I Am So Confused

 

 

I am so confused

Regarding Barbados politics,

Who is right and who is wrong

Or who is playing poli-tricks?

 

Never have I heard

Ever since I was born,

Two politicians sounding more sincere

Than Mottley and Thorne.

 

You look into their eyes

And there is a depth there

That spells straight-up sincerity,

Never you fear.

 

Seven years ago

A politician came to my house

And I was captivated

By what he espoused.

 

He sounded sincere

In what he said back then

And convinced me not to think BLP,

Just vote for him.

 

I had never voted BLP,

No, not ever before

But the sincerity that he sounded

Made me feel assured.

 

I had stopped voting

But he made me start back

And I placed him and the BLP

At the top of the stack.

 

All thirty seats they received

But I was not afraid

For that sound of sincerity told me

They won’t go astray.

 

 

A landslide election win

Like none ever before

Said to me that I was vindicated

Like the thousands more.

 

And right from the start

That sincerity was confirmed

And as the PM went about her business

More respect was earned.

 

Stuart was obliterated

And seen as the distant past

And during COVID Mia was hailed

As unquestionable class.

 

The DLP had appeared

A bungling novice

Having brought our fair nation

To the precipice.

 

But all his had changed

Virtually over night

As Mia Amor Mottley again ensured

Our privileges and rights.

 

A star was born

Of international proportions

And even Rihanna, National Heroine,

Pledged her devotion.

 

After three and a half years

Another election was called,

And while many were taken by surprise

It was to be appalled.

 

Had she completed

All that she had promised?

No, but that she needed a fresh mandate,

Was at the top of the list.

 

She had only lost one

In the person of a Bishop

And after the twenty-four Election

He too was out of luck.

 

He tried another constituency

Having betrayed the first

And in Barbados, that behaviour,

Is akin to a curse. 

 

Another thirty-love!

Yes, Mia got her mandate

And now three and a half years since,

I am a confused electorate.

 

Note I said electorate

And not illiterate

Though I can argue otherwise,

Given my state.

 

 

For, I am confused,

Having gone through all this

And the less complex life I once knew,

I now miss.

 

So, enter Ralph Thorne

And the great divide,

And many are asking themselves

Whither the DLP pride.

 

I would have thought,

With a foot in the door

They would have fought together

To win a few seats more.

 

Then those sitting MPs

Could choose a leader

And the now beleaguered DLP

Would be much stronger.

 

Instead, they turned their guns

Upon one another

And every single BLP mistake

Automatically smothered.

 

And with that

A faltering BLP still reigns

While the ineffective DLP effort

Abjectly wanes.

 

They scramble for the remains

Under the BLP table

Suggesting they can’t run a country

If as a party they’re not able.

 

 

So, I am confused,

If you see what I mean,

The DLP forming the next government

Is a mere dream.

 

David and Goliath

Battling in St James North

Is like giving me heated up water

And telling me it’s broth.

 

As it was in St George

So will it be in St James:

Donkey can’t win in a horse derby;

Oh, it is such pain.

 

An unmistakable chance

To boost the Opposition

Will no doubt go abegging again

In this by-election.

 

Send a message, I plea,

To the ruling BLP:

We made a terrible mistake twice

When we gave you all thirty.

 

We are taking back one

And we wish they were more

But we beg you please help us to add

To Thorne’s foot in the door.

 

This should be the thinking

Of the electorate

But alas, I am feeling hopeless

Given our partisan state.

 

 

I am confused

And by now you should see,

We are not really thinking Barbados,

We are thinking BLP.

 

Chad’s ministerial position

Can be easily reclaimed

Even if Dujon captures that seat

In the north of St James.

 

Unless of course

He is looked upon differently

If he is defeated by a donkey

In a race horse derby.

 

It’s not Mia versus Ralph:

It’s definitely not!

It’s not the BLP obliterating the DLP:

Neither the lot!

 

It’s bringing balance

To our House of Parliament

Where it is not about BLP and DLP

But of good governance.

 

 

I would be more confused

If the BLP win that seat

For it would signal another thirty-love

Which would be a three-peat.

 

Unless of course,

There is an added constituency

Then thirty-one-nil would result

In favour of the BLP.

 

That would be shattering,

Maybe not for the BLP

But it would add to my confused state

As well as the DLP’s.

 

Stewart Russell © May 10, 2025

 

Reflecting and Projecting

 

 

A reflective look

To that first Independence Day

Very early in the morning

Before black turned to grey.

 

Very muddy conditions

When our flag ascended

Flying proudly in the night air;

Colonialism then ended.

 

Me, just 13 years old,

But proud to be present

Though at that very early stage

Void of the full essence.

 

 

Essence of its reality,

Essence of its responsibility,

Essence of no longer a colony,

Essence of accountability.

 

Essence of growing pains

And setting goals,

Essence of success and failure

And relentless blows.

 

A very short honeymoon

And the fairy tale effect;

Our people our greatest resource

Regarding what to expect.

 

  

A thrilling moment it was;

All will be great!

My understanding of Independence

Though not here of late.

 

We’ve come a long way

O’er mountain and thro’ vale

And a signal moment of reflection

Reveals this trail.

 

Chronicled in our history

Etched in our minds,

From Errol Barrow to Mia Mottley

Across the annals of time.

 

 

 

And in between:

Tom Adams and Bree St John,

Sandiford and Arthur

All four now gone.

 

Thompson and Stuart

The former also gone

Being the second shortest stint

Before passing on.

 

Just two of seven

Remain with us today;
Stuart, having been ousted,

Mottley holds sway.

 

An impressive journey

Since our Independence

Though, not without ups and downs

And times of turbulence.

 

 

Presently a Republic

Approaching three years

But can we say like the Anthem,

No doubts or fears?

 

Me thinks not

For we have changed face

And things we once held dear

Have been replaced.

 

"The price for progress"

Some will no doubt remark

But the truth be told

We are in the dark.

 

Community is weakened

While the block thrives,

And almost every single day

Another youth dies.

 

 

 

Either by the gun

Or the cutlass or knife

One of our greatest National assets

Loses his life.

 

The church in absentia

Is praying without ceasing

But the reckless taking of life

Is still increasing.

 

The police constabulary

And the judiciary:

Both appear to be in the dark

Regarding this mystery.

 

 

Cases going back

For many a year

And recidivism on the increase

Adding to our fear.

 

Offenders offered bail

To reoffend again

And this being done repeatedly

Like summer rain.

 

And our Republic

Still awaiting a constitution

Almost three years in the making

Since its coronation.

 

 

I was not present

But I saw it on television:

The inauguration of our President

Dame Sandra Mason.

 

Rihanna was presented

For National Hero honours,

Barbados having received from her

Timely financial favours.

 

The eleventh recipient

Of this honour thus far

With Rihanna Drive also an honour

To this international star.

 

 

Weathering COVID-19

That horrible pandemic

That sucked our country’s blood

Leaving it anemic.

 

Yet navigating it

Better than most

While to several tourist liners

Being a merciful host.

 

Some stranded Trinis

Were given safe refuge here

When their own national authorities

Refused them there.

 

 

Such were the suspicions

Of relentless COVID-19

That held no regard for commoners

Or the Queen.

 

COVID-19 was a leveler

Of the rich and the poor

Many of whom lost that battle

And are seen no more.

 

 

So, as we approach

Our fifty-eighth birthday,

Let us give Almighty God thanks

For yet another year.

 

And as we map a course

For the Nation’s future

Let us be particularly mindful

To put God in the picture.

 

For righteousness

Still exalts a nation

And God is forever deserving

Of our adoration.

 

Stewart Russell © November 27, 2024