Cannot Sleep

 

 

They cannot sleep

For the sound of the guns,

They know not where the next volley

Would come from.

 

High powered weapons

That bypass doors

Easily piercing chattel house wood

To drop on the floor.

 

So, they stay awake

Ready to hit the floor

While the little ones sleep through

Evidence by snores.

 

Unaware of the danger

That such weapons pose

The young ones could soundly sleep

As though comatose.

 

But the more aware,

They just cannot sleep,

They must be ready to take action

When the bullets speak.

 

In the still of the night

When the crickets chirp,

Mamas must watch over their babes

So, they won’t be hurt.

 

 

They cannot sleep

For the threat of the guns

While the avengers cannot sleep;

They’ve work to be done.

 

Revenge and reprisal

For the last one executed!

Wherever this assassin or whoever,

He too must be muted.

 

Half 2025 completed

And, with much to show

With a whopping twenty-eight persons

Who no longer pass go.

 

As judge and jury

And with weapon in hand,

These assassins have all they need

To execute their plan.

 

They cannot sleep

But for a different reason,

They have a mission to accomplish;

It is killing season.

 

Whether it be nighttime

Or whether it be day

Barbadian citizens are on the alert;

It is now the way.

 

 

A wave affects the island

Though not a storm type

And which our Parliament and police

Seem unable to fight.

 

With loads of rhetoric

And with “talk can’t done”,

They appear clueless as to the source

Of these imported guns.

 

We know how they come

Was a comment recently

In which the speaker made the effort

To be heard clearly.

 

That comment, as I recall,

Eliminated a constituency

Suggesting that we look to the others

To solve this mystery.

 

Can we have this assurance

From the other sitting MPs

What this particular MP made clear

Re their constituency?

 

 

They gave a suggestion

To be taken seriously

Regarding the Barbados Police Service

In carrying out their duty.

 

A targetted approach

Aimed at both high and low

And not just certain communities

As statistics show.

 

The country can’t sleep

With bullets flying around

When almost daily another citizen

Is taken down.

 

It is mostly the youth,

Putting our future at stake

As well as our tourism endeavour

Still thriving to date.

 

 

 

Many cannot sleep

Though for different reasons

And this reckless gun importation

Is akin to treason.

 

The elderly are targeted,

Our women especially

And we wonder who will be the next

In this unsolved mystery.

 

Many cannot sleep

And it is getting worse

And all we are mostly regaled with

Are speeches rehearsed.

 

From the illegal importer

To the assassin’s hand,

Guns are causing serious insomnia

In our fair land.

 

To grammar purists

Re my incorrect use of they-

To avoid the issue of gender identity,

I took this way.

Stewart Russell © July 1, 2025