Best of Friends Worst of Enemies

 

 

Water, wind and fire:

Excellent helpers indeed,

Ah! But they can turn in a flash

And on life and lively-hood feed.

 

Sources of energy, all three:

Driving turbines and mills,

But at times seem bent on destruction

As though on a mission to kill.

 

Essentially life supporting

But also, robbers of life

As they rant and rave in their fury

Creating all manner of strife.

 

 

Water, a source of life

Which, without we can’t survive

Yet, when on its path of destruction,

There is scarcely a place to hide.

 

Floods on land and perils at sea

Testing the human endurance

And oft leaving man on the losing end

Showing its abject intolerance.

 

As though in possession of life

And having a mind of its own

It sets out to trample a sworn enemy

And take him off his throne.

 

 

Wind, no less devastating

And able to move most in its path,

When in its most destructive mood

Marks wherever it has passed.

 

Unmistakable evidence

That suggests, “I have been here

And I can return whenever I want

So, man, you had better beware!”

 

 

This wind blowing on my bare shoulders

As I compose this poem

Can become a raving lunatic

And cause me a colossal problem.

 

 

Fire that cooks our meals

And provides heat in the wintry cold

Cuts a swathe through acres of forest

And causes losses untold.

 

Loss of vegetation and of life

Leaving the area an unlivable zone,

Trees undressed and the earth parched

And nowhere for animals to roam.

 

 

Hard earned earthly possessions

All are gone in a flash

When for some unknown reason

Through the forest fire makes a dash.

 

Water, wind and fire:

Best of friends and worst of enemies,

At one time, tranquil and calm

Next, destroying this serenity.

 

Best of friends and worst of enemies

Depending on the event,

Very reliable and dependable

Until they are ready to vent.

 

 

Life is dependent on all three:

Water, wind and fire

But whenever they get insanely mad

Life becomes particularly dire.

 

Harness them wherever you can

And make them work for you

But be aware, that the time will come,

When the other side will come true.

 

Stewart Russell © September 28, 2022

 

Worth a Smile

  

 

I have a confession

I will share with you

But you must promise to keep it

Between us two.

 

I passed water in my car

It was quite a bit,

You’d say that was shameful

But wait for it.

 

It was a very long while

I was in traffic,

I took the wrong road home

And couldn’t quit.

 

No turn off less congested,

Not a single one

And the water kept on coming

On and on.

 

 

 

You’d say weak bladder

Or it was full

But you still don’t understand;

You are too dull.

 

I passed water in my car

For a while,

Maybe it’s never happened to you;

It’s not your style.

 

I couldn’t pass it quickly

Traffic was heavy

So, I was forced to do it slowly

And steadily.

 

 

 

Embarrassing, you’d say

But I was alone,

Absolutely no one was with me;

I was on my own.

 

I couldn’t wait to get home

This was a mess,

Had I taken the longer road

It’d be less stress.

 

I passed water in my car

But I had to

And if you were in that traffic,

So would you.

 

 

 

A long line was in front

And a longer one behind

And we all were in that same traffic

A long time.

 

They passed water too

In their vehicle

For they drove along that coast

Like many people.

 

And this you cannot do

Unless you pass water

So, whatever you had in your mind,

Quit your laughter.

 

 

 

Go back to the beginning;

See the word smile?

Along the coast you pass water

Mile after mile.

 

Stewart Russell © March 24, 2026

 

Science Is Limited

 

 

Science is limited

What a major difference

Between the God of creation

And science!

 

What is gravity’s purpose?

Does anybody know?

We know that it exists because

Experience tells us so.

 

Science answers questions

Of the physical type

But of purpose and meaning?

Not quite.

 

Science does not answer

The big questions of life,

Neither can it even resolve

The issues of strife.

 

Discoveries in science

Have made life better for us

But none of these innovations

Treats to our greed and lust.

 

Concerning our origin

Science falls flat on its face

And with regards to our purpose

This it can’t even trace.

