With Heavy Heart

 

 

My heart is heavy

On this overcast day,

A life has been snuffed out

In a horrific way.

 

The life of a youngster

So full of promise

But snatched away from us

As in a death wish.

 

But whose wish?

Certainly not his dad,

Or his mom or his siblings;

They are too sad.

 

Or his schoolmates

Or his friends,

Not one of these was happy

When he met his end.

 

Heartless, I would say,

Regarding his assassin,

On account of whom his light

Is now dimmed.

 

I did not know him

But now I do

And I guess the same can be said

For you too.

 

 

‘Tis a heavy heart

On this overcast day

Reflecting on a life of promise

Brutally snatched away.

 

Our hearts ache

As though he were ours

And he is in our thoughts

Every waking hour.

 

Stewart Russell © March 28, 2025

Rambling On

 

 

“Once upon a time…”

How most stories would begin,

There was an innkeeper

That owned an inn.

 

People went in

And people went out

And I learnt that those people

Came from all about

 

He was knock-knee

And his wife was bow

And between the two of them

There was little to show.

 

They had a common enemy

Arthritis was his name,

Their legs would never straighten

And they were in much pain.

 

He walked with a stutter

And she, a constant hobble

And when they walked together

There was bound to be trouble.

 

Neither could help the other

No matter how they tried

And when one of them tumbled down

The other would lie down beside.

 

 

They went for long walks

With no destination in mind

Such that whenever they got there

They were always on time.

 

The problem was getting back

Especially if one had fallen,

The other would lie beside

As though their legs were broken.

 

Where am I going with this?

I expected you to enquire

So, like K-K and his wife Bow,

I will continue till I tire.

 

Not knowing where they were going

They seldom got very far,

In addition, I need not remind you

How their daily walks were marred.

 

Now, I have a knock-knee mind

And my heart is kind of bow

And like K-K and his faithful wife

I too have little to show.

 

My inn is my body

And my mind is the innkeeper,

Sometimes my heart would fall

And my mind would get weaker.

 

Together they would lie down

Until one helps up the other,

More often it was the mind

That helped the heart to get better.

 

 

Keep your heart with all diligence

And focus your mind on Christ

Your inn, the body, will prosper

And the Holy Spirit will suffice.

 

I’ve reached my unknown destination

So too have K-K and his wife

And though we rambled on a bit

“To be back” is very nice.

 

Now for the cast of the story:

The body was the inn

The mind was the innkeeper

And the heart, his wife, assisted him.

 

The thoughts were the people

That were going in and out

And likewise, it is with our thoughts

That come from all about.

 

Arthritis is the wine of self

That stops us from straightening up

That mars our daily walk with Christ

As from its glass we sup.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

 

Sleep Could Wait

 

 

 

Trying to write a poem

Head bowing with sleep

Barely making it

Vision narrowed to a peep

 

Thinking what to write

Really should lie down

Thoughts in the head

Just going round and round

 

Sitting next to the bed

So easy to just jump in

But fighting sleep

With brain still thinking

 

It is eleven past four

Time’s really flying

There’s no use denying

My head is still bowing

 

I am still wondering

Where this poem is gong

In the drowsy state

I have no way of knowing

 

 

But I will stick in there

Something will come out

And it will be of value

Of that I have no doubt

 

I have a word for you

What it is I do not know

Just have patience with me

It will eventually flow

 

It is so very amazing

Writing much about nothing

That’s what I have done

I must be joking

 

Don’t stop reading now

It is almost there

I can sense something coming

Though it is not clear

 

In the end you will be glad

You read right through

If you were in this predicament

I would have stayed with you

 

Not quite as sleepy now

It is four: twenty-four

Thirteen minutes have gone

Something’s at the door

 

It’ll come out any moment

Just you bear with me

Read on a few more verses

And you’ll be sure to see

 

 

 

An exercise in patience

It’s the only way to learn

It is waiting for the outcome

For which you yearn

 

So I will keep my promise

If you will just wait

In another verse of so

I will be able to state

 

Verse number fifteen

Stay a mite longer

In the very next verse

You will no more wonder

 

Here is that information

Just like I promised

You are better at patience

It’s gone higher on your list.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2019

 

A Thought

 

Some thoughts are so fleeting

And sometimes are gone so fast

That if we had to recount them

It would be an impossible task.

 

Try tracing a thought

From its inception to its end:

Even to contemplate this

It is difficult to comprehend

 

Though we often think

We seldom analyze our thoughts

And the times we do

We’re either excited or distraught.

 

A thought is sometimes referred to

As a brilliant idea

Though just as often too

It can run the other way.

 

A thought may be sinister

Or it may be saintly like,

Of course the former is darkness

While the latter is light.

 

 

Thoughts are linked to our senses

They are received in five ways,

They are reflected in our actions

As we live out our days.

