Personal and Official

 

 

The former is what I feel

The latter is a must

And mixing up the two of these

Can lead to distrust.

 

 

 

As happens very often

Re these two positions,

Officials can be thrown into a spin

By personal decisions.

 

Personal is not official

And should never be mixed

And presenting both the same

Is a deceptive trick.

 

Conflict of interest

This is sometimes called

And this type of gross behaviour

Should be appalled.

 

Using an official position

To satisfy one’s greed

Is tantamount to dishonesty

Whatever the deed.

 

 

Public servants especially

Should guard against this,

Betraying the trust of citizens

Is a criminal shift.

 

Misappropriation of funds

Is an awful practice

And when done to treat oneself

Is a horrid injustice.

 

Never mix up these two;

Keep the funds apart,

If given such a responsibility

Be honest from the start.

 

Money entrusted to you

Though a personal trust

Should be used as officially agreed

And not as a personal must.

 

Personal and Official

 

 

The former is what I feel

The latter is a must

And mixing up the two of these

Has led to distrust.

 

Stewart Russell © December 17, 2024

 

I’m Amazed

 

 

I’m amazed

At the goings on

And the shocks I get

Almost every waking dawn.

 

I’m amazed

At promises made

That are ineffective

And absolutely to no avail.

 

I’m amazed

At the lot o’ talk

But in evident absentia

Is the accompanying walk.

 

I’m amazed

At the crime rate

Especially of shootings

And our concomitant state.

 

I’m amazed

At the resulting fear

And the no need to fear

By those who say they care.

 

 

I’m amazed

At the authority

That appears so clueless

In the running of our country.

 

I’m amazed

At the hopelessness

That crushes one’s hope

While mocking at their zest.

 

I’m amazed

At the little we do

And then seriously expect

A phenomenal harvest to accrue.

 

I’m amazed

That we believe

That a ban on toy guns

Will gun importation impede.

 

 

I’m amazed

That we believe

That the crime upsurge

Is to satisfy basic familial needs.

 

I’m amazed

At those people

That believe Government

Care about the most vulnerable.

 

I’m amazed

It is getting better

And life is getting easier

Yet people are becoming bitter.

 

I’m amazed

That the church

Feeling it is irrelevant

Is turning to secular experts.

 

 

I’m amazed

That its message

Now amazingly diluted

Leaves little substance to salvage.

 

I’m amazed

That immorality

Is now the new reality

With the dulling of sensibility.

 

I’m amazed

That I am amazed

That we are at this phaze

With so many walking in a daze.

 

Senses numbed

And outlook bleak

And is getting worse

At this very time as we speak.

 

Stewart Russell © December 19, 2024

 

The World’s Truth

 

 

The world’s truth

Can be quite confusing

And I must add

Often quite amusing.

 

Of course, the world’s truth

As we know it

Is alternative facts:

A generous daily diet.

 

It is one misnomer

That is a reality,

It is the world’s reality

And its present futility.

 

 

Alternative facts are:

Another truth

Or a different truth

Depending on the proof.

 

It is relative to persons

As well as to time,

Yours is still truth

Even if different from mine.

 

It happened at three

No, at five-past,

Just different truths

On the same path.

 

The only absolute truth

Is there is no absolute truth

So, on the premise of this

Everyone has a booth.

 

 

Enquire within

If truth is your quest,

We do it better than any

Our truth is the best.

 

A mockery you say

But still you are hooked,

Not easy to differentiate

Confidante from crook.

 

It is reasonably acceptable

To mix up the facts

But when it relates to truth

That’s the wrong track.

 

The world’s truth is a lie!

One colossal lie

That started when it said,

“Creator God, we defy.”

 

That which was a lie

Is now today’s truth,

The Bible is no benchmark-

Bring another proof.

 

Stewart Russell © September 15, 2020

 

“Forward March!”

 

 

“Forward march!”

Is the clarion call,

As long as you are born again

It's to you and all.

 

By the centre,

It is, “Forward march,”

With the sword of the Spirit

And a faithful heart.

 

Marching in time

With our Commander,

Captain of heaven’s hosts

And evil’s vanquisher.

 

“Forward march!”

To conquer the foe

So, the lost, their Redeemer,

May come to know.

 

Though conflict rages

Without and within,

We will still have the victory

Over the devil and sin.

 

“Forward march!”

And jettison the baggage

While trusting the Holy Spirit

To ably manage.

 

 

 “Forward march!”

In Twenty-Twenty-Five,

Marching together as a unit

To definitely thrive.

 

Forgiving past disputes

Yet learning from them,

Let us all be in “Forward march!”

To evade this problem.

 

For we are God’s army:

Meaning, the born-again,

And God will always be with us

In joy and through pain.

 

Leaving none behind

Whether weak or strong

But in agape love and Christian unity

Bringing each other along.

 

Sharing another’s burden

Fulfilling Christ’s law,

“Forward march,” together as one

Though differently flawed.

 

Strength in numbers

Like the proverbial sticks,

Opening the eyes of one another

To the enemy’s tricks.

 

Fearing for the weakest

And the one less comely

In the recognition that in Christ,

We are one family.

 

Having a vision

That goes beyond self,

Seeing beyond one’s own growth

To the body’s health.

 

 

We are in it together;

“Together”: the buzz word,

Yes, forward we march together

With vision unobscured.

 

You, guarding my back

And I, protecting yours,

Alert always for opportunities

That is, for open doors.

 

More than just a slogan

Must be “Forward march”

Or we have inadvertently retreated

Right from the start.

 

Valuing one and all

Despite personal perception

And being aware of the danger

Of self-gratification.

 

 

None is a Samaritan

And none is a Jew

But brothers and sisters in Christ,

Both me and you.

 

Eliminate all biases

And all prejudices

And let’s not judge like Pharisees

Or Sadducees.

 

But in honour

Preferring one another

For a cup of water in Jesus’ name

Is to God’s honour.

 

“Forward march!” as one,

As in the Trinity

And the gates of hell will yield

Under this unity.

 

And so, I will end this

Just like I began,

Entreating we build one another

Not body slam.

 

“Forward march!”

It’s the clarion call,

As long as you are born again

It is to you and all.

 

Stewart Russell © December 6, 2024