Strange Phenomena

 

 

In less than an hour

And fifteen minutes later

Can you tell me how long it took

To arrive at the baker?

 

Since yesterday

It has been three whole days

That he borrowed the money

And promised to pay.

 

Three years ago

She was forty-four,

Tell me how come three years later

She is no more?

 

Nothing is as long

And nothing is as short,

What in tarnation could this be

That nothing can distort?

 

 

If trump is short for trumpet

And trumpets make a blast,

What sound would President Trump make

Given such a difficult task?

 

Strange is the answer

That all of us should get

But stranger still, I do declare,

None has gotten it yet.

 

That’s a little riddle

That will remain unsolved

And even if you discover the answer,

I will not be involved.

 

I have not long awakened

But I am still asleep

And I consider this phenomenon

To be profoundly deep.

 

 

That is why at present

I am composing this poem,

I am awake in a very deep sleep;

I trust you see my problem.

 

It’s when I am at my best

That at such times I write,

Do not judge me, I most humbly ask,

For my phenomenal insight.

 

Now that this is out of the way

Please let me continue,

As strange as these little quips may seem,

Not one of them is my view.

 

 

A man was blocking the way

Whereupon another exclaimed,

“If you stay right there for ever

I’ll have to change my lane.”

 

I was wondering for a while,

If he actually waited that long

But after waiting for an indefinite time,

I decided to go around.

 

Whenever forever comes

He may still be there

But I will not know, I can I attest,

For I will not be here.

 

 

 

 

One more before I go,

So, let me give it some thought,

In the meantime, put the poem down

And take a little walk.

 

Please let me know

The moment that you get back,

I’ll have that thought waiting just for you

That even now is a fact.

 

I definitely thought

You would fall for this

And the mere fact you’ve read this far

Shows I did not miss.

 

So, have a good day

If it is the daytime

But if on the other hand it is night,

‘Tis better to decline. 

 

Strange phenomena indeed!

Did you see what I mean?

If you did you can drop me a line

Or send a silent scream.

 

Stewart Russell © March 27, 2025

 

What Ultimately Matters

 

Rejoice not because the spirits

Are subjected unto you,

Let it be known my brother and sister

This is nothing you can do.

 

What ultimately matters

Is where your name is written,

It ultimately matters to you and me

That it is written in heaven.

 

They had only just returned

From the mission of great success

And they were over their heads

Re their phenomenal success.

 

What a report they shared

Obviously reveling in the flesh

But the Lord Christ revealed to them

It was less than second best.

 

 

Rejoice not because the spirits

Are subjected unto you,

Let it be known my brother and sister

This is nothing we can do.

 

All honour is the Lord’s

And all glory belongs to him

And to attempt to share in his glory

Is accounted to us as sin.

 

You’d recall foolish King Herod

Who thought he was a god

And because he accepted such glory

His was a terrible fall.

 

His life was ended that day

And like so many that followed

In the dust of their so-called empire

They too were swallowed.

 

Napoleon the great and Hitler

But before these two, the Jews

That crucified the Lord Jesus Christ;

All came to their just due.

 

It behooves us therefore

To regard the words of the Christ,

For a born-again child of the Saviour

Is to acknowledge his sacrifice.

 

It matters not what we achieve

Or who is subjected to us,

What matters at the end of our sojourn

Is that we belong to Jesus.

 

 

Rejoice not because the spirits

Are subjected unto you,

Let it be known my brother and sister

This is nothing we can do.

 

What ultimately matters

Is where our name is written,

It ultimately matters to both you and me

That it is written in heaven.

 

Stewart Russell © September 29, 2024