Come and Gone

 

 

February came

And February is gone

And like this month of love

We too must move on.

 

Expressions of love

In February for so,

Now it is entirely up to March

To catch the overflow.

 

February is gone

But we should not quit

Even though much of the love

Was cosmetic.

 

This year just begun

Is now two months clear,

For those who are lagging

You must up a gear.

 

I’ll remember February

Very specially

On account of a special gift

To Lyn and me.

 

Our first grandchild,

Semaj is his name,

We praise our Almighty Father

From whom he came.

 

Like my own father

And also like me,

The charming little Semaj

Was born in February.

 

February 27^th

Was the precise day

That this wonderful package

Was sent our way.

 

Mike is over the moon

And Leah too,

More praise to the Father-

She has come through.

 

What a package of love

In this month of love

Given to Michael and Leah

From God above.

 

February is gone

But Samaj is still here

And the fact that love is too

To me is clear.

 

 

February came

And February is gone

But in March, April, May, June…

Love marches on.

 

Stewart Russell © March 1, 2024

 

New Year's Trivia

 

 

Does anybody know

When a year is no longer new?

I’d say by the end of March,

How about you?

 

I guess you may think

That this is much too soon

But surely you can’t take it

Past the end of June.

 

By the end of June

A year surely cannot be new,

There cannot be anybody

Opposing this view.

 

 

The scale must tilt

For sure by the second half,

New Year greetings in July

Would make me laugh.

 

For truth be told,

A New Year cannot be old

And this is logical reasoning

I have been told.

 

An old New Year?

Why, that would be funny!

It certainly would be in July,

At least to me.

 

It’s not an oxymoron

The oxy would make sense

But moron would be very apt,

Hey, no offense!

 

In my humble opinion

I’d say no later than March,

Regarding New Year resolutions

One can still make a start.

 

 

Three months to begin

To make that new change

For New Year resolutions in July

I deem to be strange.

 

An Old Year-review

Is best done in the New,

Please do not wait until July

Before you do.

 

Stewart Russell © January 3, 2024

 

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

One-Quarter Gone

One of the quarters gone

Leaves three out of four,

If one quarter is gone

Then there are three to go.

In considering this

I shall present this year

But first the quarter concept

I believe this would be fair.

When we think of a quarter

We may think of a group

Or we may think of a whole

Neither is in dispute.

Of twelve months in a year

Three makes your quarter

But you won’t represent this

As though dealing with water.

A rectangle may be used

To represent your water,

With four equal levels indicated

Any one is your quarter.

With a year on the other hand

Divide twelve into four groups

The groups must be equal

So that no one can refute.

January, February and March

Have quickly gone,

April 1^st is the signal

The second quarter has dawned.

If you have a plan

For any project this year

During the next three quarters

You must take especial care.

Any quarter taken for granted

Will just flit away

And your project will have failed

At the end of the day.

  

A quarter can be a circle

 And that would make it a whole,

As in the case of our money

This I’m sure you know.

Hence a whole quarter is gone

In this present year

And there’s not much to show

For many I fear.

We must redeem the time

That is given us this day

So this quarter won’t be wasted

And regret comes our way.

Spend your quarters wisely

And the dollars will be all right,

There’s not much going around

That’s most people’s plight.

Recall your resolutions

At the beginning of this year,

Keep them always before you

And treat to them with care.

For one quarter has gone

Soon this one will be too,

If you still think you have time

You’d better change that view.

 Today is called All Fools’ Day

But you don't have to be a fool,

Similarly we are in Lent

So don’t be the devil’s tool.

Stewart Russell © April 1, 2019

December, the Icing on the Cake

Sometimes I wonder

Which month I like the best

Just then there is December

And February first among the rest.

March is ranked very highly

And so too are April and May

But right at the top of my list

Comes December with Christmas day.

In these there are celebrations

Of my household family members

But the icing on the cake

Oh, that is certainly December

Like a child I anticipate

The coming of the Christmas season

But as an adult I appreciate

That Jesus is the reason.

There is much discussion

Concerning the day of his birth

But far more important

Is the fact he came to earth.

Born of a lowly virgin

From a family of little repute

His teaching and even his miracles

Was cause for great dispute.

The celebration of his birth

Makes December my best month

For the coming of Jesus Christ

Turned my defeat into triumph.

December for the merchant

Is a bumper Christmas sales time

But for all the born again

It is the renewing of our mind.

December for the rum drinker

May be another free drink

But for the genuine Christian

It is a time to reflect and think.

  

December for the little child

Means a new and exciting toy

But for the one that has been saved

It’s a great and wonderful joy.

December for the reveller

Means a chance to revel again

But for the Christian believer

It points to the Saviour’s pain.

You can argue if you wish

Concerning the month and day

But if Jesus is not your reason

You are going the wrong way.

Let this therefore be the year

That you will always remember:

For the fact of your rebirth

Let it happen this December.

Though it’s the end of the year

It could be a new beginning for you:

New ideas and a brand new outlook

And an entirely different view.

May this December for you

Be the proverbial icing on the cake,

This month of great spiritual importance

Let it be your new birth date.

Stewart Russell © December 2018

Independence

Independence, Independence

The word that’s in the air,

Barbadians at home and abroad

Celebrating our fifty-second year.

Lighting up from November 1^st

The indication we have begun

One whole month of celebration

For every single bajan.

We are proud of this country

And thankful to Almighty God,

And for the progress we have made

We sound out a loud applause.

There’s much to shout about

Though some things make us sigh

But we have weathered many storms

And that we cannot deny.

 

 

With God’s help we have come afar

With His strength we will go on,

With faith in Him consistently

We will see the brighter dawn.

Independence, Independence

Let us lift our hearts to heaven

To the one who sent His Son

So that we might be forgiven.

He’s the centre of our puzzle

Without whom it can’t be fixed,

Failure will stare us in the face

If he is omitted from the mix.

It matters not how big we think

Or how great we think we are,

It is still the Almighty God

Who has brought us safe this far.

In times of progress and success

There is a tendency to forget

And later as we reflect

We do so with much regret.

  

We take this time today

And for everyday of this month

To reflect on the passage of time:

In failure and in triumph.

Learning the lessons of the former

And giving praise for the latter,

Doing our best on the climbs

And making up time on the flatter.

Independence, Independence

A charter to be pursued,

Interdependence when necessary

With those of a common view.

Never forgetting those values

That gave impetus to our cause…

Those long established morals

Which are enshrined in our laws.

So with heart and hand and voice

To the plough, to the plough, to the plough

Working assiduously for the “FUTURE”

While taking care of the “NOW”.

In unity and accord

And a firm conviction of purpose,

Agitating for the common good

Void of self-indulging fuss.

Independence, Independence

In this lovely month of November

Let us celebrate our country Barbados

And make this a time to remember.

Stewart Russell © November 2018