My Poor Memory

 

 

I have a poor memory

That won’t let me forget

Especially things that are negative

I haven’t dealt with yet.

 

I had it from at school

Relating to my homework,

I forgot, I would tell my teacher,

But this never worked.

 

I wished it were true

But then I knew it was not,

For whenever I tried this trick

I always got caught.

 

 

My poor memory

Goes by another name,

Known as a convenient memory

But it is all the same.

 

Some would often say,

“Oh, that one slipped me,”

Re what they wanted to forget,

Though unconvincingly.

 

But a poor memory

Only works for the bad

When sorry-state situations

Are all I have had. 

 

 

Who wants to remember

The bad they want to forget,

Especially horrible memories

Unresolved yet?

 

A poor memory is best

To deal with such

Though trying hard to forget

You remember as much.

 

 

Forget it and move on

Is the advice often given

Regarding unfortunate situations

Whenever they happen.

 

Though easily said

But very difficult to do,

I’ve adopted a poor memory,

How about you?

 

Stewart Russell © March 16, 2025

 

Ambiguity of a Setup

 

Setup is a familiar word

To most of us

And of course, in different ways,

It could create a fuss.

 

Hence, the ambiguity

That I will write about,

I just hope when I am through

I don’t get put out.

 

In the doghouse, I mean,

You know the term:

Meaning a place where you get put

When you are too firm.

 

It could be a setup

If you see what I mean,

A trap you were not aware of:

A nightmare not a dream.

 

We both planned together

With a promise in mind

But the partner I am looking for,

I cannot find.

 

He’s gone with the cash

For the job we both did

And I can’t find him anywhere;

He’s gone off the grid.

 

The dog was friendly;

That’s what he told me,

Now, you can check my lower leg

And tell me what you see.

 

It was definitely a setup

And I fell for it,

If you take note of the trend

It has become a habit.

 

 

I have a good setup

You must come and see it,

I actually built it myself;

It is where I sit.

 

He is set up for life

Having won the Lotto,

And he gets calls from people

He does not even know.

 

 

He set up the circuitry

And timed every switch,

And it functioned the entire night

Without a glitch.

 

Hence, two setups

With different outcomes,

One negative, the other positive

Thus, either can be done.

 

Because of the ambiguity

It should be specified

That one can mirror the other

As in a disguise.

 

So, be on the lookout

For all future setups,

Be sure you are reading right,

Don’t be dumbstruck.

 

Stewart Russell © October 28, 2024

 

Strange Designations

 

 

There are three designations

In a particular discipline

I want to call to your attention

With an intriguing spin.

 

We’ve all attended school

And we have learnt a lot

But the more we learn of a matter

It always seems a mere drop.

 

That particular discipline

Is none other than Mathematics,

A subject I am thrilled about

Due to its number tricks.

 

The focus, however, today,

Is nothing about numbers

But rather, three strange designations

I wish for you to consider.

 

Please focus with me now

On the topic of fractions

And remember the title of this poem

Is: Strange Designations.

 

No doubt you are thinking

What could he possibly mean

But bear in mind my inquisitive friend,

This you’ve often seen.

 

I have long discovered

In my exploration of fractions

It is never considered improper

To deal in the vulgar and common.

 

 

Yet in our everyday living

This is an absolute “no-no”

And if a pupil should be so daring,

He’d be sure to know.

 

No offense is being proffered

And none is taken, I trust,

But I consider raising this matter

An absolute must.

 

The parts of a fraction

Are its numerator and denominator:

If the numerator is bigger

That fraction is improper.

 

As is designated in life

Similarly, it is with factions,

Top heaviness is deemed improper

But is also considered common.

 

Two designations so far

And now for the third and last,

While the first two may be excused

The third is of a poor class.

 

 

 

Common may be positive

But never so with vulgar,

In whatever shape, form or fashion

Vulgar is improper.

 

I can understand common

And I can understand improper

But however hard I try,

I can’t understand vulgar.

 

Why call a fraction vulgar?

Isn’t common, common enough?

Tell me, what is its origin?

This one is really tough.

 

You are absolutely right!

