What Is Poverty?

  

 

What is poverty?

You can ask anyone:

The absence or lack of money

Is the norm.

 

What is poverty?

The opposite of wealth

And it’s usually accompanied

By poor health.

 

What is poverty?

It is the curse of the poor,

Thus, from their birth to death,

Don’t expect more.

 

What is poverty?

Choose from the above

Or come up with another;

You be the judge.

 

However, here’s another

That I saw recently,

I’ve typed it out as it appeared

Just to let you see.

 

“Poverty isn’t

Just not having money,

It’s an invisible tax

You pay every single day

For not being able to afford

The good things from the start.

A poor person spends more to live

Than a rich person does.”

 

A cognitive crisis

Occurred to me,

I had thought poverty was

The lack of money.

 

The first line says no,

It’s an invisible tax

Imposed on the poverty stricken

And stated as fact.

 

Note this tax is paid

Every single day

And the poverty stricken must pay it

Without fail.

 

An invisible tax

Imposed by circumstance

Making it practically impossible

To ever advance.

 

Not able to afford

Essentials from the start

Will attract the daily life long tax

Of poverty’s mark.

 

 

 

Poverty is not

Just not having money

But even the little that one gets,

He can’t keep any.

 

The poor spends more

Than the rich really does,

Hire purchase for example

Is a real humbug.

 

The poor pays more

Than the rich in this case

And the longer the repay time

The more the waste.

 

A mortgage is a killer

As in compound interest,

Paying back several times over

Is a horrid test.

 

Buying cheaper

Rather than the genuine

Is more costly in the long term

And is overbearing.

 

It’s clear a poor person

Spends more to live

Since even the little he receives,

All he must give. 

 

There is a penalty

For being in poverty,

It is that daily, invisible tax

We call money.

 

A better word, I’d say

Could very well be debt,

Most that were born into poverty-

Their destiny is set.

 

Set to be poor

And thus, spending more,

This is the way of those in poverty;

‘Tis a closed door.

 

Here’s the quote again,

I trust it now makes sense

But if it is not applicable to you,

Take no offence.

 

“Poverty isn’t

Just not having money,

It’s an invisible tax

You pay every single day

For not being able to afford

The good things from the start.

A poor person spends more to live

Than a rich person does.”

 

Unable to afford

The good things from the start?

Well, it is that invisible tax

That rips us apart.

 

If you could afford it

You would spend a lot less

And you’d save that invisible tax

Thus, less stress.

 

Just to survive

A poor person pays more,

Far different from the rich person

Who has it for sure.

  

Poverty is itself a tax

Imposed on the poor

And this tax often reveals itself

In many a closed door.

 

 

An invisible tax

Imposed by the rich

Who gets all that the poor has

By treat or trick.

 

Money goes up

But seldom trickles down,

The rich invariably spends less

With the poor around.

 

“Poverty isn’t

Just not having money,

It’s an invisible tax

You pay every single day

For not being able to afford

The good things from the start.

A poor person spends more to live

Than a rich person does.”

 

Stewart Russell © September 2, 2026

 

Leave it in God’s Dear Hand

 

 

How oft, have I said,

Leave it in God’s dear hand?

Too numerous to count, I dare say,

But as many as were my plans.

 

For I was more than capable

As I oft had believed

That I could see my plan through

Thus, I had perceived.

 

Oh, I could steer my way through

The trickiest path

And come out on the other side

Way beyond my class.

 

I was good, so very good,

And I didn’t need a soul to tell me

For I was a helmsman par excellent

Buoying with great dexterity.

 

But alas, midway through

Or even before,

I was in over my head

In waters I did not know.

 

At first, there was no doubt

That I had the skill

But the circumstances were foreign

That caused my spill.

 

My engines had failed

And I needed power from within

Whereof I must confess

My patience had run thin.

 

And thus, I said to myself,

Concerning my plan…

Yes, you guess right, yet again,

Leave it in God’s dear hand.

 

It was my advice to myself

And to others too,

Leave it in God’s dear hand-

He’ll see you through.

 

And that worked so well

Till I got my confidence back

And before I knew it, my friend,

Again, I was entrapped.

 

 

Easier said than done,

That I have come to realize

So much so that in recent times

I am not surprised.

