Writer's Block

 

 

 

At least twice a year

With this I come face to face,

I know I need to write

But of what, I cannot trace.

 

It is four days now

I have not typed a stroke

Hence, I feel a little guilty

Since last I wrote.

 

On the other occasions

I just decided to write

And before long it was “Aha!”

An issue came to light.

 

Up to now, however,

Nothing is beginning to gel

Yet there are many topics today

On which the people dwell.

 

 

Elections is one of them

COVID is still in the air,

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate

Is still creating some fear.

 

A very good friend of mine

Just went to the great beyond

And he is very much on my mind

Every awaking dawn.

 

He has caused my block,

He dominates my thoughts

And I dare say for four days now

I’ve been quite distraught.

 

 

It doesn’t seem real

That he has passed away

And denial plagues my thoughts

Each and every day.

 

 

A reminder of the year 2017

And a repeat of 2018

When two equally dear friends

Departed from this scene.

 

They died relatively suddenly

At the age of fifty-nine,

And that's the age my friend Stephen

Also completed his time.

 

 Pearline, Michael and Stephen,

Three friends at age fifty-nine:

“A turn on life's road with a pothole"

Suggested a friend of mine.

 

It was at age fifty-nine

That he too had a serious bump

But the grim reaper lost the battle

And was temporarily trumped.

Another friend of Stephen

Is now particularly concerned,

He too is at age fifty-nine,

“Could he be next in turn?”

 

It is amazing, my friend,

How we sometimes think

And these obsessive tendencies

Can drive us to the brink.

 

It’s "one day at a time" for me

In addition to "wait and see",

My times are in the Lord’s hand

And what will be will be.

 

 

That may sound fatalistic,

If so, I am guilty as accused

But this one thing I know quite well,

Jesus, I’ll never refuse.

 

A daily choice we make

Is that of acceptance or rejection:

A choice of death or eternal life,

It is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decision.

 

‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the Lord Jesus,

‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to redemption,

Age fifty-nine is not the issue

The issue is one’s salvation.

 

  

Hey!  It is gone!

My writer's block is gone!

I started where I knew not where

But God has brought me on.

 

All credit to Him I give

Now and forevermore,

For even when my mind goes awry

It’s in Jesus Christ I soar.

 

Stewart Russell © January 13, 2022

 

Famous Last Words

Last words can tell

Quite a lot about a man

How he lived his life

And his insurance plan

Could be about regrets

And sometimes hope

Or his final counsel

On how to cope

This poem will focus

On some famous last words,

Some are familiar

Some you may not have heard.

Some may not be last words

But indicate a trend

Giving us an idea

Of that person’s end

I will start in the Old Testament

Then go to the New

But what mine will be

I don’t have a clue.

Let’s begin with King Saul

His ring loud and clear

Perhaps beyond redemption

When his end did appear.

 “I have played the fool

I have erred exceedingly”

What devastating words

To leave as a legacy!

“Let me die with the Philistines”

Not a suicide note

But Samson in his last moments

Expressed this hope.

His prayer was answered

And the building came down,

Many Philistines died

Inside and around.

“Be strong

And show yourself a man

Walk with God

Follow his decrees and command”

The words of King David

To his son, Solomon

His successor as King

Over Israel’s kingdom.

Goliath was certain

This one was in the bag

And so much so

That he began to brag.

But he was deluded

As his end showed up,

A pebble in his forehead

Was his final cup.

These are the words

That he finally said

Just before that pebble

Stuck in his head.

“I’ll give your flesh

To the birds of the air

And the beasts of the field”

Then his life disappeared.

“May the Lord see this

And call you to account”

Zechariah to King Joash

As the Word recounts.

Just before his death

By order of the king,

Concerning Joash’s ingratitude

These words did ring.

“Who is this David

And who is this Jesse?”

And in ten days time

Nabal was as dead as can be.

He had adamantly refused

To help David’s men

When in his drunken state

He had not seen the problem.

“I stood over him and killed him”

Maybe part truth and lie

But for these words

The speaker did die.

The Amalekite was killed

After he spoke these words,

Concerning Saul’s death

David went by what he heard.

He never believed the prophet

So he went up to fight,

King Ahab didn’t want to accept

That the prophet was right.

Outfitted in a disguise

He felt this would be wise,

But by an unintended arrow

He met his demise.

Hence the following words

As the word of God recounted

“Get me out of the fighting

I have been wounded”

A wound unto death

A mortal wound,

Propped up in his chariot

He later succumbed.

As I had promised

From the Old to the New

So from the New Testament

I will just give a few.

As I did in the Old

I will start with Saul

But this Saul in the New

Was also named Paul.

  

 “I have fought a good fight

I have kept the faith”

Words full of hope

Of regret,  not a trace.

“Lord Jesus receive my spirit

Hold not this sin against them”

Assurance and forgiveness

In the dying words of Stephen.

When he had said this

He fell asleep,

Very similar to Jesus

So profound and so deep.

"Yes," she said,

“That is the price.”

It behooves us to remember

That lying is not nice.

In collusion with her mate

Sapphira lied

And just like her husband

She also died.

“It is finished”

The greatest are these

The dying words of Jesus

When seemingly under siege.

Some may have felt

These were words of defeat

But instead, they trumpeted

Mission Complete!

Mission Complete!

For all who trust in him

Mission Complete!

We are saved from sin.

Stewart Russell © April 2019