Moored to Oneself

 

 

To what are we moored

In this pluralistic time

Where everything seems relative

And jelly is spine?

 

No difference, it seems,

Between sand and rock

And one can pass for the other

Like dress and frock.

 

Nothing is steadfast

And we just float around,

Same difference, some would say,

Whether up or down.

 

To each his own reality-

That’s how he sees it,

No reference point or benchmark

Informs his habit.

 

Moored to myself

Makes me feel free

And it really does not matter

If I drift aimlessly.

 

No beginning, no end,

All one continuous bend

Riding the world’s merry-go-round,

World without end.

 

No reference-point

Nothing by which to gauge,

The entire world is just a stage

And I am its sage.

 

It’s me and me alone

Accountable to only me,

And my truth is as good as anyone’s

So, set me free.

 

 

 

Nothing is absolute!

Bear this in your mind,

One man’s freedom, my friend,

Is another’s bind.

 

It’s nothing topsy-turvy

If it works for me,

I am the centre of the universe,

And I am free.

 

My beauty is my beauty,

My truth is my truth,

Thus, my values are my values

And I am my proof.

 

My reason to be here

Is my own purpose,

It has nothing to do with anyone

Hence, it is just.

 

The survival of the fittest?

Call it what you may,

This means of all there is, I succeed

While all beside me fail.

 

 

 

I am moored to me:

Distinctly myself and I

And don’t you dare try to change me;

Don’t even try.

 

And so, I present to you

The world’s dilemma,

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

And each book its cover.

 

Thus, all things of beauty

But no distinctive beauty,

No benchmark by which a judge

Can perform his duty.

 

Many varying values

But no moral plumb line,

Morality and immorality are the same

Together combined.

 

 

 

A myriad of truths:

Yours and mine and theirs

But no truth by which to measure

What is just and fair. 

 

Different purposes

But no defining purpose

That rightly informs all of humanity

On his return to the dust.

 

From dust created He us

To dust we will return

And the sooner we understand this

The more we will learn.

 

God is the only absolute

By which all can be measured

And to ignore His divine blueprint

Is to miss life’s treasure.

 

Truth is at the top

Forming value and beauty,

Out of these emerges our purpose

That informs our duty.

 

 

 

Moored to the Rock

Though adaptive to change,

For to be moored to oneself

Is to be deranged.

 

Stewart Russell © September 17, 2025

 

Online and Offline

 

 

Offline and online

Out of line and in line,

What a distance we have come

In a pretty short time!

 

In my growing-up days

It was stand in line

Like boarding the school bus:

Remember that time?

 

However, to stand in line

Is now to queue up

And you will get fixed

If you have any luck.

 

 

Or walking a straight line

If suspected of a DUI,

On the breathalyzer test

They now rely.

 

Before I forget

There was also out of line:

A reference to the rowdy

And the unruly kind.

 

There was the plumb line

Ask any mason about that:

Walls lined up back then

That is a fact!

 

Draw a straight line

And do it freehand:

In Mr. Broodhagen’s art class

That was the plan.

 

Top of the line

Used to mean the best,

It’s a cliché nowadays meaning

Just like the rest.

  

Out of line and in line

Were based on a standard

But online and offline

Speaks to going forward.

 

Money pinned to a clothesline

Is not paying online,

It would be off the line

In the quickest time.

 

A word to the foolish

And this should be sufficient:

If the above cap fits you

You are clearly deficient.

 

Computer devices help

If pupils are online,

Some are without the Internet

Even in this time.

 

 

Pupils will not be in line

If they are offline,

We would be out of line

If we move on at this time.

 

So, spare a thought

For the most vulnerable,

If they are not online

We are asking for trouble.

 

Planning takes time

If all are to benefit,

It will take more than talk

As is the frequent habit.

 

Throne speeches are great

But they are not law,

Commendation to our G.G.

Whom we must applaud.

 

She was clear and distinct

Definitely in line,

It’s now up to the PM

And her team at this time.

 

A promise is not a deed-

We must never forget,

More like comfort to a fool

No different from a bet.

 

Offline and online

Out of line and in line,

Not too much difference-

Mostly one of a kind.

 

Offline is out of line

Online is in line,

If we have no connection

We are in a bind.

  

Make sure all are online

Before moving on

Or the vulnerable will be offline

When the train is gone.

 

I know we are anxious

To return to the norm

But we must be very careful

In this COVID storm.

 

Stewart Russell © September 16, 2020