fly
It’s your essence I will hold

I got the blues, this morning blues, the lovesick blues
Even the homesick blues through my journey of life
These stories I tell are the essence of my soul
Through the pain I feel the melody of my song

I’m a blues man baby, that’s what I am
Maybe I’m at the cross roads selling my soul
Prayin for the strength to bring the power of my song deep

I tell you my troubles, I got the blues
this morning blues, the lovesick blues
Even the homesick blues

I am a blues man baby, that’s what I am.                                                            

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The Angel of Grief (also known as Weeping Angel) carved  by William Wetmore Story in 1894, which is located in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, and its many copies all around the world, especially in the United States.

    ~Ekphrastic Poem~

Angel of Grief
By Gina Turpin

I grieve for those who've lost 
And of those whom I have lost
I hear your cries, I see your tears

Arms made of stone are mine…
I carry it away – the grief
To another place, to find you peace

Every day I see you weep
I carry it away – the grief
You lie before me and I weep

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~Abecedarius Poem~

Overwhelming Woman
By Gina Turpin

Away she flies in to the night
Because her life is too hard to fight
Causing our tensions to rise
Devil is in her path
Excellent notion to consider
Favorable as it would be
Gifting us with her presence
However short it may be
Indecent dreams come her way
Jealousy is in her way
Kindly, reply anyway
Likely she will not reply
Mainly because she’s mean
Naming no names we glare
Oragious is what she seems
Paranoid would be what we call her
Quizzing our every move
Raging her way into the scene
Staying with her is hard to say
Towering over all who stay
Undermining everything
Valuing only what she needs
Wasting away her days until her
Xyster’s scrape our bones away
Yarling her way through the crowd
Zapping away our energy