If Ralph Had Known

  

 

If Ralph had known

It would turn out like this

Would he still have taken the leap

With such a risk?

 

Risk of a pension

Requiring more time

Or, was there something else

On his mind?

 

If Ralph had known

Would he have given up

A safe seat for the unknown

Hoping for luck?

 

A miracle perhaps,

Going against the grain

Across this political landscape

Where Mia reigns.

 

 

 

Twice he had seen it

Two audacious wipeouts,

Pray, tell me my dear Watson,

Why did he doubt?

 

 

 

Did he really think

He’d make a difference

While courting, as it turned out,

A death-sentence?

 

For, given his age,

And the carnage endured,

Would he have the political will

To ask for more?

 

If Ralph had known

The D’s was a burial ground,

Would he have seriously thought

Of turning it around?

 

I really doubt it

Yet, the warnings were rife,

He was leaving a comfort zone

For unimagined strife.

 

 

 

Ralph did take a leap

Without looking first

And of course, life is lived forward

And cannot be reversed.

 

 

 

He left one party

And divided another

And now death throes are lingering-

What a huge bother!

 

 

 

Can the D’s build back

After such a hit?

It would take a very long time,

From where I sit.

 

Time is no luxury

Where Ralph is concerned

For in my mind, he has suffered

First degree burns.

 

‘Tis a very thin line

Betwixt bravery and folly,

Which one best describes Ralph?

You tell me.

 

No crossing again

If PM Mia has her way

Given too, that 28 supported her

Only yesterday.

 

One absented

After saying her bit

But Prime Minister Mia Mottley

Was having none of it.

 

 

 

She registered her vote

From over in away

As though she was telling someone

Not today.

 

If Ralph had known

That only he would cross

Would he still have crossed over

And suffer such loss?

 

Stewart Russell © February 26, 2026

 

Today Is Polling Day

  

 

Today is polling day,

The rhetoric is over

And the campaigning is done.

Each candidate strove

And fought tooth and nail

And their race has run.

 

Now it’s the electorate

That will now speak

As by their vote they will decide.

It’s a powerful moment

And it is left to see

How flow the ripping tide.

 

The outcome is critical

To every one of us

As we wait with bated breath.

Hence, the thrill of victory

And the agony of defeat

Invariably will attest.

 

 

 

One way or another

We must move ahead

As we steer this ship of state.

For whatever the tide

Be it in stormy gale

We must face whatever fate.

 

May democracy win

And the vote reflect such

Whether for Mottley or Thorne.

And let it be known

While party lines separate

We are mostly Bajan born.

 

So, perform your duty

Those so disposed

And do so in peace and in love.

For in the final analysis

An account is required

Before the One above.

 

Stewart Russell © February 11, 2026

 

We Seeing Red

  

 

We seeing red

In more ways than one,

In one way it looks like the BLP

Already won.

 

In another

It is the cost of living

Determined by the harsh policies

By who’s presiding.

 

We seeing red

The BLP still on the up

But the blood of valuable youth

Clotting in muck.

 

 

 

‘Tis in the street

For everyone to see,

A lot of shooting and stabbing,

As in a spree.

 

We seeing red

As in the BLP posters

Making all opposing candidates

Look like jokers.

 

 

 

Red and Ready

Is their rallying cry,

Grant Mia Mottley a third term

Lest we die.

 

We seeing red

It could be the sunset

Or it could be billions of dollars

As in our debt.

 

It could be the GDP

With the country in red

And for the majority of us all

Things real dread.

 

 

 

It could also be

The BLP’s supersonic rise

As they achieve millionaire status

In smart disguise.

 

We seeing red

Blood vessels bursting,

On account of migraine headaches,

And Mia trusting.

 

We seeing red

Because we are afraid

That nobody other than Aunty Mia

Can access aid.

 

 

 

So, bear in mind

Should she be returned

The red we see might be our Bim

Crash and burn.

 

We seeing red

In more ways than one,

Is it time to change red to blue

As in Thorne?

 

 

Republic is red

Independence is blue,

I would wish to know the answer;

Won’t you too?

 

Stewart Russell © January 31, 2026

 

If I Were PM Mia

 

 

If I were PM Mottley

I would do a January again,

I tell you, even to mention this

Causes the DLP pain.

 

Caught in January, 22

With their pants down,

Not a single seat did the DLP win

Second time around.

 

Now four years after

Not much has changed

Apart from greater splintering

And more disarranged.

 

More was expected

With the advent of Thorne

But there was some seismic activity

And the DLP lost its form.

 

Now out of shape

And severely splintered,

There is seemingly no chance

In the immediate future.

 

Hence, my advice to Mia

Is to call the election,

Do not wait, I am advising her,

Until 2027.

 

She will be guaranteed

Another thirty-nil

And five more years until 2031

To have her fill.

 

 

 

Thus, she will be revered

Like Barrow and Arthur:

Both had three successive terms

And lost thereafter.

 

 

 

Then she could go one up

If her life is spared,

Another General Election win 2036

Will move her clear.

 

I must be dreaming

And talking in my sleep,

If you heard me fellow Barbadians,

Please do not repeat.

 

Rather, tell the DLP

To get their act together,

For if this is not to come true

They must do better.

 

Nothing among four

Is nothing at all,

Zero is what the PM would call it;

That is her call. 

 

Zero charge to parents

For free education,

Never mind, of course, there is

Burdensome taxation.

 

Ralphie doesn’t get it

But neither do I

And that I have long left the system,

I cannot deny.

 

 

 

So, Ralphie and Ronnie,

Kemar and Karina,

Please come together and instead,

Fight PM Mia.

 

You might get a few seats,

Maybe four or five

And in memory of Errol Barrow,

Let the DLP survive.

 

For it is about to die

Imploding from within

And prospects for winning a seat

Appear quite dim.

 

 

 

But I am not PM Mia

For she is one of a kind

And she will call the next election

In her own time.

 

Stewart Russell © December 10, 2025

 

Not Sorry At All

 

 

I am not sorry

That Mia was pricked,

I wish a few more would follow-

A ‘no-opposition is sick.

 

Thus, the status of Barbados

Ever since 2018,

Only a Parliamentary opposition

Can change this scene.

 

It may be possible

To fight your own shadow

But any self-determined win

Will likely be hollow.

 

Thirty seats was a mistake

Once and then twice,

And whatever the perception,

No Party is that nice.

 

Better a two-party state

Than just one in command

Despite how great the perception

Of that party’s plan.

 

I wish more to follow

And that they do so with haste

For just a singular endeavour

Would be a waste.

 

And not just backbenchers

But a Minister or two

Who are not just about money

But hold a national view.

 

Yes, I am aware

It would be a great sacrifice

But of such were our forefathers

That paid the price.

 

 

Whether Atherley regrets

I really do not know

But I have a strong suspicion

It was not for mere show.

 

He did lose his seat

In the subsequent election

But his conscience would be clear

If it was a true conviction.

 

Similarly, this thorn

That has pricked the PM

With the hope to bring resolution

To a parliamentary problem.

 

If only a few more

Would dare follow his lead

To bring a balance in Parliament

And do so with speed.

 

 

It takes two hands to clap,

One going against the other

But the applause that results

Makes us all feel better.

 

 

I applaud Mr. Thorne

And hope for some more

That will sit on the opposition seats

And form a respectful core.

 

A win for democracy

If such a move should unfold;

This is not for the faint of heart

But a conviction of the bold.

 

Stewart Russell © February 12, 2024