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

 

Still the Best Choice

 

 

Of the thirty in the House

She is the best,

She is most definitely a leader

Unlike all of the rest.

 

If she were to go

Tell me what would we do?

Do you know who would lead?

Tell me, do you?

 

With her in charge

There is semblance of hope

But when her two terms are up

Can the others cope?

 

Let’s start with the AG:

Attorney but not General

Unless we mean generally out of focus

As in the case of most people.

 

I like the Deputy PM

Though I can’t tell you why

But to lead this young republic

This I must decry.

 

She seems a little timid

To take on the job of the PM,

And the rest chomping at the bit

Creates a big problem.

 

There is another attorney

That deals in home affairs,

He had hit the ground running

But is now running clear.

 

He cleaned up the South Coast

And the smell and filth gone,

Yet this Minister was suddenly removed

And replaced by another one.

 

Another attorney

Was in charge of our nest egg

But when the liners had to line up

He was removed as the head.

 

 

 

It was given to a female

Who is no longer at the helm,

She did not do any better

Than any of the men.

 

She took over at a time

When there was no tourism,

COVID had everything locked down

Like we were imprisoned.

 

“Cart before the horse”,

Mia has sometimes slipped

But “trick or treat” often becomes

Just simply tricked.

 

A plethora of lawyers

But Constitution reform is struggling,

Most of it is finished, as I speak,

Please excuse the bungling.

 

Opposing stalwarts combine

To represent a charged MP

In spite of a high-level command

That this should never be.

 

Two cream of the crop,

Legal luminaries, I mean,

Are fighting on the same side

In spite of Miss Supreme.

 

A most recent MP

Is talking a great fight

And though shootings are isolated

Ours is a woeful plight.

 

 

Meanwhile Mia is rising

On the International scene,

Rubbing shoulders with big ones

Regal and supreme.

 

Viewed rather favourably

Across the Caribbean,

She is perhaps the greatest leader

Barbados has ever seen.

 

Rhetorically speaking

There are few her equal

And I am speaking both regional

And International.

 

If for some reason

A general election had to be called,

With her at the controls

She would take them all.

 

The DLP, as we can see,

Have not pulled up their pants

And even after two 30-0 drubbings,

Are yet to advance.

 

Caught with pants down

In an out of season election,

The DLP have virtually suffered

Total rejection.

 

 

And while many rejoiced

And also jumped and waved,

We are now facing a dire situation

That is particularly grave.

 

So, if not Mia,

Who will manage this country?

If not the BLP

Who else would it be?

 

Some are desperately hoping

She will change her mind

Regarding only two terms in office

To which she was inclined.

 

 

She may have lost ground

But so too have the DLP,

I pray they get their act together

And that they do so quickly.

 

Mia is still the best choice

As far as I can see

But presently I don’t see far

So, you tell me.

 

Stewart Russell © September 16, 2023