New Clothes No Clothes

 

 

See my new clothes!

No seams, No threads, the best!

Extremely expensive:

Paying more for less!

 

Be it Carnival in T&T

Or Kadooment in Bim,

New clothes are no clothes;

Do note my spin.

 

It is trick or treat

For the easily misled

Regarding the many disillusions

We are daily fed.

 

Fake it till you make it!

Believe it and you have it!

Such new clothes are no clothes:

Not a single stitch!

 

 

It’s in the church too

And very prominent as well,

Just close your eyes and make believe

I hear believers tell.

 

Can you see what I see?

Just have faith,

My friend, it is as simple as that

To keep pace.

 

Man, it is like magic:

Illusion, delusion and trick,

Those new clothes are no clothes

Don’t you trip!

 

Especially you ladies,

Please pay close attention!

Your make-believe new clothes

Are a no invention.

 

 

Much exists in our mind

And also in our dreams

And very often in today’s world

It is what it seems.

 

The apparent is real

In our very unreal world

And in the most unlikely places

There are fake pearls.

 

And so, we step out

Feeling mighty great,

Believing we are what we are not

Unaware of our state.

 

A fool’s paradise:

In new brand no clothes,

And at the morally sane and stable

We turn up our nose.

 

For they are naked

And can’t acquire our attire,

In our new clothes no clothes

We advertise for hire.

 

To the highest bidder

We are dressed to kill

And in our new clothes no clothes

We live to thrill.

 

Whatever your imagination,

Just believe it is real

And ignore that innocent child

That says you’ve failed.

 

 

Even in their fantasy

Children see our nakedness

And are very quick at times

To point out our mess.

 

New clothes no clothes!

Be careful what you wear,

Having on absolutely nothing

Is far worse than a tear.

 

Revelation 3:17

 

Because thou sayest,

I am rich,

And increased with goods,

And have need of nothing;

 

And knowest not

That thou art wretched,

And miserable, and poor,

And blind, and naked.

 

Stewart Russell © March 12, 2025

 

Lies Ahead or Lies Ahead

 

 

What lies ahead?

We cannot and do not know,

The future is in the Master’s hand

And He has ordered it so.

 

God’s Word reveals the truth

We need to know in our time,

The time allotted to every human

As reflected in the daily grind.

 

We do not know what lies ahead

Except for what’s revealed,

Revealed through the Holy Word

To them that dare believe.

 

Some dare to make-believe

They know what lies ahead

But they that be alive know no more

Than they that be right now dead.

 

None knows what lies ahead:

Not a single woman or man!

But God does, His Word assures us

And accordingly, he planned.

 

 

What lies are ahead

Is distinctively different,

Compared to what we started with,

This has a dishonest bent.

 

The first case spoke to facts

That to us are yet unknown,

The latter speaks to stark untruths

That are not yet in our zone.

 

 

Predictions of every sort,

Even prophecies in the church,

Lies present, past and future

Told by lying experts.

 

Lies ahead as in the verb

Versus lies ahead as in the noun,

Regarding the latter I am confused;

I guess you could call me clown.

 

Lies ahead as in the future

Lies ahead as being fake,

The former looms unpredictably

Both are too much to take.

 

What lies ahead is fateful

And what lies are ahead are too,

Both seem to be inextricably linked

At least to me, if not you.

 

Stewart Russell © February 20, 2023

 

Reprogramming

 

 

Due to the change to which we’ve changed

There is a desperate need for change,

Perhaps a change back to a change before

Before we all become deranged.

 

Best said, would be reprogramming

For our circuitry is all messed up,

Too many dried joints over time

And we are reveling in the muck.

 

Hollywood is a terminal disease

And as a result so is television

And what is being thrown at our children

Is really the devil’s vision.

 

Even the news is x-rated

But grows higher in the populace’s rating

And like a body starved of water

We are rapidly dehydrating.

 

Hence, this call for reprogramming

We are desperately in need,

Please give a contemplative hearing

And halt the negative feed.

 

The feed of pornography

And the illicit sex trade,

The feed of adultery

And the fornication parade...

 

The feed of broken promises

As the acceptable way of life,

The feed of gossip and scandal

That is breeding so much strife...

 

The feed of licentious activity

As is done at a particular time

While our children are allowed to observe

Lewdness of every kind.

 

The feed of bodily gyrations

In sparse uninhibited attire

Teasing the imagination of young and old

And stirring up lustful fires.

 

The feed of dishonesty

Presented as acceptable and clever,

In loosing the depraved cravings of self

To access this world’s filthy lucre.

 

The feed of gambling

As a means of getting-rich-quick

And that survival is especially dependent

On one’s ability to be slick.

A reprogramming in the church

That has been caught up in the world’s web,

A return to the beatitudes

And being salt and light instead.

 

A dismantling of the satellite feed

For the manna which is from heaven

And from the feed of instant gratification

For the knowledge of sins forgiven.

 

Feeding the whole wide world

With the wonderful bread of life

And the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ

That saves the penitent from sin’s strife.

 

A safe heaven in this world

And in the world to come

When God programs the affairs of men

In His eternal kingdom.

 

Stewart Russell © November 2019

 

As in the Days of Lot

 

 

Sodom and Gomorrah

Just like modern day,

Wickedness abounding

Despising God’s way.

 

Woman and man

Just doing their own thing,

God’s enduring word

Away they fling.

 

An urge for the unnatural

Burning in their hearts,

Homogenous affection

From the natural depart.

 

Revelry and merry making

Pleasure in sordid acts,

An unmistakable signal

Of a satanic pack.

 

Nothing sacrosanct

Nothing un-permissive,

Live to your heart’s desire

Even truth is relative.

 

A frightening example

Of Sodom and Gomorrah,

That is our world

No shame, much horror.

 

Like a monstrous aircraft

In a nose dive

Destined for destruction

That will soon arrive.

 

 

LGBTQ

Attracting many, not a few

And several in the church

Joining that crew.

 

Blatant now, not subtle

No longer closeted,

An alternative lifestyle

Now to be accepted.

 

In days gone by

As in those days of Lot

Modern day society

Now holds that spot.

 

And those who resist

And bad behavior convict

Are deemed intolerant

And homophobic.

 

As in the days of Lot

So also in our time,

Perhaps, for the believer

This should be a sign.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2019