In A Split Second

 

 

In a split second

Your life can change,

A single unguarded moment

Everything rearranged.

 

Happened to me:

Not once but twice,

And the discomfort associated

I tell you is not nice.

 

August 18, 2019,

At King George Park,

Everything was going well

Then trouble start.

 

 

Called on to pray

I ran to the bandstand,

Slid across the smooth floor

And suddenly, blam!

 

A ruptured tendon

And I was laid up for days,

Therein was the first split second

That changed my ways.

 

May 6, 2025,

Yes, only yesterday,

Emerging from a change of mind-

What else can I say?

 

 

Stepped in the laundry

On some wet tiles,

Up-side-down I cat-spraddled,

Don’t you dare smile!

 

A very painful ankle

Is what I duly sustained

Add to that a swollen knee

And excruciating pain.

 

Two different split seconds

That changed my life

And in ways I did not plan for;

Oh, what strife!

 

 

It was the left leg before

Now it is the right,

Don’t tempt Mighty Gravity,

You will lose the fight.

 

I thank God

That nothing is broken,

Just a painful knee and ankle

And both still swollen.

 

Don’t you dare smirk

Because it happened to me

For you surely know as well as I do,

It can happen to anybody.

 

Please my friend,

Do take especial care

For accidents least expected,

Can happen anywhere.

 

 

In a split second

Your life can be changed

And your best laid out plans

Can be rearranged.

 

Stewart Russell © May 7, 2025

 

A One-Word Wonder

 

 

I was thinking about me

And if I could just write

One word to describe this poor old soul

And It suddenly came to light.

 

Yes, I am a one-word wonder

And if only you knew

You would quickly agree

And conclude that is true.

 

A one-word wonder

And I still wonder why

God chose this wretched one

To fit him for the sky.

 

When things become rough

As they so often do,

I would ask myself

Why me and not you?

But regarding this one word

Which spells something good,

I thank God without ceasing

And I know I should.

 

I do not deserve it

This one-word description

But because of God’s great love

I have eternal salvation.

 

A one-word description

Of one once sin-enslaved

But by God’s wonderful grace

I am now saved.

 

Now, as in present continuous,

Though now is not a verb

But read on further, grammarians,

And you won’t think it’s absurd.

 

 

This one-word description

To me is especially vital

Ever since an encounter with Jesus

That gave me the title.

 

I would not be surprised

If by now you haven’t guessed

What that one word is

But it wasn’t meant to be a test.

 

In a moment I will tell you

Please don’t go away,

There’s just one thing more

That I feel I must say.

 

The title of this poem

Though particularly appropriate

Is not the actual title;

That is a fact I must state.

 

If I had started with the title

It would have lessened the impact

As well as your anticipation

And that too is a fact.

 

So, the one-word wonder

That up to now has been hidden

Comes right at the end

And it is simply: “FORGIVEN”.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2020