Rambling On

 

 

“Once upon a time…”

How most stories would begin,

There was an innkeeper

That owned an inn.

 

People went in

And people went out

And I learnt that those people

Came from all about

 

He was knock-knee

And his wife was bow

And between the two of them

There was little to show.

 

They had a common enemy

Arthritis was his name,

Their legs would never straighten

And they were in much pain.

 

He walked with a stutter

And she, a constant hobble

And when they walked together

There was bound to be trouble.

 

Neither could help the other

No matter how they tried

And when one of them tumbled down

The other would lie down beside.

 

 

They went for long walks

With no destination in mind

Such that whenever they got there

They were always on time.

 

The problem was getting back

Especially if one had fallen,

The other would lie beside

As though their legs were broken.

 

Where am I going with this?

I expected you to enquire

So, like K-K and his wife Bow,

I will continue till I tire.

 

Not knowing where they were going

They seldom got very far,

In addition, I need not remind you

How their daily walks were marred.

 

Now, I have a knock-knee mind

And my heart is kind of bow

And like K-K and his faithful wife

I too have little to show.

 

My inn is my body

And my mind is the innkeeper,

Sometimes my heart would fall

And my mind would get weaker.

 

Together they would lie down

Until one helps up the other,

More often it was the mind

That helped the heart to get better.

 

 

Keep your heart with all diligence

And focus your mind on Christ

Your inn, the body, will prosper

And the Holy Spirit will suffice.

 

I’ve reached my unknown destination

So too have K-K and his wife

And though we rambled on a bit

“To be back” is very nice.

 

Now for the cast of the story:

The body was the inn

The mind was the innkeeper

And the heart, his wife, assisted him.

 

The thoughts were the people

That were going in and out

And likewise, it is with our thoughts

That come from all about.

 

Arthritis is the wine of self

That stops us from straightening up

That mars our daily walk with Christ

As from its glass we sup.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

 

Energy

 

 

Lots of talk about energy

In these contemporary times

And a number of adjectives emerge

In my overactive mind.

 

Each one brings a colour

As we all know adjectives do

And with it, there’s a difference,

For not only me but you.

 

We start with mental energy

Like my overactive mind,

Though I have retired eleven years

I’m thinking all the time.

 

Maybe I am pushing back

Against a certain illness

That ravishes the mind of some

During the aging process.

 

 

I make a deliberate effort

To conserve my mental energy

And arguing is considerably less

As not to encourage futility.

 

I am aiming for clean energy

Regarding the energy of my mind

And avoiding certain pollutants

That are of the dangerous kind.

 

The ones that bring stress

And cause severe depression;

That disrupts one’s pure thinking

And hinders comprehension.

 

Then there is wasted energy

That manifests in inefficiency,

Particularly common in these days

In the local economy.

 

A lot of money spent

With little production to show

With all the eggs in one basket

But guess what?  Our leaders know. 

 

 

And what of electrical energy

That drives the modern technology:

Mostly of the fuel fossil type

And used by BL&P?

 

This is a colossal burden

On the local economy

Given the amount of money spent

To access this energy.

 

Yet, lots of talk and little action

Regarding renewable energy

And the irony of a rate hearing

Pertaining to electricity.

 

The fluctuating circumstances

Of the fuel charge

And the facilitating of solar energy

Like an escaped convict at large.

 

 

And what about spent energy?

I will end with this one,

For whatever kind of energy there is,

Spent signifies it’s gone.

 

Not all of the energy

But the energy which has been used:

Whether efficiently put to use

Or wasted and abused.

 

And so, just like I began,

I do propose to end;

Thus, on the note of mental energy,

This note to you I’ll send.

 

 

Keep thy heart with all diligence;

For out of it are the issues of life.

A polluted state of mind

Is the recipe for ongoing strife!

 

Stewart Russell © October 19, 2022