October All Over?

 

 

October all over

The month I mean,

Now we are into November

It’s no new scene.

 

It once meant storms

But this is no more

Since we’ve had inclemency

With flooding galore.

 

The stormy season

Now ends in November

Hence, it would do us well

To remember.

 

September, remember

And we still do

But November follows suit;

This is true.

 

October all over

Doesn’t mean storms

Therefore, my cynical friend,

Be warned!

 

 

It’s climate change

I have heard some say

For all this unstable weather

We get nowadays.

 

Global warning,

They will also add

Is another reason why weather

Sometimes turns bad.

 

Don’t drop your guard

At least, not yet,

For across some communities

It has been very wet.

 

 

Roads were flooded

And almost impassable

Giving us notice that storms

Are still possible.

 

Have a great November,

It is not over yet,

Keep monitoring the weather;

It still poses a threat.

 

A word to the wise…

You know how this goes

For the future whether near or far,

None of us knows.

 

October all over

Means November is here:

Hurricane season is not ended

So, still be prepared.

 

Stewart Russell © November 1, 2024

 

A Little Perturbation

 

Not a poem for September

And today is the fourth,

Now don’t misunderstand me;

This is not a boast.

 

Au contraire, my friend,

For I am somewhat upset

That four days have passed

And not one poem yet.

 

Maybe I am losing it

Though I’d hate to think so

For a distraction of such magnitude

Would be quite a blow.

 

I have been tempted

To write about the “Dems”

Since I am really concerned

About their problems. 

 

 

But after thinking a bit

I thought I’d rather not

For they are too much right now,

Embroiled in such rot.

 

I was tempted as well

To write about the “Bees”:

About their peculiar election

Disguised as democracy.

 

But quite reluctantly,

I decided against this too

For that sounds too much to me

Like “Okras in de Stew”.

 

Something is not right

If you see what I mean

So, I will take my own advice

And leave that scene.

 

So, here is something

I haven’t done in a while,

I will wish you a wonderful day

And finish this in style.

 

 

Have a wonderful day!

To everyone reading this,

And please be careful to avoid

All unnecessary risks.

 

Stewart Russell © September 4, 2024

 

August Come It Must

 

 

August come it must

But it already did!

Hurricane Beryl, I mean,

And she didn’t kid.

 

On the 1^st July

She was not on standby

But with some ferocity

She let her winds fly.

 

Too soon in June

She had started up,

A category 4 before landfall

Promising a bitter cup.

 

 

And a bitter cup it was

In the Caribbean,

Union Island and Carriacou

Devastating scenes!

 

 

Announced in June

Long before August,

Its devastation evident in July

Ferocious and robust.

 

Beryl in her rage

Not caring about order,

Mixing up the three months

Tore up our border.

 

But this was good

Compared to another

Where the fallout from Beryl

Is a horrid bother.

 

Years it will take

To fix Beryl’s damage,

But for now, we’ll have to see

What can be salvaged.

 

August come it must

But it already did!

Hurricane Beryl, I mean,

And she didn’t kid.

 

I have a question

Now that August is here,

It is so early in this season

I tremble with fear.

 

What’s on offer

Is my question to August,

Please, not another like Beryl,

She was too rough!

 

 

 

Do notice the plea

And let us join in prayer

Not another like Hurricane Beryl

No, not this year!

 

Stewart Russell © August 1, 2024

 

An Obituary

 

 

We’re happy to announce

The passing of July,

Next door to June and August,

Also known as standby.

 

Too soon had ended

And her cue was standby

But she went beyond her duty

Did little Miss July.

 

She’ll be remembered

Just like September

For she robbed in her sojourn

Both native and stranger.

 

She toured the Islands

Of the pristine Caribbean

And left her indelible print

On many a scene.

 

Up to Houston she went

And had a grand time

Proud to show all and sundry

She was a July of a kind.

 

 

Pardon me, I mixed up

Poor July with Beryl,

They will both be remembered

For their horrible peril.

 

July passed away

Exactly 12 this morning

And by very special request

There’ll be no mourning.

 

Her daughter, Beryl

Will also be interred

And while we’d like to forget them

They’ll be remembered.

 

No mourning colours

By special request

And thank God, despite Beryl,

We are still blessed.

 

Do all you can

To help those in need

As these months are passing

With ferocious speed.

 

Stewart Russell © August 1, 2024

 

No True Gauge

 

 

 

Four quarters in a year

And three are pretty much gone,

The past has been fairly daunting

And many are afraid to go on.

