Another Nuisance

 

 

Are flies bothering you

Like they are tormenting me?

Send me a workable solution

And get one zapper free.

 

Oh gosh, another nuisance!

These things we call flies,

It appears that three turn up

For every one that dies.

 

Worse than mosquitoes

They fly by day and by night

And whenever fish turns up

It is their special delight.

 

Darting here and flying there

You see them everywhere,

It could be dirty or clean

They just do not care.

 

 

Overworking my zapper

That was for mosquitoes,

As soon as the zapper is in hand

They seem to know.

 

They appear a little quicker

Than the mosquito

And believe what I tell you,

They put on quite a show.

 

They go in the refrigerator

And in the deep freeze too,

They get under food towels

And make you blue.

 

The spray does not matter,

It is their deodorant,

They just hold up their wings

And enjoy the scent.

 

Meanwhile, at your wits end,

You wonder what to do,

Another swipe of the zapper

And they fly on through.

 

On the porcelain throne

With zapper in my hand,

Patiently waiting to show Mrs. Fly

Who was the man.

 

Looked like two in the room

But it was only one,

‘Blip’ when it hit the mirror

And bzzzzz, it was gone.

 

 

What you think I was doing?

No, not that time,

I was trying to zap that fly

That had me in a bind.

 

Flying behind the curtain

Slamming into the mirror,

Man, I tell you, this disgusting fly

Was giving me horrors.

 

Finally, there was a flash

Followed by a burnt-flesh smell,

Mrs. Fly was still alive

But she was not doing well.

 

I held down the switch

And the burnt smell increased,
I do not regret to announce

Mrs. Fly was now deceased.

 

 

Burnt to a crisp

Like barbecued mosquitoes,

The zapper struck again

And Mrs. Fly had to go.

 

Did God create flies?

I can’t say, without a doubt,

But this I know for certain,

They make me shout.

 

"These stupid flies!"

"Goodness gracious, another fly!"

"Where they coming from?"

And then I sigh.

 

Two things bother me:

Flies and this heat,

If you have a workable solution

Now is the time to speak.

 

Would you believe this?

I just zapped one,

It lit on my computer screen

And now it is gone.

 

It lit right on my poem

Having been sent to investigate,

Now I have to refer to that fly

As Mrs. Fly the late.

 

 

Here is photo of that fly

Lying on its back,

Seems like it is still alive

So now for a final zap!

 

Stewart Russell © August 30, 2023

 

Life Is a Mix

  

 

Life is a mix

Of bitter and sweet,

Of good and bad

Of bright and bleak.

 

Life is a mix

Of ups and downs,

Of yellows and reds

Of greys and browns.

 

Life is a mix

Of smooth and rough,

Of pleasure and pain

Of easy and tough.

Life is a mix

Of laughter and tears,

Of faith and doubt

Of hopes and fears.

 

Life is a mix

Of give and take,

Of ease and squeeze

Of mend and break.

Life is a mix

Of highs and lows,

Of praise and blame

Of ebb and flow.

 

Life is a mix

Of plenty and dearth,

Of intrigue and boredom

Of sadness and mirth.

 

Life is a mix

Of toil and rest,

Of sowing and reaping

Of the worst and the best.

Life is a mix

Of conflict and harmony

Of order and chaos

Of disunity and unity.

 

Life is a mix

Of myriad opposites

So, anticipate change

For life is a mix.

 

Stewart Russell © November 26, 2020

 

My Hang-ups

 

 

I have me some hang-ups

That are in my wardrobe,

Round about this time of year

They are quite a load.

 

Hang-up No. 1 is a suit

That I haven’t worn much,

To wear it anywhere in this heat

Is akin to potluck.

 

Hang-ups Nos. 2, 3 and 4

Are three other suits,

Not quite the same as No.1,

But of another group.

 

Wearing too much clothing

Has always been my problem

Especially when it is expected

You wear a tie with them.

 

 

Then I get a hang-over

Like the morning right after

A night of exceeding indulgence

Of merriment and laughter.

 

Hang-over Nos. 2 and 3

Is my out of shape body:

A hang-over in the midsection

Is causing me misery.

