Have We or Have We Not?

 

 

Have we a Constitution?

Please, somebody tell me!

I am longing to hear

From someone in authority.

 

A few lawyers have said

That Barbados has none

And this has been reinforced

By a certain gentleman.

 

He is standing his ground

This certain gentleman

And adamantly refuses to adhere

Even to Court summons.

 

 

Tell me, Dear Attorney General,

What have you to say?

You’ve been rather silent,

Is this your way?

 

If anybody could tell me

That body should be you

But for some unspoken reason

We can’t hear from you.

 

The Chief Justice is another

But this would not be proper

Since the AG is in the position

To settle this matter.

 

 

Madam Prime Minister

Are these lawyers right

That we have no Constitution?

Can you shed some light?

 

Or would you rather be silent

And let the AG speak

Regarding this important matter

That has reached a peak?

 

It is business as usual

In the Parliament and Court

But some think it is not legal

And we are making sport.

 

 

That may be for some

But not for the ones “going up”

For once sentenced by a Judge,

They are out of luck.

 

Parliament is meeting

And still passing laws,

Meanwhile, having no Constitution

Constitute a fundamental flaw.

 

Recipe for anarchy!

That’s a country without law

And if it were so with Barbados

This would be the last straw.

 

So, there must be something

That sustains law and order,

Please, someone in authority,

Tell me I need not bother.

 

 

This terribly loud silence

Is frightening me

And I cannot hear from anybody

In authority.

 

I am checking the tabloids,

The radio and television news

And all day long only hearing

Other people's views.

 

I went with my fastness

And wrote on July 29,

That we still had a Constitution,

Is what I opined.

 

I said I was not a lawyer

By any stretch of the imagination

But like a late PM I was adamant

We had a Constitution.

 

So, Madam Prime Minister,

Or smiling Attorney General,

What is the status of law and order?

Please tell the people.

 

Stewart Russell © August 8, 2023

Under Control?

 

 

Don’t worry about how it looks

We have it under control,

We’ll wrestle crime to the ground

You are safe on our roads.

 

We know who they are:

Meaning, the ones with the guns,

We won’t leave any stone unturned

Until this gun-thing is done.

 

It’s under control, we assure you,

Do not be alarm,

Go about your business as usual,

You’ll come to no harm.

 

They are taking out one another

They are not concerned with you,

It is people like themselves

That are getting their due.

 

All this in essence

From the AG and Top-cop

But it is hard to feel comfortable

When it has become this hot.

 

 

And I don’t mean the temperature

Because that is cooling down

And this is what happens

When this time comes around.

 

I mean the shootings and killings:

Thirty-nine are dead so far:

Thirty are gun related

And criminals raising the bar.

 

It is like the wild, wild west

When gunslingers ruled the town

And many a sheriff was made

To look like a circus clown.

 

There were some, nevertheless,

That brought towns under control,

They were fearless town-marshals

That were just as bold.

 

Many a western movie watcher

Can testify of these men

That were as fast as lightning

Bringing gunslingers to an end.

 

 

Under control

Was easily defined back then

But in this Barbadian context

There is a problem.

 

I find it difficult, my fellow citizens

To reconcile the Top-cop’s words

And that it is under control

To me, seems absurd.

 

For every strategy employed

It appears to get worse

And even commuters are threatened

By this out-of-hand curse.

 

These gun-toting criminals

Are poking fun at our police

And the Police Service seem clueless

Is the general belief.

 

This scourge appeared contained

Among the criminal element

But the winds appear shifting

Given a recent event.

 

They are stopping at nothing

To assert their control

And with more sophisticated weapons

They are brazened and bold.

 

 

Who is really in control?

That is the question to ask,

It doesn’t look like the Police Service,

Are they up to the task?

 

They have undisclosed strategies

Versus the criminals’ openness

And I desperately pray

For an end to this mess.

  

Dear Mr. Police Commissioner,

I hear your tough talk

But the average Barbadian citizen

Is feeling more distraught.

 

They are fearing for their lives

And the lives of their loved ones

And just like the COVID pandemic,

They wish this were gone.

 

 

We know what under control means

And what you say does not fit

So, see what you can do about this scourge,

And rid us of it.

 

Stewart Russell © November 11, 2022