It’s Awfully Hot

 

 

It is awfully hot

In this country of ours

And to make it cooler than at present

I have no such power.

 

Here I am sitting

With three fans on me

But I am still feeling uncomfortable

And full of lethargy.

 

It’s not me to complain,

I am just stating the fact

And bear in mind I am sitting here

With no shirt on my back.

 

To move from here

Will take determination

And right now, let me say most clearly,

This is not my intention.

 

For to move from here

Is to use up precious energy

That the heat has already sapped

From out of me.

 

I am grateful, though

That I am here in the shade

For were not for the roof above me,

Nothing would avail.

 

I am thankful also

For this open window

Through which there a light breeze

That constantly blows.

 

I had to share with you

The almost forgotten side

For while as I said, it is awfully hot,

The good I must not hide.

 

Three fans, I have stated

And two open windows

Through which I have mentioned.

A slight wind blows.

  

I am sorry for you

Who are traversing the street

And for workers on metallic roofs

It cannot be sweet.

 

 

 

Do rehydrate often

Not with water too cold

And in the event of a fainting spell

There’s something to hold.

 

It’s a good way down

From the roof to the ground

And do remember there is a family

Who wants you around.

 

It is awfully hot

But you are still alive

Whereas the dead cannot tell

Having not survived.

 

 

 

Let’s give thanks for the sun

However hot

And let us look forward to the time

When temperatures drop.

 

Stewart Russell © September 28, 2025

 

Christmas Solar Lights

 

 

A little bit saved

Is a little bit gained,

The Barbados Light & Power

Had become a strain.

 

Constantly ascending,

No coming down,

Cutting here and cutting there

But still a frown.

 

The highest month

Was December, of course,

The Christmas tree lights pulling

On the electric source.

 

This year, however,

I have been forced

To cut back on electric power

To another source.

 

 

 

Solar lights to the rescue

In Christmas 2024,

I started last year but this year

There is more.

 

They are mostly outside

In the many plants

And I spend quite a lot of time

Watching them dance.

 

The way they go off

And come on again

Makes the entire garden area

Like a lighted frame.

 

The yellows and reds

The greens and blues

And in between these colours

All different hues.

 

 

The sun is the switch

That turns them on

Since they light up beautifully

As soon as it is gone.

 

And when the sun rises

At the earliest dawn

The lights will all turn off

As it moves on.

 

A few in the patio

Still depend on BL&P

But if life be spared next year,

Less of these we’ll see.

 

Hopefully,

These lights will stand up

But I won’t cross my fingers

For that kind of luck.

 

 

Solar is where it’s at

To cut down on my bill

While still lighting up the place

To get a thrill.

 

There’s a light though,

Better than the sun

No company can produce it;

Absolutely none.

 

I introduce you now

To that wonderful light

That lit up the entire world

On Christmas night.

 

 

It was Christmas #1

When the light appeared

In the person of a little baby

In Bethlehem fair.

 

A light to the Gentile

And a light to the Jew,

A light to illumine the hearts

Of me and you.

 

A light for all people:

Every ethnicity and race,

The light, the Lord Christ Jesus:

Compliments: God’s grace.

 

Come to the light

It’s shining for thee,

I thank my heavenly Father

It has shone on me.

 

Stewart Russell © December 18, 2024

 

God’s Prized Possession

 

 

Genesis chapter 1 verse 16

Tells the position of the earth,

Not geographically speaking

But to God, how much it is worth.

 

The Psalmist confirms this

In a very pronounced statement:

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof”

Is a declaration of God’s intent.

 

The earth is the center of the universe

Has been the argument of some,

Others have denied this vehemently

And on and on the argument runs.

 

That is neither here nor there

Particularly in the light of this verse,

Certainly, it is God’s central interest

When compared to the whole universe.

 

What gives me the right to say this?

How can we really tell?

Study the words of the scriptural reference

And watch how the evidence gels.

 

 

“Let there be light” has already passed

Now we come to the two great lights,

The sun was created to rule the day

And the moon to rule the night.

 

And then as though it were an afterthought

God made the stars also,

But God is not a God of afterthought

There is nothing He doesn’t know.

