Actual and Virtual

 

 

Actual we know:

This is about what is real

So that if he actually made it

We know he did not fail.

 

Virtual was understood

To have meant ‘almost’

Such that that particular person

Had no real rights to boast.

 

Virtual was at best

A mere second place position

While the actual first in order

Went to the champion.

 

First place you’d agree

Always has the bragging rights,

Second, third and down the line

Share the lesser delights.

 

Actual is the real thing

Virtual is just a semblance,

This was borne out only recently

In the COVID disturbance.

 

Gatherings were reduced

To an unacceptable limit

Especially in church services

Where this became a habit.

 

As a result of this

The actual became virtual

And ZOOM and YouTube platforms

Became more visible.

 

Churches still met though

But they did so mostly virtually

Which was nothing like the real

When they met actually.

 

It’s a vast difference

Between the virtual and the real

And for me they really are

Opposite ends of the scale.

 

 

 

“But this is virtually real”

Some will emphatically say

But for me that is an oxymoron

Coming into play.

 

More like “actually virtual”

Which is a more apt expression

To give meaning to this new thing

We call a virtual congregation.

 

Actual and virtual

Can never be synonyms,

At best, we are forced to conclude

These two must be antonyms.

 

Well I have virtually finished

Writing this actual poem,

Hence, the reality here is virtual-

I trust you see my problem.

 

Like the reality during COVID

When people virtually met,

They did not actually congregate

But that reality I get.

 

 

Call it a virtual reality

And add it to the oxymoron list

So that we can actually show

The impossible does exist.

 

Stewart Russell © June 17, 2023

 

 

Imagination

 

 

Sometimes I find myself wishing

That I could talk to the animals

To be able to find out from them

If they are like regular people.

 

Sometimes my mind goes wild

And I have a vivid imagination

When I wonder about other creatures

And the measure of their limitation.

 

In what ways are they like man?

And in what ways are they different?

Do they think like man thinks?

Or, do they have a different bent?

 

What are their thought processes?

Do they also have a mind?

And concerning the matter of imagination

Are they thus inclined?

 

 

I would find it difficult to accept

That animals have an imagination,

This would make them very human-like

And beyond my wildest expectation.

 

Imagination, as it occurs to me,

Is one of God’s many gifts to man

And meant to focus and facilitate our thinking

In relation to God’s remarkable plan.

 

Imagine a world that just happened

As some would want us to believe,

That imagination as far as I am concerned

Must be dead set to deceive.

 

 

Imagination can run away with us

And lead us down a wrong path

Or, like many of the playwrights and authors

Cause us to have a huge laugh.

 

All the master pieces in the arts

Were the result of somebody’s imagination

And some master mind in provocative thought

Was responsible for every innovation.

 

The wheel, the gear, the engine,

The buggy, the bus, the train,

Bungalows, skyscrapers and condos,

Ocean going vessels and passenger planes.

 

 

From a vast world to a global village

Via the telephone, cable and internet,

From bartering to cash and automatic tellers

To super lotto winners on a single bet.

 

From theatrical dramas to a movie stage

From vinyl to tape to iTunes,

Audio and video cellphone calls

And more recently video conferencing on Zoom.

 

 

Artificial intelligence and virtual meetings

Buying and selling on the internet,

Visa Card, Master Card and Debit Card

Of course, not to mention, deficits and debts.

 

All of these innovations began in the mind,

Somebody simply thought “What If”

And with this came an assemblage of thought

The origin? Imagination, if you catch my drift.

 

Imagination sees what the end could be

From the very origin of the thought,

Every idea, every process, every innovation,

Look around and see what imagination brought.

 

Some good, some bad, some indifferent,

Some an improvement and some a waste,

Some a good fit, some a no fit

And some were absolutely out of place.

 

Imagine the guns and tanks and scuds,

The nuclear and chemical warheads,

And imagine the carnage that can be had,

I wonder who would count the dead.

 

 

Animals come with defense mechanisms

Man’s imagination invented his own,

And when it comes to killing without reason

That is strictly in the human zone.

 

My imagination is running out

But I trust you have gotten my drift,

Humans have imagination, the animals do not

But with humans there is a greater rift.

 

Far more confusion among humans

Than there is among the animals,

I wish that we could use our imagination

To create more unity among all peoples.

 

Stewart Russell © February 3, 2021

 

Uh Get de Vaccine

 

 

Uh get de vaccine

And I didn’t feel a stick,

I wasn’t in no long line

And I didn’t get sick.

 

Uh get de vaccine

And with no side effect,

No fever or giddy head

At least, not yet.

 

Uh get de vaccine

And it was very quick,

It was quicker I tell you

Than pressing a switch.

 

Uh get de vaccine

You don’t believe me?

Do the same thing I did

And you would see.

 

 

Uh get de vaccine

And I didn’t leave home,

My wife was skeptical

So, I get it alone.

 

Uh get de vaccine

You must understand,

Just like everybody else

I get it in my hand.

 

Uh get de vaccine

Yes, the one from India,

Online I registered

For the “AstraZeneca”.

 

Uh get de vaccine

And that is a true fact,

It is easy if you register

On WhatsApp.

 

Uh get de vaccine

And no side effects as yet,

I get the AstraZeneca vaccine

Over the Internet.

 

Uh get de vaccine

It was ZOOM-ed to me,

You could try it too

If like me yuh crazy.

 

Stewart Russell © February 24, 2021