 

Gauging the future by the past

Is something most of us do

Especially if trended towards the bad

We expect the future to be too.

 

Hence, September remember:

Remember that 1955 storm!

And so, whenever September comes,

The sign goes up, “Be Warned!”

 

Thus October, it’s all over!

Gauging the future by the Past

But the past reminded us again

Such projections do not last.

 

So now our hurricane season

Lasts from June to November,

It’s not all over in October

And this we must remember.

 

And now wisely reflecting

On the months that have flown

We still can’t know the future

For the future is unknown.

 

Our experts can project

Based on calculated probability

But never mind how astute the math,

The past is never destiny.

 

 

“There will be” is no guarantee:

Of the future none is sure,

There is definitely no tomorrow

And the past is no more.

 

No true gauge of the future

The past can ever be,

The most that we can be sure of

Is the present we now see.

 

And even this is limited

For our sight is severely flawed,

All the more reason, my friend,

Why we need to trust in God.

 

Stewart Russell © September 30, 2022

 

Trust no future, howe’er pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act, act in the living Present!

Heart within, and God o’erhead!

 

From A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Each Day Brings Us Nearer

 

We’re at the end of September

Three-quarters through the year,

October will start tomorrow

Independence and Christmas are near.

The thirtieth day of September:

This day will never be repeated again,

What we have written is written

Whether it has caused us joy or pain.

Each will have his memories

The many hurts we will try to forget,

The joys we will cherish forever

Of such we will have no regret.

I cannot help but recall

As each month swiftly passes by,

The days would appear to be shorter

The time just absolutely flies.

Perhaps this is not the meaning

We should draw from Matthew 24:22

But it is an assurance to the believer

That God is seeing us through.

For what He promises He delivers

The believer can count on that

And while we can expect tribulation

Our deliverance is a fact.

A fact in the history that is written 

Written from the beginning of time,

No foul-ups, bleeps or blunders

Can remove it from God’s timeline.

 

So keep looking towards the skies

Not for an oncoming storm

But for the assurance that’s been given

Christ is coming for the reborn. 

Stewart Russell © September 2018

September Remember

Into the ninth month

I almost cannot believe

That the year that just began

Is going with such speed.

Not too long ago

We were saying Happy New Year

Now can you believe it?

Eight months have disappeared.

September is noted for a name

Sixty-two years in the past,

Hurricane Janet I mean

What a shadow she cast!

Her name is simultaneous

With the month of September,

Hence the expressed need

For us all to remember.

Check all of your torchlights

Make sure that they work,

Have a good supply of batteries

From this do not shirk.

Canned foods and imperishable items

Sugar, flour and biscuits,

An adequate supply of drinking water

You don’t want to risk it.

Trim the tall trees

And secure the loose items,

Of flying galvanize

You don’t want to be a victim.

This should have been done

Before the month of June

But if you haven’t done it yet

Now won’t be too soon.

I know that times are tough

And the food cupboard is bear

But regarding the hurricane season

We must be prepared.

  

So put by a few things

Since a hurricane can happen

And don’t wait till the same hour

That the hurricane threatens.

Avoid that kind of rush

For that is too much stress

And whether it happens or not

You’ll be prepared nevertheless.

It’s back to school for the children

And we wish them all well,

That education is important

To them we must tell.

You’d recall Sparrow’s song

About the need for education

And the important role it plays

In deciding their vocation.

So on this the 1^st of September

Let us give God the praise

And let us trust Him even more

Throughout the coming days.

Not much more to be said

I trust that you have a plan,

Here’s wishing a great September

To every child, woman and man.

Stewart Russell © September 2018

June too Soon

It’s the stark reminder

We’re in the hurricane season

And as you would guess

Stormy weather is the reason

It is here too soon

As indicated in the rhyme

Etched in our memories

It’s “Be prepared” time

Our minds are taken back

To a time long past

When our idyllic paradise

Was struck by a blast

A blast of wind 

Accompanied by some rain

Swept the south of Barbados

Like a derailed train

A reminder of the train

That once traversed our land

Across our fair country then

It dutifully ran

As the old folk explained

It was more windy than wet

When we were visited

By hurricane Janet

Janet visited in September

Yet we say June too soon

It’s that timely admonition

To expect hurricanes from June

Here is another interesting stat

Regarding the month of June

In contrast to the season

It featured brides and grooms

It was the wedding month

As regarded by many

And they chose this as the month

In which to marry

Two contrasting seasons

In the month of June

Some can’t wait for it to come

For the other it’s too soon

Stewart Russell © June 2018