On the Brink

 

On the brink of a new month

Another almost fade,

When compared to last year

Have you a better grade?

 

Should I answer honestly,

I really could not say so

But perhaps you have done better

Only you would know.

 

It’s not I haven’t striven

But most years go the same,

The downs will sometimes rule

And often the ups will reign.

 

It’s a roller coaster month

That happens every time

For me, it permeates the year-

Roller coaster is my kind.

 

 

It’s the pattern of life

Seemingly, on the brink,

Something is always promising

And that’s how I think.

 

A feeling to give up

And a drive to never quit,

One can’t be going all the time

Sometimes we have to sit.

 

Consistent reflection

And constantly projecting,

Strengthening that which remains

And needs protecting.

 

On the brink, I dare say,

Need not be precarious,

It could be something spectacular

Or something very precious.

 

July is almost ended

With all its highs and lows,

Its roller coaster breath-taking journey

Is almost at a close. 

 

It will be remembered

And this, for a long time,

An event that was low and yet high

Was the first of its kind.

 

 

On the brink of disaster

Just before it arrived

But over the precipice many went

And a few no longer alive.

 

Hurricane Beryl came

And took so much away,

Her voracious appetite drove her

And she had her say.

 

She has gone away

But her damage is left

Along with her many lessons

If we are not deaf.

 

On the brink again

With vital lessons learned

Hopefully to be put into practice

In the next sojourn.

 

This sojourn is August

Of which we’re on the brink,

Let not July lessons go to waste-

Swim lest you sink!

 

Stewart Russell © July 31, 2024

 

Winding Down

 

As the Old Year winds down

With one day to go,

We give Almighty God thanks

For His blessings still flow.

 

A roller-coaster year,

I guess one can call it that

But God has been with us all

And this is a fact.

 

We may or may not live

To see the New Year dawn

For many that started this year

Are now gone.

 

A few this very month

Were suddenly whisked away,

Pretty all right in the morning

But didn’t last the day.

 

 

As this year winds down

With just one day to go

This very day could be our last,

We just do not know.

 

It pays to know though

Where we stand with God

And if we have not done as yet,

To answer His call.

 

Say yes to the Lord Christ

That gave his life for us,

Right at this very moment

Say yes to Jesus.

 

So, whether we live or die

We will be the Lord’s

And based on his Holy Word,

He will be ours.

 

As this year winds down

Consider your sin-sick soul,

Confess and receive Jesus now

And he’ll make you whole.

 

The year is winding down

But so too are our days,

Trust God today whate’er betide

And do exactly what he says.

 

Stewart Russell © December 30, 2023

 

Ups and Downs

 

 

Is your life up and down?

I know you will say it is not

But mine is like a roller coaster;

This seems to be my lot.

 

Especially as a Christian,

And I am not fooling you

But you are not likely to understand

Unless yours is like mine too.

 

I would like to live a life

Without these ups and downs

In which the ups are smiles

And the downs are frowns…

 

But I know that is not likely

At least, not in this life

In which we struggle for peace

In the midst of strife.

 

 

Life is about ups and downs

Invariably, more downs than ups,

Ever since Adam and Eve

All have drunk of this cup.

 

We get up in the morning

And we lie down in the night,

Sometimes our sleep is peaceful

At times we fight.

 

Yes! It is an up and down life

With which we contend

Wishing and hoping

For more ups in our blend.

 

Like the dust which was a down

Suddenly became an up

When one day out of our blue sky

We found ash in our cup.

 

 

The compliments of La Soufriere

Which decided to erupt

And now the dust isn’t so bad,

In fact, it’s an up.

 

We’d rather the dust bowl

Than this ash bowl anytime

For this La Soufriere ash

Can really get on your mind.

 

The dust you can dust off

But the ash quickly settles back,

Imagine the down for the people

Where water is in lack.

 

 

Wearing a mask was a down

But since the ashfall it’s an up,

Mask wearing was a stiff protocol

Until La Soufriere erupt.

 

COVID-19 in Twenty-Twenty!

We longed for ‘Twenty-one…

But along came the Soufriere ash

And COVID has not gone.

 

A double-whammy they say,

All of a sudden it is two downs,

How we yearn for some rain

Like a smile after a frown!

 

In the meanwhile, I struggle,

And perhaps, unlike you,

For a while you may have plateaued

Having the same old view.

 

The key to the ups and downs

Is in life’s consolations,

It’s when prior downs become ups

Relative to new situations.

 

Like the dust and the ash

Which would you rather?

For me, I could handle the dust

But this ash is a real bother.

 

 

Yes, the consolation is in the ups

That helps to fight the downs

Just like the sun that’s peeking out,

The smile replaces the frown.

 

Like the water vapour going up

That the rain might come down,

All these are the cycles of life

Like on a merry-go-round.

 

Stewart Russell © April 23, 2021