 

The sun and moon watch over the earth

None of the other stars does this,

God has a special purpose for planet earth

A purpose that many have missed.

  

Let there be lights in the firmament

God said, to divide the day from the night,

And let them be for signs and for seasons

And for getting the days and years aright.

 

 

Nowhere else in God’s Word

Is another planet given such care,

This is clear, given what eventually happened,

In that God sent His begotten Son here.

 

Unlike any other planet or star,

The earth definitely holds a central place,

And God demonstrated this by sending His Son

As an expression of His wonderful grace.

 

A habitat for His premier creation

The earth is God’s prized possession,

Therein lives His chosen generation

To be found throughout the nations.

 

We can search the entire universe

And we will not find another race,

Except in heaven where there are the angels

That occupy a special place.

 

I may be sticking my neck out,

And you may argue I really don’t know,

But the value of this earth to Almighty God

Is in the demonstration His Son showed.

 

For what does it matter

If a man gains the whole world and loses his soul?

Jesus came down from heaven to earth

To make earthlings like you and me whole.

 

The earth that ultimately matters

Is the people of the earth,

Particularly them that are born again

Them that have experienced the new birth.

 

Stewart Russell © April 2020

 

It’s So Hot!

 

 

Boy, ent it hot nuh?

Dese days hot fuh so!

It is like de sun in de sky

                           Decide to put on a show.         

 

Even in de shade it hot,

I mean, real hot!

Yuh have to take your time

Or yuh would drop.

 

Dis is not de same sun

That I grow up with,

At no time was it this hot

And being such a risk.

 

It could take your life,

I mean this heat-

I just feel for those people

Out there on the street.

 

Boy, ent it hot nuh?

Even indoors,

I tell you all who disagree

It is hotter than before.

 

I used to play cricket,

Tennis and football too

All day on the hot tar road

And not a shoe.

 

Yuh cahn risk dat today-

Not with this sun,

At my age if you was to try dat

Yuh know yuh done.

 

 

Sunstroke would get you

Follow by Belmont or Two Sons,

I tell you, mess with this heat

And for sure yuh done!

 

They telling me

That this is global warming

And that the ice cap is melting

And sea levels rising.

 

I don’t know if they wrong

I don’t know if they right,

I just know dat these days real hot

And they giving me gripe.

 

I does dread this time of year

With all of this heat

And as for people that work in it,

That can’t be sweet.

 

Here is a little thing

That I does do,

I does drink hot beverages

And so should you.

 

 

 

 

Hot cools you down,

I know this sounds foolish

But cold makes you feel hotter,

Is that your wish?

 

Actually, my friend,

Science is involved here:

Heat moves from hot to cold-

It’s the same with air.

 

You’ll drink cold forevermore

In your effort to cool down

And you will simply develop a belly

Just like a clown.

 

Drink hot on the other hand

And you will cool down

And better survive this heat

And this scorching sun.

 

 

 

Man, it is so hot

That I must repeat,

Uh hot from muh head

Right down to muh feet!

 

Stewart Russell © June 9, 2023

 

A Lunar Annoyance

 

 

Doesn’t the moon look pretty?

Look how brightly it shines

The night has been lit up

Give me the moon every time.

 

Tonight I won’t use security lights

Since the moon is so bright

The sun was good today

But tonight the moon is my delight.

 

Let’s not less count the sun

From which the moon gets its light

Even now the sun is shining

As the moon lights up the night.

 

“I’m tired of all this,” says the moon,

“Why should the sun get the praise?

Where is the sun tonight?

It is me who is in the heavens raised.

 

I am sick and tired of this

Night and day it is about the sun

The sun gets all of the praise

And I get none of the fun.
 

Stop it!  Stop it, I say

Or I will definitely withdraw my light

And then tell me what you will do

During your inevitable plight.

 

 

At those times I take a break

I hear how you complain

With the constant query on your lips,

When will there be full moon again?

 

And when I shine in my brightness

You congratulate the sun,

Keep this nonsense up and soon

Of the moon’s light there’ll be none.

 

The dawn is fast approaching

And I must be on my way

I must now give way to the sun

So you have a great day!

 

Stewart Russell © May 2018