I have nothing better to do,

That’s why I write and write and write,

If you were like me, Won’t you?

 

Stewart Russell © June 3, 2024

 

Looking to Christ in ‘24

 

 

Well, as it now stands

We are into 2024

And many are the fallen ones

That are here no more.

 

Two points, I dare say,

Define where we now stand:

Either at the brow, or at the foot

On the other hand.

 

If at the brow of 2024

Then the outlook is impressive,

If, however at the foot,

That may be negative.

 

At the brow we look out

While at the foot we look up,

At the foot is more daunting

Like a bitter cup.

 

At the foot is a deficit,

At the brow speaks of success-

Harping on the past in 2024

Will bring us stress.

 

 

The key to 2024

Is looking unto the Christ,

That middle man at Calvary

Who paid our sin’s price.

 

So, whether looking up

Or on the top looking out,

The way forward is Jesus Christ

And this is without doubt.

 

It depends therefore,

On whom we looking to,

The arm of flesh will fail us

Whether of me or you.

 

 

Heavenly Father, I pray,

Help me keep my eyes on You

For without you in 2024

There’s nothing I can do.

 

I pray for my brother

And my sister reading this,

That re what they desire this year

You’ll be first on their list.

 

Stewart Russell © January 2, 2024

Two Conflicting Terms

 

The English Language is fraught

With conflicting terms

And there are two in particular

That in my mind burn.

 

Not in the sense

I did not notice them before

But rather the fact

They are being used more.

 

Let me give a few examples

Regarding some conflicting terms,

That the context is critical

We should also learn.

 

Grade is to level but also an incline

Show or hide is screen based on time,

Fix is to restore but also to castrate

Like a house or deny a dog a mate.

 

Clip may mean fasten or detach

Bolt is secure or a horse hard to catch,

Dusting is to add tiny particles to solve a crime

Or remove particles so an item may shine.

 

These are six examples

According to my count

And outside of a contextual analysis,

Confusion will amount.

 

And now to the two

That are rife these days,

They are sanction and sellout

And both are about trade.

 

Let’s start with sanction

But before you sanction me,

I’d rather have your approval

Than your animosity.

 

 

 

Thus, sanction can be positive

Or it can be negative too,

It may be a form of approval

Or of a punitive view.

 

NIFCA sanctioned an item

That was distasteful in their view

And at the same time gave sanction

To the LGBTQ.

 

This minority grouping

Punches far above its weight

And any criticism of it whatsoever

Is seen as one of hate.

 

You can say whatever you like

About my lifestyle and me

But if you risk it with this minority

You are sanctioned invariably.

 

Freedom of expression

Is being taken from some

But for others right here in Barbados

There’s no limit to their run.

 

Sanction is to give them approval

While for others it is not,

Permission is cruelly withdrawn

And sanction is their lot.

 

Sanction has trickled down

From big country to small:

Local, regional and international

But this is not all.

 

It is a controlling agent

Used to subjugate subordinates

Whether real or perceived

But sanctioned at any rate.

 

This brings us to the next term

Which by trade is also connected,

The positive we will definitely take

But the negative will be rejected.

 

 

With the threat of sanctions

Sellout may be the course taken,

It is what Judas Iscariot did

And then bypassed being forgiven.

 

He went out, the Bible says,

And hang himself,

Similar to what sellout juxtaposes

Regarding economic health.

 

Signing on to an agreement

That has not been properly thought out

Is nothing short, in my opinion,

Than a national sellout.

 

 

Even if it is a trade agreement

But it will cost you your soul,

It’s better to look again before leaping

And losing control.

 

A sellout of this nature

Constitutes a negative sellout

And the lure that is used to attract

Must be never in doubt.

 

 

Sellout can be positive

And this kind should be the goal,

For of course, it is not the kind

That will cost your soul.

 

I see people on the highway

Plying their trade,

Especially in these hard times

Sellout is the way…

 

To feed their families

And to educate them too,

Wouldn’t you want that sellout?

Tell me, won’t you?

 

The cane farmer and his canes

And the farmer and his crops-

Wouldn’t it be good if we buy local

So sellout can be their lot?

