Suspicion

 

There is something about him

That I just don’t like

I can’t put my finger on it

But it will come to light.

 

There’s something about her too

That troubles my spirit

I can’t tell you what it is

 But something just doesn’t fit.

 

We just didn’t set horses

From the first time we met

And you know what they say

What you see is what you get.

 

But there is more in the mortar

Than just the pestle

 And with this peculiar feeling

Day and night I wrestle.

I would never trust them

My feelings are never wrong

Except for the few times

The feelings weren’t strong.

 

At most suspicion can kill you

Or at least rob you of sleep,

It causes discomfort

When you and that person meet.

A potential relationship

Is not allowed to blossom

All because you are habouring

An unfounded suspicion.

 

It has happened to me

 Though I was on the receiving end

Yet I took the first step

And now that person is my friend.

 

A great relationship has developed

That would not have been

If I had not swallowed my pride

And had not intervened.

 

 

So don’t be too quick to judge

Without solid evidence,

Give another the benefit of the doubt

And don’t let it be an offense.

 

Stewart Russell (c) May 2018

 

A Year of Great Distress

 

 

If there could be a competition

For the most challenging year of all,

2020 would in the highest rank,

Please my readers, do not applaud.

 

This is a dubious distinction

Given COVID-19’s colossal say,

For even before the year 2020 began

COVID was headed our way.

 

It changed our way of life

With many necessary protocols,

The hand washing was not a problem

But the mask became our downfall.

 

The twenty-four-hour curfews

Coupled with long supermarket queues

Triggered the oft asked question,

When will this terror be through?

 

 

Funeral rituals were almost cancelled

With numbers severely reduced,

Eight at the viewing and ten at the service

Seemed more like an abuse.

 

Such was our mother’s funeral

During the twenty-four-hour curfew,

We were forced to send her off

Knowing she did not get her due.

 

How it pained or sorrowing hearts

That many more could not attend,

COVID-19 was large and in charge

And driving us around the bend.

 

Millions around the world

Have succumbed to its onslaught

And now with the noise of a second strain

Many have become more distraught.

  

Sixteen cases in one day

The highest for Barbados so far,

We have handled it better than most

But it seems we are coming on par.

 

People are struggling big time

Having lost their jobs and income,

Unable to feed their families and pay their bills

They are feeling quite undone.

 

We are into blended learning:

Teacher-student contact and remote,

But in dire need of electronic devices

This is proving to be no sport.

 

Vaccines are coming on stream

But there is much apprehension,

Many are the arguments for and against

And no small matter of suspicion.

 

 

It is difficult to imagine

A time when there will be no COVID,

We are now in need of a giant slayer;

Will somebody summon a David?

 

Tourist destinations are struggling

With travel severely hampered

And the fall off in hotel occupancy

Has on economies placed a damper.

 

Quarantine is very much in vogue

Self-isolation an alternative

But the fallout from this COVID-19

Is internationally extensive.

 

2020! A year of great distress

And next year’s outlook appears bleak,

COVID-19 is taking hundreds more lives

Even as we speak.

 

Stewart Russell © December 25, 2020

 

The Certainty of Uncertainty

 

 

Uncertainty, the only certainty…

That’s how it now appears,

Many are worried and transfixed

As though spellbound by their fear.

The days ahead hold terror

And the unknown looms large,

Uncertainty like a raging lunatic

Is on a rampant charge.

It is as though the final season

Is coming to its inevitable end

And as a result, its up-tempo finale

Of uncertainty descends.

Lives of prior comfort and ease

Are severely disrupted

And the security once enjoyed

Can no longer be taken for granted.

The tried and tested bastions

Of the powerful and the rich

Are fast becoming rickety scaffolds

As though built in a swampy ditch.

The certain has become uncertain

It is just a wait and see

And the uncertain is now certain

As though it was meant to be.

Trust has exited the reality stage

And confidence has followed suit,

Tomorrow is now lived out today

Although an impossible route.

Tomorrow is viewed with suspicion

Where once there was certainty,

A promise could be counted on…

At least, that’s how it seemed to be.

  

The rules are being changed

And nothing is fixed any more,

Today was tomorrow’s yesterday

Not just the day before.

Next week was viewed with suspicion

And in some cases, next month

But tomorrow was anticipated

As an inevitable triumph.

Now today, tomorrow and beyond

Are all rolled into one

And the uncertainty presses sorely

With every passing dawn.

Trust no future however pleasant

You will find in A Psalm of Life

And no doubt the poet, Longfellow,

Was facing this same strife.