 

Some thoughts are bothersome

And load us down with care:

These we wish we could forget

But they don’t easily disappear.

 

Some thoughts make us happy,

These are the desired experience

But unlike the other thoughts

They are not as intense.

 

Enough about thoughts though,

Let me concentrate on just one:

It will take just a few more verses

And then I will be gone.

 

 

When is the last time

You thought about your soul?

Can you trace it from its inception

Regarding the word you were told?

 

Please don’t dismiss that thought

Unceremoniously

For it bears a direct link

That speaks to your destiny.

 

For certainly that is a thought

That has eternal repercussions,

To ignore this particular thought

Is to court eternal damnation.

 

I know this sounds harsh

 And perhaps a little absurd

But you can verify it

If you search in God’s Word.

 

 

This thought comes from God

You are fortunate to have received it,

Make the best of your opportunity

Don’t resist the Holy Spirit.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2018

 

To Fix a Broken Scale

One day I got to thinking

And my thoughts made me livid,

Yes, I know I said I was thinking

But what I thought seemed so vivid.

In my thoughts, I saw a scale

And on that scale, there were some items,

The items were all to one side

Every single one of them.

As could be expected

The scale was down to that side,

These things were heavy without doubt

So I was not surprised.

My scale was terribly lopsided

But at first, I did not mind

Until I got to thinking…

This was thinking of the spiritual kind.

But then suddenly a single item

Was placed on the opposite side

And would you believe me?

Those things went on an upward ride.

I thought, how could a single item

Outweigh a world of others?

And it seemed so insignificant

To me, that was the bother.

On one side there was wealth

Also fame and popularity,

Add to that, great possessions

And loads and loads of money.

Perhaps the scale wasn’t working

Or I was being deluded,

What a strange phenomenon

Into my thoughts had intruded!

I looked again and there it was

Just as I had seen before,

It had to be illusory,

It certainly was nothing more.

  

All these tangible things I saw

Were to one end of the scale

But when matched to the single one

All these items had failed.

I wondered and I wondered

How could this really be?

What I saw didn’t make any sense

Must be something I didn’t see.

Then in my thoughts, I saw a heart

Well, more like a human soul,

A longing there for something more

After having achieved its goal.

The scale that was really broken

Was inside my very own soul,

I possessed much with more to spare

Yet I was not feeling whole.

I was weighted heavily down

With all the world’s trinkets,

The gold, the wealth and fame

But my broken soul they couldn’t fix.

Further down I could not go,

I had now reached rock bottom,

I looked up the scale to the other end

And that’s when I felt so rotten.

I had fed my soul on worldly husks

And such is never soul food,

I was still starved as starved could be

I had to make a move.

There was one item that I needed

That would far outweigh all these,

It was the wonderful love of God

That would rid me of my disease.

My scale had long stopped working

My priorities were all mixed up

And though I had the world’s goods

Mine was a bitter cup.

I remembered King Solomon’s words

All is vanity and vexation of spirit

Hence, my scale so gravely top heavy

Had issued me with an edit.

Get right! Get right! It said to me

Fix your broken scale,

The values thereon are way off mark

You are doomed to fail.

With the correct item at the other end

All those things were jettisoned,

Love controls my scale and now I know

I have a balanced position.

The balance of payment in this life

Cannot be treated to with wealth,

Only the wonderful love of Jesus

Can turn around our spiritual health

One’s scale is seriously broken

Until God’s love is taken on board,

One only gains the right perspective

By studying the Holy Word.

I am thankful for God’s intervention

My scale is working better,

There’s room for improvement though

But that’s another matter.

Stewart Russell © June 2018

Thanking God

As I lie on my back

With my injured foot

I am thanking God for this window

Through which I can look.

At the sky’s azure blue

 And the fluffy white clouds

And the innumerable blessings

To me, He has endowed.

I thank Him for His goodness

And His mercy to me

For it could have been worse

Even a fatality.

I thank Him most gratefully

For the reduction of pain

Which for a week or so

Was driving me insane.

I thank Him for Lynette and Mike

Who minister to my needs

And for Lynelle when she visits,

I am grateful indeed.

For all my church brethren

I give God thanks

Knowing of their concern and well wishes

I can assuredly bank.

For family and friends

On whom I can depend,

I most gratefully thank God

For every blessing He sends.

For the rest, I am getting

And this time to reflect,

For all these blessings, Lord,

I humbly accept.

For the telephone calls

I am receiving every day

Lord, I give you thanks

For Your bountiful way.

For the visits from friends

Who drop in to share

And to those who take time out

To minister in prayer.

And for those Lord,

Who have me in their thoughts,

I give you many thanks Lord,

For the cheer that has brought.

And last but not least

Lord, again I thank you

For the view from this window

I am now looking through.

Stewart Russell © September 2019