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

 

The Old Age Book

 

 

It’s not a very inviting theme

But I still dare to have a look,

Given the time that I’ve been around

I guess I’m listed in this book.

 

Seventy years the Psalmist said

And if by reason of strength, four score,

From this we must conclude

At least, seventy unlocks this door.

 

But this was in the Psalmist’s time

And maybe it’s different today

Hence my question, when does old come?

What do you have to say?

 

“You are as old as you feel,”

I have heard some of the old ones say

And others, “Age is just a number”

And you can tell by their way.

 

These advocates dress up young

 And they behave like they are young

Even though their contemporaries

Oft look at them with a frown.

 

“Why don’t they act their age?”

“Boy, they are really desperate though,”

“Why don’t they behave before the young

And a better example show?”

 

So, when does old age begin?

Tell me, I would really like to know,

Is it at fifty or sixty or seventy

Or only when it begins to show?

 

 

Then it might be as early as forty

But we can’t go any further back,

Remember, impressions are only feelings

And they should not count as facts.

 

I must admit that I feel good

Though I’ve reached three score and ten

But if you ask when last I swam

I cannot tell you when.

 

I ride a little bit and I walk

Though not nearly as much as before

And the aches and pains remind me

To take it easy as I go.

 

No more St. Lucy treks for me

Or even the Grantley Adams Airport,

Back in the day I could easily do it

And for me then it was sport.

 

So, if I were to answer this question:

When does old age come,

Honestly, I would definitely have to say,

My youth is certainly done.

 

And it has been for a while,

For sure since I went into retirement

And I will not wine and lament-

At my age I am content.

 

I may not have answered it for you

And in a sense, I am extremely glad,

Pretend for as long as you can if you can

But old age is not all bad.

 

I get to be own-way a bit

And they wait on me hand and foot

And often they don’t know that I know

Some things I deliberately overlook.

 

 

Sometimes they say I have lost it

And sometimes they are absolutely right

But often, I can tell you they don’t know

It was a purposeful oversight.

 

I get to keep them guessing,

“Is he serious or is he joking?”

You see, in my old age show I am starring

And they are merely participating.

 

I issue the scripts and the parts,

They subjectively follow my lead

And given the fact that I am in charge

I determine their speed.

Check the old age book

And for sure you will find my name,

Old age has caught up with me

But thank God I am still sane.

 

Stewart Russell © May 26, 2023

 

Under the Sun

 

 

What does it mean:

This phrase under the sun?

29 times in Ecclesiastes,

The rest of the Bible: none.

 

Especially mention #2

No new thing under the sun

And that which is done

Is that which shall be done.

 

A special word emerges

With this interesting phrase

In 10 verses I discovered it

And upon it gazed.

 

That special word is labour

With which we are occupied

Morning, noon and night

In order to provide.

 

 

Food for our tables

And clothing for our backs

With the hope that if we strive

There will be no lack.

 

And all this toil and labour

Is done under the sun

And it all comes to an end

When our day is done.

 

Day in and day out

Generation after generation

Dealing with the vagaries of life

While under the sun.

 

Sleeping, working and playing

Studying and coming of age

The common denominator being

Under the sun at very stage.

 

 

What profit hath a man of all his labour

Which he taketh under the sun?

  

I looked on all the works

That my hands had done

And all was vanity and vexation of spirit

And of no profit under the sun.

 

Yea I hated all my labour

Which I had taken under the sun

Because I should leave it to another

After my work was done.

 

And who knows whether he shall be

A wise man or a fool?

Yet after my labour under the sun,

Over it he shall rule.

 

It is under the sun we labour

Not for ourselves, but another,

So labour on we must

And let it not be a bother.

 

 

We all are beneficiaries

Of another’s toil and labour

So, as under the sun we daily toil,

Thank God for His favour.

 

Stewart Russell © August 29, 2021

 

No VAT Free Day

 

 

It had appeared to most

Shoppers were holding back

In the hope like last year,

There would be no VAT.

 

But alas, as it stands,

There will be no such luck,

The Government has declared

The VAT will stay up.

 

Not even for a day

To bring some needed relief,

You are on your own shoppers,

And the time is brief.

 

A blessing in disguise

This could very well be,

If not for the thriftless shoppers,

Certainly, for the country.

 

We are largely consumers

And so, we buy and we buy,

That there is little we produce

We should not deny.

 

 

Hence, tax is the mode

By which we raise revenue

And so, no VAT free day this year

For neither me nor you.

 

January’s pay day

Will be a long way off

And the blessing in disguise is:

Not all will be lost.

 

With the 17.5% on,

There will be more control

And re that free spending attitude

We won’t be so bold.

 

Thus, into the New Year

This is a savings of sorts,

The Government did consider it

But thank God they abort.

 

No VAT free day this year

And that is great,

Christmas is more than spending,

Get this straight.

 

 

It’s a time of goodwill;

Looking beyond one’s self,

And not a time as many see it

For overloading one's shelf.

 

If there is much we have

We can give some away

And help some unfortunate one

Have a good Christmas day.