 

To leave it God’s hands means,

He leads and we follow,

It is enough for the present journey

As there is no tomorrow.

 

That sounds kind of awkward

I know

But the simple reality is

We are like a car on tow.

 

We have no power of our own

And only God knows the way

So, it is always better, life has shown,

To let Him have full sway.

 

I know I will need reminders

And they will come just in time

Meaning, that when I revert to my own,

Obstacles will block my line.

 

For my heavenly Father is faithful

And will never abandon me

And though the way I may not know

He is my surety.

 

Leave it in God’s dear hand-

That’s simply a command to trust,

Trust in God at every step and turn-

In order to make it, we must.

 

Stewart Russell © March 25, 2023

 

The End

  

 

 

And so, the end is here…

Of October, I mean,

‘Tis by no means the final curtain:

No such scene.

 

Must be the fastest year

That there ever was

For Independence is in the air again

And the Christmas buzz.

 

It feels like yesterday

When we opened the New Year

And just like the speedy Usain Bolt,

November is here.

 

 

 

All that’s left of October

Are the dying embers,

There has been no year as fast as this

As far as I can remember.

 

The end of October

Signals a new beginning:

The beginning of Independence songs

And carol singing.

 

At some point in November

The two will merge

And at the beginning of December

The carols will surge.

 

It is a fact of life

That every end is a beginning

Just like the days follow each other

As the earth is spinning.

 

 

 

Strings of lights will go up

Albeit, blue and yellow

And Independence colours will greet

Every gal and fellow.

 

A festive spirit will prevail

In both town and country

And there will be much manifestation

Of National unity.

 

In this November month

We will mark sixty:

Sixty years of National development

As an Independent country.

 

Focusing on the ups,

Learning from the downs

And calling on all patriotic Bajans

To gather around.

 

Around a common purpose

Of industry and pride

With Almighty God leading onward

However hard the ride. 

  

Until we meet again October,

Welcome in November,

Let us never forget God is in charge

But gratefully remember.

 

Stewart Russell © October 28, 2026

 

 

No New Thing

 

 

I am sure you have heard it

But did you ever take note?

Maybe you did or maybe you didn’t

But to you, it was no joke.

 

We shouldn’t joke about such

Just in case it is true,

Especially if we don’t understand:

Neither me nor you.

 

I have heard it too

And I have wondered about it

For it comes over to me

As though it’s a recent edict.

 

God is doing a new thing,

Something He had not done before

And it behooves us all to listen

Seeing it’s right at the door.

 

Yes, a new thing God is doing

In our world today,

Something He had not done before

And not in this kind of way.

And Scripture is also given

To convince all the naysayers

And I do not mean the unsaved

But Bible reading believers.

 

The following is one scripture

That is used quite often

And I must tell you I have seen

The idea greatly blossomed.

 

Perpetuated by modern day prophets

That quote the following text

And not to appear as gender bias,

But usually of the female sex.

 

 

 

In the book of the prophet Isaiah

Verse 19 of chapter 43,

God is doing a new thing in the earth

For all of the church to see.

 

Meaning the believers of today

If you are catching my drift,

These are the ones that will witnessed

This phenomenal spiritual shift.

 

Of course, when we go to the Word

We see it for what it really is

And so too, the little children,

Via a cleverly constructed quiz.

 

Who is speaking and to whom?

Where and when and why?

And the explicit comes off the page

In a way we can’t deny.

 

This new thing happened long ago

In a number of interesting ways

But most notable of all its unfolding

Is the church in its early days.

 

 

Remember that notable Pentecost

When Peter stood up and spoke?

That was the new thing prophesied

And of which the prophets wrote.

 

It is still unfolding today

But not as a new thing as some say,

But in the form of the Holy Spirit

As he indwells the believer today.

 

The revealer is the Holy Spirt

And he reveals the blessed Christ

To all that accept Christ as Saviour

And his atoning sacrifice.

 

It is no new thing I re-emphasize,

Not like some new fashion craze

But a work permeating hearts and lives

And giving to God all praise.

 

Stewart Russell © March 3, 2023

 

No Matter Before Big Bang

 

 

No matter before Big Bang

Only matter thereafter,

The fact of Big Bang being the first cause

Brings me peals of laughter.