 

Plus, two serious lap-overs

Running along my sides

Making me look like a primate

Albeit in disguise.

 

If you guessed an ape,

You are absolutely correct

Though that particular thought

I offensively reject.

 

This anatomical appendage

Is one of my hang-ups

And no matter how hard I try

I seem to have no luck.

 

 

I put it down to old age

And that is another hang-up,

Hang-ups Nos. 5, 6 and 7…

Hang-ups are too much!

 

A pain here, an ache there

Even to hang up a shirt,

And if you hang up a pants too

That also hurts.

 

Holding over is a hangover

And this you can’t debunk,

Stand up suddenly and try to walk

And it is like being drunk.

 

Hang-ups are all too common

To the over sixties,

Anything a little too rigorous

Is certain to be risky.

 

What are your hang-ups?

Please share them with me!

Are there all in your wardrobe?

Please check and see.

 

If they are you are fortunate-

Very fortunate indeed,

Give God thanks and live for Him,

Be what you truly believe.

 

Hypocrisy is a hang-up,

It is a hangover too!

Be true to self as well as others-

God is watching you.

 

 

It's time for me to hang up,

I am gone!

Hang-ups can be serious,

You have been warned! 

 

Stewart Russell © August 14, 2023

 

Unconditional Kindness

 

 

Luke 6:35

 

But love ye your enemies,

And do good, and lend,

Hoping for nothing again;

And your reward shall be great,

And ye shall be the children of the Highest:

For he is kind unto the unthankful

And to the evil.

 

Ephesians 4:32

 

And be ye kind one to another,

Tenderhearted,

Forgiving one another,

Even as God for Christ’s sake

Hath forgiven you.

 

Unconditional kindness

Is what this poem is about,

Something, to be quite frank,

I have not yet worked out.

 

Like the verses above,

I understand what they say,

But if I truly search myself

This is really not my way.

 

Oft I am quick to criticize

Especially a fallen brother,

How could he? I ask myself,

To me it’s quite a bother.

 

It is quite natural I find

To jump on that fallen one

And to become so judgmental

That all my mercy is gone.

 

As in the emboldened verses

 This ought not to be so

But it’s easier said than done

Which you and I both know.

 

  

Love towards an enemy

Is the subject of the first:

It’s the Christian kind of behavior

We ought daily to rehearse.

 

Do good and lend to our enemies

Hoping for nothing again,

The fact that it’s an enemy

Undoubtedly will cause us pain.

 

But God is kind to the unthankful

And to them that do evil,

So too, the children of the Highest,

Though oft a bitter pill.

 

And if we must for an enemy,

How much more a brother?

Since God in Christ has forgiven us,

We must forgive one another.

 

Unconditional kindness this is:

It can’t be achieved in self,

It’s a sign of Christian maturity

And a measure of spiritual health.

 

Only today I was listening

To the report of a fallen brother,

All of it posthumously so

Since the brother is no longer.

 

I felt especially for his wife

Who has to live with all this

And the believers who hammer her

Provide a lengthy list.

 

 

In the mirror of God’s Word

How do I measure myself?

Right about now, I must admit,

An “F” for spiritual health.

 

I feel especially convicted

Though not in this particular case

But at other times in the past,

When I deemed a brother a waste.

  

Some sins we easily forgive

But others we surely do not,

Some we deem very permissible

While some we classify as rot.

 

So, my brother and my sister,

There’s much we have to do,

If these two scriptures mean anything,

We must surely change our view.

 

Stewart Russell © April 29, 2021

 

In Memory of Aunt P

 

 

Gone but not forgotten.

In fact, scrap that…

Gone but always remembered!

Yet like a Covid-stricken December

Without Christmas lunch and family…

A constant dose of reality,

A bitter pill to swallow.

Leaves me feeling hollow…

Empty -

Those spaces minus your personality,

The warmth, the glow you exuded

Always inclusive... 

A greeting, reach out and touch,

Here comes the hug and a kiss of course!

With you there was a familiar vibe

All fuzzy-like...

Like a sunbeam,

Dancing across your vision.

