On the Other Foot

 

 

No doubt you have heard

“But on the other hand!”

Meaning another reasonable position

Upon which one could stand.

 

But what about

“If the shoe were on the other foot”?

This is the matter

That before you I now put.

 

It is amazing to me

How wrong becomes right

And then with a change of leadership

That right disappears from sight.

 

And what is more intriguing

Is that there is a defining law

But the experts and legal luminaries

Always find an escape clause.

 

And while, my friend,

Much is on my mind,

I will not specify any particular event

At this particular time.

 

I will let you do the roaming

Which I know you do well

Like good teachers develop in pupils,

Rather than just simply tell.

 

Developing an inquiring mind

And searching out the facts

Instead of just accepting social media

And lazily sitting back. 

 

 

So, with that, I put to you:

What if the shoe were on the other foot?

Would you take the same position

Or, simply come up with “But…?”

 

But that was a different time

And that was another occasion,

The conditions were not the same

Oh, a totally different situation!

 

Meaning of course, a different party,

Running the ship of state

And what was wrong for them

Has become right here of late.

 

The incorrect associations then

Are now become lifelines

And all that has really changed

Is that this is a different time.

 

It was a time for change

And so, they got kicked out!

And now it’s our time to take control

And the same very laws flout.

 

I submit most definitely

There would be a different outlook

For this ruling party

If the shoe were on the other foot.

 

Whether “B”, “D” or “PdP”

Ask yourself the question:

What if the shoe were on the other foot

What would be your submission?

 

And if you honestly respond

To the question I put to you,

I am sure your response would be

To take another view.

 

A view that is frank and correct

Irrespective of affiliation,

Motivated by conscious integrity

And befitting our constitution.

 

If the shoe were on the other foot

You would feel the same pain

That the current opposition now feels

Like you, when they flew the plane.

 

But of course,

The more things change,

The more they remain the same.

 

Stewart Russell © October 15, 2022

 

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

Why Can’t Everyone Be Like Us?

Sometimes I sit and wonder

Why people can’t be like you and me,

Why they must be so different

I am sometimes at pains to see.

Like for example a friend of ours

We just don’t see eye to eye,

We scarcely look at one another

And prefer to pass each other by.

But take you on the other hand

I like how you and I get along,

It seems we seldom disagree

And so neither of us is wrong.

If only the world were like us

 Imagine the harmony there would be,

Everyone would see eye to eye

Just like you and me.

I looked at a puzzle the other day

And no two pieces were alike,

Yet they fit so smugly together

And everything appeared quite right.

The whole picture caught my eye

Togetherness was the theme,

Though each piece was different

They created a lovely scene.

That picture causes me to think

About how I started this poem:

That because people are so different

This would be the problem.

Well that puzzle proves me wrong

It is the other way around

For if variety is the spice of life

Then diversity must be found.

If everybody were like you and me

Then we would all be stuck in a rut,

Pigs appear to be quite the same

No wonder they are always in muck.

So if at times we rub each other

It might be we’re coming together

Just like the pieces of that puzzle

That smugly fit to one another.

Stewart Russell (c) March 2019