 

 

Regarding our destiny

Science is profoundly silent,

It needs an additional tool

To even make a dent.

 

This tool is the Bible

The Holy Word of God

That foolish men revile and mock

At home and abroad.

 

Treating it as unscientific

And full of fairy tales and myths

While rejecting God’s love

And His unspeakable gift.

 

Science teaches us nothing

But what we make of it,

I know this sounds contradictory

But just wait a minute.

 

 

Through studied observation

And experimentation

Scientists seek the answers

To myriad questions.

 

The purpose for water

Was not answered by science,

But this was clearly facilitated

By a supreme intelligence.

 

Humans need water,

Yet science didn’t point out this

But there is an innate connection

That none can miss.

 

The need is built-in

In both animals and plants

And humans are no different;

There’s not a chance.

 

Science explains the brain

But cannot fathom the mind,

It can search the human anatomy

But the mind it’ll never find.

 

So too the heart of man-

Not what pumps the blood,

To find the seat of one’s emotions

Science never could.

 

Science is limited

But the Almighty God is not,

It is He that has created us

And given us all we’ve got.

 

The knowledge to do science

Came from Elohim

The God who is the I AM THAT IAM

And thus, always has been.

 

God is the Law Maker

And the Law Giver too

And He controls nature and science

And both me and you.

 

Gravity functions

Because God made it so,

Planted seeds die and germinate

And God makes them grow.

 

 

Science does none of these

It doesn’t have a mind,

And though it helps us make a clock

It cannot tell the time.

 

I could go on and on

To speak of energy of all kinds

But I have had you long enough

And I am out of time.

 

So, if you believe

That science explains away God

Then you have as much sense

As a table tennis ball.

 

Stewart Russell © September 20, 2023

 

Sir, You Have Nothing

 

 

First, see the contradiction

Expressed in the theme:

There is Sir follow by nothing

What could this mean?

 

To be addressed as Sir

And then said to have nothing

Must be a contradiction

And one quite puzzling.

 

Unless of course

There is much more to follow,

Something preceding the substance

More like the shadow.

 

 

A misunderstanding, perhaps,

On the part of the speaker

Of whom we eventually discover

Is really the seeker.

 

“Nothing to dip with, Sir,

And the well is deep.

From where did you get water?”

Now the Saviour speaks.

 

“The water I shall give you

Will within you spring up

And you will not never need to dip it

With a jar or bucket or cup.”

 

Whether she clearly understood

Up to now I cannot tell

But the fact she recognized Jesus

I believe she did very well.

 

Off to the village she went

To tell one and all

That she had met the Christ

And on her he had called.

 

 

Jesus gave her water

That was not from the well:

An eternal spring of living water

And she could not help but tell.

 

He who had nothing to dip with

Gave her everything she needed

And unlike our everyday leaders

At no time had she pleaded.

 

“Sir, you have nothing”

Must be seen in another way:

It’s the plight of every one

That does not have Jesus today.

 

The water he will give you

Will quench your every thirst,

That is the promise he gives

To all who put him first.

 

Like that woman at the well

If you would take him at his word,

Your cup would so continually overflow

You’d want to tell the world.

 

If you have found the Saviour

Don’t keep him to yourself,

Tell your friends and your neighbours

He offers spiritual health.

 

Stewart Russell © September 25, 2020

 

An Invaluable Gift

 

 

Anything that is invaluable

Is impossible to buy,

Just think of any God-given gift

And you will see why.

 

The air that we breathe

Is an invaluable gift,

It is free to both rich and poor

If you catch my drift.

 

We plough and we plant

But for crops to grow

The rains must come in season

And the sun must glow.

 

No water like rainwater

To quench a plant’s thirst

And if the precious sun never shone

It would even be worse.

 

In fact, there’d be no life

I mean, no life at all,

But such is unlikely to happen

Because of Almighty God.

 

Air and water, sun and rain

Are all invaluable

And through these invaluable gifts

Life is sustainable.