Got me in my feelings,

Got me here wishing

That I could see your smile one more time.

Just one more time...

To hear your giggle, that laugh, 

Take a stroll into the past…

Hear our phone ring

Knowing full well who's on the other end

SHR! How you? Where Lyn?

Where Lyn Lyn? How Mikey Mike?

Ya know...

So often we say out of mind

Out of sight...

But with you...

Here’s the plight, the difficulty, the issue…

WE ALL

Still miss you.

But...

I've felt regret,

Felt the depth of undeniable pain

Like rain across your face

As we processed your death.

So sudden…

Some said gone too soon

Like leaving work in the afternoon

Thinking back, that call felt like

A cartoon, can’t be real, couldn’t be…

Man nah daddy! 

Wha you telling me???

Rushed home to verify, support, 

Console Mum, compile a report,

What about Uncle Mike?

How is he handling all this?

Only God knew…

And as I sit back and jot down these words

In honour of you -

What I will continue to do

Is remember,

Especially each April, August and December

What you meant, still mean

And represent to me, 

As one of our family’s beloved queens!

 

From the recipes and countless photos at your fingertips

To that innate desire to clean, never a day you missed.

The conversations, advice and the unconditional love,

Spontaneous drop-bys with come-to-muh-don-let-me-go.

To listening to the doctor, making sure you were clear,

As we prayed over Uncle Mike, asking God to keep him here.

So, yes, you’re gone,

It has felt like too soon

But we hold on to your memory,

Like a beautiful plant in a spotless room.

 

I will keep that space for you

And your unique TLC,

With that dash of PLC…

Pearline Lorraine Clarke...

My one and only Aunt P!

 
Michael Russell August 24, 2023

A Little Space

 

 

 

Gih muh a little space,

A little elbow-room

To do the things I promised you,

 

I didn’t know it was so bad

When I committed to all

That I said I would do.

 

So much to put in place

After the mess that was made

I can scarcely believe,

 

So, a little wriggle-room

I am begging you,

It’s not meant to deceive.

 

The view that we had had

Was from the outside

But different when we got in,

 

We can now see much better

Since we got the vote

That things are very grim.

 

They had ten whole years

To make all this mess

So, we ask you to bear with us,

 

It would take just as long

Or perhaps even longer

And that is even if we rush.

 

 

But you know the adage

About rushing the brush

And how much paint is lost,

 

So, give us a chance

With our austerity measures

And learn to count the cost.

 

I was forced to call

After three and one-half years

That unexpected election,

 

But it was for good reasons

I honestly assure you

To quell some misapprehension.

 

Misapprehension

On your part

And maybe a little from my team,

 

But now that apprehension

Is out of the way

It is forward full steam!

 

 

Still a little more space

I am begging you,

A little more tightening of the belt,

 

Even if you are feeling in ‘23

A little more than in 2018

After ten years what you felt.

 

It took us three and a half years

As you can see

To become really organized,

 

Oh, we were in a mess

A greater mess than we thought

You can’t imagine the size.

 

Thus, it meant

Rearranging the chairs on deck

Of the sinking ship,

 

Plus borrowing revenue

And sourcing expert personnel

To help save the new republic.

 

And I get you,

Earning, rather than borrowing?

But that is your personal view,

 

I am simply stating

 To Bajans at home and abroad

What we were forced to do.

 

Foreign reserves almost nil,

And our beautiful gem

Its flesh, picked to the bone,

 

Nothing we could do

In prospect of the republic

Nothing that was home-grown.

 

 

 

Father of Independence

I recall what you said

And I do not consider it trite

 

But in addition

To being friends of many,

We are now a roving satellite.

 

Well, there is India

And there is China,

And Africa there or thereabouts,

 

There is Trinidad and Tobago

And oil-rich Guyana

Ever since the oil shout-out!

 

Finally,

A trip to far away Dubai

With large entourage in company,

 

An exchange of culture

Theirs and ours

No doubt, of rich variety.

 

 

Hence,

A case for space

And a little elbow-room

 

As together

My brothers and sisters

Our young republic we groom.

 

Stewart Russell © August 21, 2023