 

I’ve met Big Bang a few times

Though I was not the cause,

The fact I was back ended 15 times

Still causes me to pause.

 

The matter was two vehicles

Involved in that Big Bang,

I can tell you that from inside of mine

It was quite a clang.

 

Thus, it puzzles me greatly

About the first Big Bang,

I’ve tried to wrap my mind around it

But just can’t get the hang.

 

World renown scientists

Push it all the day long

Suggesting it makes material sense

And all else is wrong.

 

 

 

No matter before Big Bang

But all matter thereafter,

First cause, therefore, is no cause

When time did not matter.

 

Thus, time, space and matter

Happened simultaneously

And Big Bang happened to create

Its initial energy.

 

By now you must be saying

I am talking foolishness

But bear in mind my erudite friend

This is not my mess.

 

It’s the mess of scientists

And especially physicists

Who, though it’s absolute nonsense,

Cannot resist to insist.

 

Bullheadedness, I conclude,

Are heads in a rut

And due to irrational obstinacy,

Obviously are stuck.

 

After I had fallen asleep

I could not sleep for my tossing,

Similarly, prior to the origin of matter,

No matter to do the causing.

 

 

 

Thus, Big Bang began time

And space and matter too,

And if scientists can believe this,

Tell me, why can’t you?

 

Ultimately therefore,

Big Bang created the mind,

Isn’t it any wonder we talk foolishness

Most of the time?

 

No time before Big Bang

For Big Bang to occur,

So, from whence did Big Bang start?

To whom do I defer?

 

No space before Big Bang

For Big Bang to operate,

So, from where did Big Bang originate?

Big Bang must be a fake.

 

No energy before Big Bang

To produce this explosion,

So, from what did Big Bang get its force?

Do you see my confusion?

 

 

 

No matter before Big Bang

For Big Bang to work with

Yet, Big Bang is evolution’s originator

And Creator God is a myth.

 

Perhaps you should now see

Why reality is not real

And why everyone’s individual reality

To another is a ‘Fail’. 

 

Perhaps you also see

Why no absolutes exist

And because everything is relative,

The truth we easily miss.

 

Opinion becomes fact

And one’s credentials rule

And the one who has no credentials

Is somebody’s fool.

 

No matter before Big Bang

But matter it did create

And to some nothing else matters,

Not even their fate.

 

Thus, God is a delusion,

Of mythical proportions

And Big Bang is the truth they hold

With its attendant evolution.

 

 

 

No time before Big Bang,

No matter and no space,

Suddenly, Big Bang made a great explosion

And disappeared without trace.

 

But God created time,

Space and matter too

And being the relational God He is,

He created me and you.

 

No matter before God

Is the better clause,

He created matter and all there is

As a matter of first cause.

 

Stewart Russell © October 17, 2025

 

The Parables

 

Not one of the parables

Is about the things there viewed,

Their meanings go far deeper

And implicated the Jews.

 

In every one of the parables

Jesus points at the Jews

And I dare say that for many of us

This might just be news.

 

Not only the parables

But in most of what he taught,

And when the Jews were aware

They were sorely distraught.

 

From the old Testament stories

To the New Testament parables,

The Jews are the main reference

Yes, God’s chosen people.

 

In Sunday school we heard them

And we remember them well

But they are more than just stories

And of Israel’s history tell.

 

Pick out any Bible story

Or any parable for that matter

And you will be utterly amazed

If you go beyond the chatter.

 

I learnt in Sunday schools I attended

Sunday morning and evening,

That a parable is an earthly story

With a heavenly meaning.

 

We enjoyed them as stories,

Back then they got our attention

But we need to dig a little deeper

For a fuller comprehension.

 

Permit me to take one parable

And illustrate what I mean,

Storing new wine in old wineskins

Was not about the liqueur scene.

 

 

 

Instead it was an admonition

That was given regarding the Jews

That the old Jewish covenant

Cannot contain the Good News.

 

The Good News that was Jesus

Whom they ridiculed and abused

Continuing with their old wineskins

And the new wineskin refused.

 

Jesus had come unto to his own

But his own had received him not,

Therefore, upon them fell God’s judgment

And desolation was their lot.

 

Not one of the parables

Is about the things there viewed

But their meanings went far deeper

And implicated the Jews.

 

Stewart Russell © April 25, 2021