Whither April Showers

 

 

No chance of April showers

April has gone away,

The month of May and maybe

Begins on this very day.

 

Commonly known as May Day

From work workers will take a rest,

Labour Day it's also known as

With entertainment at its best.

 

Take Barbados for example:

Picnic spots will be rammed

And these workers will take a breather

To have their annual May Day jam.

 

Per chance should showers come

Remember what month begins today,

They can’t be April showers

For these don’t come in May.

 

As for me, I am staying put

And you maybe able to guess why,

I am not as young as I used to be

And me this heat would fry.

 

 

It is truly energy sapping

And there’re no showers to cool it down,

No chance of April showers in May

Unless April comes back round.

 

Not in a day, I guess you’d say,

April was only yesterday,

Well, I would be extremely contented

If showers do come in May.

 

Or I could wait till June

For some showers to cool me down,

Do recall it’s in the month of June

Hurricane season comes around.

 

 

It’s until the 31^st of November

I’m sure I heard a Minister say

So, whether at home or at a picnic spot,

Do have an enthralling May Day!

 

 

And if per chance it starts to rain

Remember today is May Day,

These won’t be April showers for sure,

For April can’t come in May.

 

Stewart Russell © May 1, 2024

 

It’s May Already!

 

 

Can you believe it?

It’s May already

The year having just begun!

And before we can settle

Into the month

May will be already done.

 

It may or may not

After all it is May

And ‘may’ speaks to uncertainty

But rest most assuredly

That June will arrive,

Even if not for you or me.

 

The first day of May

Is called “Labour Day”

Though not for "women in labour"

So, don’t call the Union

If you know of such a one,

There’ll be no such favour.

 

Enjoy your day

As I shall enjoy mine

For it will be over in a flash!

This year is slipping by

At such a tremendous rate,

It’s more like a 100m dash.

Just a short poem

On this special ‘May Day’

As we start this month of May,

Have a great day!

Be safe and be blessed

As you go about your way!

 

Stewart Russell © May 1, 2023

 

2023

 

 

One whole day has gone

In the year 2023

And before long we can expect

To be into February.

 

It’s the month of lovers

And of the February-born

So, expect in the first fourteen days

A red and white storm.

 

The colours of Valentine

Will be dominant at this time

And especially the ladies among us,

Love will be on their mind.

 

 

There will be many holidays

In fact, today is one,

The next is Errol Barrow Day

And soon that will be gone.

 

Twelve I count in all

Ending with Boxing day

And possibly a next will be added

If it goes the people’s way.

 

Republic Day it could be

To honour Barbados the Republic,

To be the same day as Independence

Many say it doesn’t fit.

 

Merchants like these festivities

And we don’t have to ask why

But for those that are yet puzzled,

Sales go through the sky.

 

Before, it was mostly Christmas

With Independence and Valentine,

But then Mothers’ Day took off

And the others fell in line.

With this amount of activity

The year goes by pretty fast

And before you can say cock-robin,

Another year is past.

 

Plus, people are so busy

That a day seems rather short

And much of what they have planned

They are likely to abort.

 

One whole day has gone

And soon, two, three, four and five

And before the dust can settle,

Errol Barrow Day will arrive.

 

Then Good Friday and Easter

Not to mention Mothers’ Day,

National Heroes Day and Labour Day

Whit Monday’s next in the way.

 

Emancipation and Kadooment:

Both in the month of August,

Then our Independence celebration

With all its related fuss.

 

Yes, we are in November,

Christmas is just a month away

And immediately after Independence,

Count-down to Christmas Day!

 

Suddenly it seems, 2023 is gone

And with it, some loved ones too,

No different from the year before

As in the year 2022.

 

As we gaze across 2023

Full of dreams and expectations,

Let’s be aware of the thief of time-

His name is procrastination.

 

Go with God and He’ll go with you

No matter how fast or slow

And whatever the outcomes of 2023,

His inner peace you’ll know.

 

Stewart Russell © December 2, 2023

 

May the 1st

May 1st but the fifth month

Can you really believe this?

Four months have gone so quickly

There must be one I have missed.

February has Marched on

With April there was no Maybe,

April is definitely behind us

Use your God-given eyes to see.

You could either continue to sit 

And let the remainder flit by

Or make the most of sunny May

Since nothing beats a try.

March 4^th is the only command

There is in a given year,

We all should be doing that

Especially now May is here.

In a flash, May will be gone

And there won’t be much to show,

If we are to March 4^th

It is time to wake up and go.

June is on the horizon

Like a ship coming into berth,

In another thirty-one days

It will be June the 1st.

Will the lament be the same

As in the months gone by?

“Oh, how quickly time passes!”

Will that be the continual sigh?

February has followed January

While April has Marched on

May will March right up to June

And then June 1^st will dawn.

We are called to be militant

And as soldiers we must March,

If February can March we can too

May the 1^st says to start.

  

Sounds like the name of a king

May the 1^st I mean, 

March 4^th is his command

So get up go full steam.

Stewart Russell © May 1^st2019