The certainty of the uncertainty

Is surely nothing new

For the Bible also points this out

As a practical everyday view.

James 4:13-15

Like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,

The apostle James points out

The certain uncertainty of tomorrow

And that is surely without doubt.

Tomorrow, I will do this or that…

For many this is the boast

But given the certain uncertainty

None knows what a day will bring forth.

God alone knows for certain,

There is no uncertainty with Him,

It is He that drew the time line…

He knows its end from the beginning.

  

Romans 8:28

It behooves us as dear children

To cast all uncertainties on God

Knowing that everything works for good

To all them that are the called.

Stewart Russell © April 2020

Take Note

As we celebrate

Independence year fifty-three

Let us take note

It is no longer a spree

Fifty-three years of nationhood

Years of continuous struggle

Years of success and promise

But also years of much trouble

More so in these latter years

As we confront our fears

A lot of fret and a lot of care

Blood and sweat and tears

A change of governance

In our fifty-second year

With prospects and promises

That better was near

The vulnerable of our country

Still the vulnerable

And hoping that this will change

If such is at all possible

Water woes and garbage

Mounting up every day

Commuting from place to place

Difficult in every way

The challenge of recession

And the intervention of BERT

An economy once promising

In the grip of IMF support

All systems still on slow

A serious interruption in the flow

Material and human resources

Always getting ready to go

Difficulty in doing business

Everything taking a long time

With the prospect of enterprise

Ever on decline

Sick schools and buildings

And our youth devoid of feeling

Less focus on the moral

Prayer and Bible reading

Minorities becoming majorities

In matters of little repute

Time and effort wasted

On fruitless and vain disputes

The suspicion of sabotage

And that for whatever reason

The marijuana discussion

And the silly gender season

The fleecing of our people

By business people most corrupt

The “dog eat dog” mentality

A most destructive construct

A blatant disregard for God

And most things pertaining to Him

A mounting mocking perception

On what the Bible calls sin

A metaphorical procuring

Of our own coffins and caskets

And with a bent on spiritual suicide

Many appear dead set

A plethora of ideas

From the intellectually acclaimed

And universities and colleges

Now centres for the insane

The lettered and the illiterate

Almost indistinguishable

I would never have believed

This could ever be possible

The brighter we become

The duller in commonsense

Sorry to those who wear this cap

If you deem this an offence

  

I prescribe the introspection

Which has already begun

And sincerely hope at the end of it

The foolish thinking will be done

Observe the open punctuation

Do so with an open mind

Let’s return to our moral underpinnings

I deem this an opportune time

A transparent trust in God

And our Judaea-Christian constitution

I make bold to declare today

Christ is still our salvation

The highlight of a thriving nation

Is a nation under God

And other claimants to such success

Are only imposters and frauds

Stewart Russell © November 2019

When Hope Seems Hopeless

I hope he gets home in time

I hope he doesn’t forget,

I hope he makes it through

I hope I have no regrets,

I hope the prognosis is good

I hope there are no alarms,

 I hope she takes it in stride

I hope she keeps her calm.

I hope I get the money

I hope it comes through on time,

All this hoping seems hopeless

I hope I’m not losing my mind.

At the heart of this hoping

There is an undertone of suspicion,

Perhaps some disappointment

Has brought on this condition.

It is really like a gamble

A hope that this time I will win

But after so often losing

The hope of a win seems dim.

It is like “Please let it happen

If it does not I will die,”

And so the hope that I am hoping

Is uttered with a sigh.

It is more or less a wish

A dream I would like come true,

But I am afraid to wake up

Because I do not expect it to.

It is a very unsure hope

Like a hope against all the odds,

“I really do not qualify, I know

But I hope they give me the job.”

Here I must make a distinction

Between this hope and another,

The hope we have in Christ

Is certainly a different matter.

It is not that nebulous hope

Like the kind this poem highlights

But a certain assured comfort

Guaranteed by the Father’s might.

The arm of flesh will fail us

It’s a very frustrating hope

Hence the distress we see in people

Who are now unable to cope.

Hope thou in God I encourage

When hope appears hopeless,

He has never lost a battle

Or failed a single test.

The track record of the world

Is replete with many a failure

And the delusion of many an individual

That paints a dismal picture.

I hope you understand this poem

It is important that you do

For unless you grasp its meaning

It will mean nothing to you.

I hope my trust regarding this

Is not of the hopeless kind,

Hope thou in God I admonish

He’s been there all the time.

Stewart Russell © March 2019