Potholes at Night

 

Take note I beg you

Of the potholes in the day

So that when you drive at night

You won’t have to pay.

 

Pay to buy a new tyre

Or maybe purchase a rim

For given the numerous potholes,

At night it’s pretty grim.

 

Calling for a pothole app

I’ve received no response

But have had two damaged tyres:

Not just once.

 

 

Both were new tyres:

The 2nd replacing the 1^st,

And this happened in the day;

Potholes are a curse.

 

Moreso in the night

Since you cannot see as well,

Unless you have brighter lights

Only then you can tell.

 

Some roads are smooth

Then suddenly, you get a hole

And not a normal one, do note,

But a huge pothole.

 

And especially at night

You feel it in your head,

I tell you, potholes in Bim at night

Are seriously dread.

 

Some have brighter lights

To see better at nights

But many of our older road users

Claim this is not right.

 

 

Bright lights are a problem

And I can understand

But I had to fight fire with fire

And decided on a plan.

 

I upgraded my lights

Especially to see a pothole

And also, when people are walking

At the side of the road.

 

I drive mostly on dim

Especially on the highway

And I try to keep in my memory

Potholes from in the day.

 

I have also taken note

Of especially large potholes

And I can tell you most assuredly,

Some are months old.

 

One on Thornbury Hill

Has been there for a while

With a few on the ABC Highway

Thus, becoming a style.

 

 

I have taken pictures

Of some of them

And that one on Thornbury Hill

Is a serious problem.

 

There is an added danger

With the myriad potholes,

Particularly in the rainy season

Are bush overgrown roads.

 

 

Making it more difficult

Especially driving at night

Trying to avoid hitting a pedestrian

By shifting to the right.

 

This requires some skill

As well as to be able to see

To avoid pothole and pedestrian

With practiced dexterity.

 

I use practiced deliberately

Given the frequency

Of these testing circumstances

And their gravity.

 

Potholes at night

Moreso than in the day,

Will test a person’s driving skill

In a most exacting way.

 

Improve the lighting

On your motor vehicle

And do not consider reasonableness

As being fickle.

 

It is important to see

In the day as well as at night

To avoid those numerous potholes

Which have become a fright.

 

And to do so safely

Without causing a collision,

Improve the lighting where possible

To improve your vision.

 

And to the Government:

Take potholes seriously!

Declare war on them from today

And do so expeditiously.

 

Do it for the tourists

And Barbadians will benefit,

Rid this country of the potholes

Before the tourists quit.

 

Let potholes at night

Become a worry of the past

In our nation’s quest, Madam PM,

To become first class.

 

Stewart Russell © June 10, 2025

 

 

Dreaming

 

I always dreamt before I slept

In the still watches of the night,

I dreamt of how it could have been

And how I could put it right.

O yes, I would be wide-awake

As I dreamt the night away

Hearing the clock tick the seconds

Long into the next day.

My dream would be reflective

Of the opportunities I missed

And how I planned to make it up

With my prioritized list.

Often too I would live the dream

As I lay upon my bed

Wishing and hoping all the time

It would not be just my head.

I have heard many people say

That dreaming was for the night

Not to be confused with daydreaming

When at work it wasn’t right.

Daydreaming was not permissible

So I did mine in the night

When I dreamt of what could be

To blot out my real life plight.

Often too I would go to sleep

And dream the very same dream

And then awake at the light of day

And be back to the real life scene.

How I wished it could happen

Just like it did in my dream:

The dream before I went to sleep

To off set my real life scene.

For life is more of a nightmare

When it doesn’t reflect your dream,

No wonder psychiatrists prescribe

It is sometimes good to scream.

Just like you would in a nightmare

As a result of your fright,

Do the same in your real life

As you reflect upon your plight.

For the reason that we daydream

Be it in the night or in the day,

Is when the life we currently live

Rolls out in a different way.

For I wouldn’t dream before I sleep

If I were living out my dream

For then my dream would be a nightmare

And a justified reason to scream.

I was typing this at 2:43 a.m.

When no doubt you were asleep,

I don’t know the time you’re reading now

But into my life you’ve had a peep.

The times that I am awake

When you are sleeping sound,

No doubt having your real dreams

In the land where dreams abound.

We are conscious in our daydreams

Maybe just barely

But in our dreaming when it comes

We do so unconsciously.

Permit me therefore to daydream

Especially when I do at night,

In the early watches of the morning

That’s how I deal with my plight.

Stewart Russell © July 2018