Misnomer

 

 

I know a famous woman

Misnomer is her name,

She is known for popular appellations

I find rather strange.

 

Like artificial intelligence

Which is not natural

But has become a topical buzz term

On the lips of many people.

 

It’s almost oxymoronic

When one examines such terms

But Misnomer is quite happy with them

As far as I have learned.

 

Another is a dead faith

Which is really non-existent,

‘Tis an obvious misnomer to reason

But we are yet persistent.

 

 

I guess James thought so too

As in the book of James

But to get some to clearly understand

He played Misnomer’s game.

 

Faith is never dead

Though, often misplaced,

And in every single individual

You will find a trace.

 

The faith that God gives

Is known as saving faith

By this we obtain free salvation

Aided by God’s grace.

 

So, if you are saved

And you know this for a fact

Then your faith can never be dead,

It is always intact.

 

Here is yet another

I heard from Misnomer,

She names them particularly well;

I will give that to her.

 

 

I’m sure you have heard

About the living dead

But such I assure you most definitely

Must be in your head.

 

Just another occasion

That Misnomer is at work,

When it comes to these matters

She is the expert.

 

Morning sickness

Can happen at any time,

Not to the male gender, I assure you,

So, with this I am fine.

 

 

Jellyfish do not exist

Misnomer can tell you this,

Check her out when you get a chance,

It’s also on her list.

 

One obvious omission:

Jellyfish all lack gills

But given the obstinacy of humans

It will be jellyfish still.

 

Hi there, Misnomer,

Are there anymore?

Yes, this one will make you laugh

Till your jaw become sore.

 

Check the body through,

Do not miss a zone

And nowhere will you ever find

A single funny bone.

 

You can ask Misnomer

She is quite the expert,

She will tell you there is none

Even if it hurts.

 

 

Call me a nut if you will

But a peanut is not a nut,

Rather, it is a legume, my friend-

You are in a rut.

 

Misnomer gets around

And she will pass by you,

Just have a friendly chat with her

And you’ll change your view.

 

About misnomers

Whether a term or name,

And you can trust her, I tell you,

She’s top of her game.

 

Stewart Russell © August 29, 2025

 

Tolerance

 

 

A very misunderstood word

To most if not all

And the concept even worse

Is this term so called.

 

In these pluralistic times

Tolerance is on every lip

Yet the more we publicize it

The more it eludes or grip.

 

Its definition is very narrow

And particularly individualized,

It is defined by person or group

I have come to realize.

 

What tolerance means to one

Is totally different from another

And, as a matter of fact,

Therein lies the bother.

 

Its opposite is intolerance

But then again, you knew

Yet tolerance is only regarded

When it comes to your own view.

 

Tolerance is now synonymous

With self and selfishness,

My position must be tolerated

For my position is the best.

 

Tolerance is one way

It is not about to and fro,

Don’t even mention reciprocation

Tolerance is a one-way flow.

 

You accuse me of intolerance

Yet you do not tolerate me,

I may be guilty but so are you

I know you won’t agree.

 

 

Tolerance is not in agreement

But agreeing to disagree,

Doing so in an agreeable way

And not in hostility.

 

It is more about persons

Not necessarily about ideas,

So you can still be my friend

Though I don’t see it your way.

 

Tolerance is now a misnomer

The practice is now extinct

And some will even take your life

If you so much as blink.

 

If you call me intolerant

Perhaps, you are as well,

Since it takes on to know one

I am sure you can tell.

 

I am not going to celebrate

Your difference in opinion with me

But we can share mutual respect

And disagree agreeably.

 

If two agree in everything

One might be a fool,

Afraid to have a personal view

He is the other’s tool.

 

Tolerance in disagreement

Means a door is still open,

Once dialogue is possible

Tolerance is a token.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019

 

Half Truth Is Whole Lie

 

 

I received this one today

Even though I knew it before,

But for some reason I cannot tell

It grabbed me even more.

 

I believe it was the Holy Spirit:

His timing is always on time

And I am fully convinced of this

Re how this impacts my mind.

 

“A little leaven,” the Word says,

“Leaveneth the whole lump.”

Hence, the use of half-truths to get by

Must certainly be debunked.

 

There is no darkness in light

For light dispels all darkness

But shadows you will definitely see

Because of light’s brightness.

 

In the same very way

The truth will show up a lie,

And wherever the slightest falsehood

It will be seen through truth’s eye.

 

 

Half-truth is a whole lie

Which makes half-truth a misnomer,

Half-truth really does not exist

Though some think it is clever.

 

There is no truth in a lie:

I know that will be hard to take

But when one passes off a lie as truth,

That one becomes a fake.

 

Half-truths do not exist

And neither do fake-truths

But given the direction in which we are headed,

People will present a false proof.

 

Stewart Russell © August 7, 2021

 

Wrong People in the Wrong Places

Wrong people in the wrong places:

What do we really mean?

Square pegs in round holes is

Often used to describe this scene.

Wrong people and wrong places

Do you see what I am getting at?

Everything is wrong here

And nothing can change this fact.

Are wrong people right for anything?

Where do they fit if they are wrong?

Can a place be found for them?

Or is a misfit only where they are strong?

Can a right place be found?

Can a wrong person be in a right place?

Wrong people in the right places

Even that doesn’t sound in good taste.

Wrong people in the wrong places,

This cliché is so often abused

That the dunce as well as the educated

Feels quite smug in propagating its misuse. 

It just doesn’t make any sense

O dear simpleton, can’t you see?

All right!  I can see the wrong person

But where O where can that wrong place be?

Let us study a scenario for just a minute,

Someone is put a particular position

But he or she doesn’t do well

Even though with high recommendation.

Perhaps he or she is wrong for the position

But tell me what’s wrong with the place?

Does that wrong person make the place wrong too?

No sense in that; not even a trace.

Was that position seriously needed?

Or was it just politically expedited?

If the place was needed it can’t be wrong,

I hope on this we are all united.

Wrong people in the wrong places

That just does not make any sense

So throw out the over worked cliché

For all who use it there is no defense.

Square pegs in wrong holes?

I may be willing to accept

But wrong people in wrong places

I most definitely reject.

It’s a misnomer if ever there was one

 And I guess you know what that means,

It means a way of saying nothing

It’s better that we decide to come clean.

The place is right but the man is not

And there is someone to fill the spot

Hence the right man for the right place

That’s the way to improve the lot.

The right people in the right places

It’s for that we need to aim

And when we do I am sure we will find

Wrong people in wrong places are not to blame.

For it can never happen, that cliché of sorts

When things never seem to go right

Wrong people in the wrong places - not at all

It’s the wrong man that causes the blight.

So look again; consider what you say,

Contemplate it from head to toe,

This saying, perhaps centuries old

Doesn’t make sense; I hope you can see this is so.

Wrong people in the right places

Now who is to blame?

I leave that for the political experts,

They are best at playing the blame game.

Square pegs in round holes?

Now I can give that a thought

For I know at least one situation

In which square pegs were sought.

Remember the old board and easel

And when round pegs could not be found?

A pair of improvised square pegs worked,

They certainly were not round.

Square pegs work depending on the job

Though with not an exact fit,

The board was kept aloft as though with round pegs

And that chalkboard did not even slip.

Not so in the world of work

In which sound leadership is required,

When such mistakes occur as they often do

The misfits should be removed or be fired.

Wrong people in the wrong places

No!  Such as I have shown is impossible

But the reality is what the reality is:

Right places but filled with wrong people.

Stewart Russell © September 2017