 

Life, another invaluable,

That the richest cannot buy

And this point is sufficiently made

When their time come to die.

 

Anything that can be bought

Could never be invaluable,

As long as any value is attached

That thing is buyable.

 

Air, water, sun and rain

And life are invaluable gifts

But if you notice the poem’s title,

‘Gift’ you should not miss.

 

Every good and perfect gift

Comes from our God above

But there is one above all others

Compliments: God’s love.

 

It is the gift of life

And I don’t mean natural life

Instead, I mean the kind of life

That outlives all strife.

 

 

I speak of eternal life

The promise of the Father,

That is promised to the born-again

Here and in the hereafter.

 

Whosoever will may come

And claim this precious gift,

It is not a fairy tale I assure you,

Neither legend nor myth.

 

It’s not cheap by any means

Though it is free to us,

But it cost the blood of someone;

That someone is Jesus.

 

Salvation is not cheap

Though it is readily available,

There is no earthly cost attached

Since to us it’s invaluable.

 

 

It is infinitely invaluable

Purchased with Jesus’ blood

And what he did for all mankind

Nobody else could.

 

No other was good enough

To pay the price of sin

But Jesus, having achieved this task,

Now draws us all to him.

 

An invaluable gift

Of full and free salvation,

Why deny yourself of such a gift-

Such wonderful redemption?

 

John 3:16

 

For God so loved the world,

That he gave his only begotten Son,

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish,

But have everlasting life.

 

Stewart Russell © June 19, 2024

Things that Run

 

 

 

Some things run

That we don’t run after,

And sometimes even occur

With bouts of laughter.

 

Take the pipe:

And this is a regular habit,

It does be running

But we don’t run after it.

 

For the number of times

The pipe has been running,

It should have travelled the world

And be now returning.

 

The Sahara dust

Have lots of eyes running

But the eyes can’t run fast enough

To stop the burning.

 

 

The nose is another;

It runs when there’s a cold

Yet no one runs after it;

None is so bold.

 

A running commentary

Is what this has been

Of what runs that we don’t chase;

Let’s not forget icecream.

 

They have no feet

But yet still they run,

Except for the case of laughter

The others are no fun.

 

In the poem is a riddle

That hopefully you will find,

But for now, I am of here

And out of time.

 

 

 

Which case is fun

When the others are not?

Let me know the answer

If you find out what.

 

You’d noticed I lied

About out of time

But I am telling the truth now,

This is the last line.

 

Stewart Russell © August 8, 2024

 

Turned Up Missing

 

 

What a turn of phrase!

I am absolutely amazed

That the saying turned up missing

Is actually a phase.

 

A phase in a missing thing

Or a missing person;

Turned up!  That’s good news

But next: the problem.

 

Missing! Oh no,

It just cannot be!

To turn up and still be missing

Must be a mystery.

 

But everybody uses it

Meaning it makes some sense

But to me it’s totally nonsensical,

I mean no offense.

 

She was here all night

But she turned up missing,

How could this really be, I ask,

Unless we are guessing.

 

Maybe she was never here

Even though she turned up,

If I should ever turn up missing

I’d be out of luck.

 

I am not finish yet

There is yet some more,

To turn up missing is to be lost;

Nonsense galore!

 

English amazes me,

Re the nonsense we speak

Just like in an English examination

You could have a leak.

 

A leak in the plumbing

Requires a plumber

But a leak in an examination

Demands a do-over.

 

 

A gas leak, a water leak,

An oil or information leak,

Something turns up missing in all

Well, so to speak!

 

So, you see my problem

With this silly turn of phrase,

It makes absolutely no sense

But I refuse to be fazed.

 

Have you found the item

Since it turned up missing?

Well, I guess not is not surprising

Since we must be guessing.

 

 

To turn up missing

Is really good news and bad,

The turned-up part is encouraging

But the missing part is sad.

 

It is better to turn up

Than to turn up missing,

There is really no sense in turning up

If just to turn up missing.

 

Stewart Russell © June 15, 2024