 

This is a far better sellout

Than the sellout of country

That is likely to happen to Barbados

If we don’t act speedily.

 

Stewart Russell © November 22, 2023

Nothing Exploded

 

 

Can this be true and false

At one and the same time?

Please don’t rush to an opinion…

Mull over it in your mind.

 

Nothing exploded!

What truly are you hearing?

What came into your mind

After your first reading?

 

Was it the same meaning

When read the second time

Or did something somewhat different

Come into your mind?

 

I wish you could tell me now

Your first response

When you first read the question

Posed at verse number 1.

 

No doubt it was the negative

That you saw at the first

But then the positive emerged

When next you rehearsed.

 

 

Like a lesson in the lab

When a loud explosion is heard

But that nothing exploded

Need not be absurd.

 

Nothing exploded meaning

It came out of nowhere,

Doesn’t this sound familiar to you

Since we are now here?

 

You see, nothing can explode

Once there is a lot of it,

And it can happen at least once

But not as a habit.

 

 

Here, nothing is something

In massive amounts

And this would surely vindicate

The evolutionist’s account.

 

Nothing exploded

Could also mean…

There was no such explosion-

No such scene.

 

In other words, it’s ludicrous

To even presuppose

That nothing exploded

Is worthy to oppose.

 

It was nothing that exploded!

Do you hear it again?

Even to imagine this

Is a no brain.

 

 

Nothing exploded:

Meaning no such event in time-

Nothing exploded:

Meaning what atheists opine.

 

Same statement

Appearing both false and true…

Both an impossibility but a reality

Never, yet now not new!

 

If I appear to be rambling,

It simply means you are not,

If nothing exploded

You’re on the same spot.

 

Stewart Russell © May 20, 2023

 

Got It

 

 

Not an unfamiliar expression

I am sure

But nowadays for different reasons

You hear it much more.

 

I receive a note from someone

And my response is “Got it.”

Could be an email or a WhatsApp

But this is my habit.

 

Or you were waiting on a parcel

You purchased on line

And given the agreement

It had exceeded the time.

 

Then finally one day

A particular vehicle appears

And you shout out to the others “Got it!”

And there’s lots of cheer.

 

And what about that situation

You could not resolve?

You just could not find the concept

Around which it revolved.

 

Then comes the “Aha” moment

And you see what’s involved,

And you suddenly shout, “Got it!”

The problem is solved.

 

 

It is sometimes a question

Especially if in the classroom

And you are teaching something;

It could be a tune.

 

A pupil’s eyes light up,

“Got it?” you expectantly ask,

And the pupil’s affirmation confirms

The end of an arduous task.

 

But here is a final one,

It’s been running for three years

And though it’s not as bad now

We still have some fears.

 

A bout of coughing or sneezing

And a question arises:

“Got it?” the inquirer asks,

As he also surmises...

 

COVID-19 is the expectation

And it appears on the rise

As more than ten persons in Barbados

Recently met their demise.

 

 

If “Got it” is the response

Then you are sure to beware

For “Got it” in this sense

Is sure to cause fear.

 

So, “Got it” can be positive

Or “Got it” can be negative too

And sometimes positive can be negative

If COVID-19 is in view.

 

Stewart Russell © July 2, 2023

 

Negative the New Positive

Talking 'bout change...

This is really a change,

I don’t mean money back,

I mean rearrange.

It is particularly amazing

How we now behave,

What we once practised

Can land us in the grave.

Hugs and kisses

Are now forbidden,

Miss and hug a friend

You might not be forgiven.

Positive is now negative

And the reverse

And the terror upon us

Is the COVID curse.

Negative the new positive

After the COVID test,

When it is negative

It brings you sweet rest.

There’s a lot of change

And it overwhelms,

It is COVID-19,

Almost impossible to stem.

But in spite of all this

Some are still rejoicing,

These are the ones declared...

Negative after their testing.

The poles have changed,

That is a fact,

And I am not sure

It will ever come back.
 

Negative the new positive

See what I mean?

COVID-19 has changed

The entire global scene.

Stewart Russell © March 2020