 

Stewart Russell © December 20, 2023

 

The Senses

 

 

Humans have five senses

And sometimes six,

Six in the case of women

Placing men in a fix.

 

Women win arguments

Almost every time,

They use their sixth sense

Leaving men behind.

 

Men would present the facts

But the women still disagree,

There is this feeling they have

Call it extra-sensory.

 

I’ve lost many a battle

With my darling wife

And I am beginning to learn

I can’t win such a strife.

At least five senses we share

And that’s a plus,

Developing the sixth

I don’t consider a must.

 

Hearing and seeing,

These are so great

That to lose them both

Would be a terrible fate.

 

Smelling and tasting

Hand in hand they go,

If the food smells good

Taste goes with that flow.

 

Smell activates

The salivary glands

And when that doesn’t happen

The food tastes bland.

 

The fifth is touch

It’s a wonderful sensation,

It has spurted on

Many an infatuation.

 

It can get one in trouble

With the opposite sex,

It can bring on pleasure

Or it can make one vex.

 

Touch is the sense

We take most for granted

But it is the one with which

 We are most enchanted.

 

Of the other four

It is perhaps closest to taste,

When eating our food

It is an additional grace.

 

It helps with the taste

 But also with the texture

And makes a great dining experience,

You’ve gotten the picture.

 

Seeing is the one

I would most hate to lose,

Of course, I wouldn’t like it

If I had to choose.

 

They are all important

In the roles that they play

And the others are sharpened

When one is taken away.

 

A blind man hears better

I am sure you have heard,

You can ask any blind man,

Don’t take my word.

 

Taste would be rotten

If there were no smell,

You don’t have to ask a blind man

I am sure you can tell.

 

If I had to lose one

And I mean if I had to,

I’d reluctantly choose hearing

Tell me, won’t you?

 

I say reluctantly

On account of music,

Being unable to appreciate it.

Would give me a fit.

 

Of the five senses

Seeing appears to be tops,

However, we must thank God

For all the senses we’ve got.

 

Stewart Russell © 2020

 

He Pass fuh Cawmere

 

 

Hold up yuh head, boy,

And walk like yuh proud,

You just as intelligent

As any o’ dem in that crowd.

 

Doan leh dem ‘timidate you

Wild duh foolish talk,

You got pedigree too

So hold up yuh head and walk.

 

You got as much rights

As any one o’ dem out dey

So, I am telling you,

You en got to be afraid.

 

You pass fuh Cawmere

And got all o’ dem surprised

So, walk tall and proud

Leh dem tek de nose dive.

 

I proud o’ you, my son

Though I dumb as yard fowl

But I telling all o’dem

This is my time to howl.

 

Yuh look too sweet, though

In yuh kharki pants,

I doan care whuh they say

Dey could go to France.

 

Edward Fitsgerald Edison Simms

You mek me real proud,

I could walk and hold up my head

And holler hard and loud.

 

Every cent I spend pon you

Not a cent was wasted,

Not like some o’ dese out hey

Duh real two-face-ted.

 

 

He is de only Cawmerian

And de last of muh seven children

But I feel real good today

And uh proud o’ all o’ dem.

 

Duh gine mount to something

All seven o’ dem,

And I thank God today

That dem en gih me no problems.

 

Look at me boy out dey,

See how he striding,

And when he get all o’ he edication

Boy, he gine be gliding.

 

He might be a Prime Minister

Or even a President

In de republic of Barbados

Whenever that is evident.

 

All I want he to do today

Is to hold up he head

Cause he en got nuttin to be shame of.

Congratulations Little Ed!

 

Stewart Russell © October 2020

 

On Becoming An Orphan

 

I am an orphan,

Can you tell me why?

Yes, you guessed right,

Both of my parents have died.

You would never understand

Until it happens to you,

It’s just four months now

That I knew.

Prior to that

Both were alive, then one,

Now I must inform you

Both of them are gone.

How does one feel?

One feels parentless.

What is the main consolation?

Both are at rest.

But life goes on

As it invariably must

Although, only for who are left

So, no need to fuss.

Can one be an orphan

If parents are still alive?

Yes, of course this can happen

And I do not jive.

Examine the question

And perhaps you will see how

But you must do so carefully;

Try doing so now.

It happens daily

You don’t need to guess,

After all, this is by no means

Your most difficult test.

  

Question is: whose parents?

Now think about that

And “yes” for the answer

Could be a fact.

I notice you are still lost

How unfortunate!

I figured you to be smarter

But that’s my mistake.

Let me elucidate you

If that is possible,

You see I never thought

This would be a puzzle.

I am an orphan

But parents are still alive,

The fact of the matter is

Not all parents have died.

Just you imagine

If that were to happen…

The existence of humanity

Would be severely threatened.

Parents are a necessity

To ensure that continuity

Remains a definite probability

For human society.

Thank God for your parents

If they are still alive

For you will be an orphan

The moment both die.

In remembrance of Dad and Mum Russell

Deceased November 2009 and March 2020 respectively

Stewart Russell © July 2020