My Court Case

 

 

I sat in a court

Full of my peers,

Acquaintances, church brethren

And family were there,

 

A case called to decide

Whether I was crazy or not,

Please don’t be in a hurry

To determine my lot.

 

It was no one off incident

The prosecutor said

And I turned to see everyone

Nodding his head.

 

Up and down they nodded

Not left to right

And I recognized the magnitude

Of this legal fight.

 

I was unrepresented

So I was on my own

But I intended to fight it

Though all alone.

 

 

“For what am I being charged?”

I asked in my defense,

“For being crazy,”

This was the prosecutor’s offense.

 

“How can that be?”

I asked with incredulity,

Then pointed to all in court

And asked why only me.

 

“The mere fact of this case

Says the law must be crazy,

A court full of crazy people

And you charge only me.”

 

The judge tapped his gavel

On the table in front

And then complimented me

For making that point.

 

The prosecutor was enraged

And called the judge crazy

And the next thing I know

The court was in a frenzy.

 

 

“Order in the court!”

The judge called again and again

And when order was restored

He said, “You are all insane.”

 

During all of this racket

I was as quiet as can be

Whereupon the judge shouted out,

“You are all crazy!”

 

The prosecutor told the judge

“You should be on trial,”

And that’s when I observed

That they were both in denial.

 

The judge charged the prosecutor

For contempt of court,

The prosecutor shouted, “I appeal!

You got to be making sport.”

 

I sat there in court

With all these mad people at large,

The judge included

And I was the only one charged.

 

You must now be thinking

“What can this outcome be?”

What is there to think about?

They exonerated me.

 

Just my brief submission

Introduced by a single question,

And even the judge

Should be charge with dereliction.

 

 

“For what am I being charged?”

That is all I had asked

And that question alone

Had ripped off their masks.

 

I took over the bench

And reprimanded that court

For wasting my time

And making mock sport.

 

So all who think I am crazy

Examine yourself!

Mine is out in the open

But you operate with stealth.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019

 

 

Why Me?

“But why me?”

It was uttered with a loud sigh:

“Why not somebody else?”

As though in an attempt fate to defy.

How oft does one say

“Why me?” when things are great?

Never! But when it begins to hurt

Then life we berate.

“Why not me?” seldom happens

Since we feel that we are entitled

To the best that life can offer:

Yes! We are that kind of people.

So that when the paradigm shifts

And life hands us a lemon

“Why me?” is the selfish response

For being unfairly smitten.

I know it sounds familiar

To both the sinner and the saint,

“Why me?” is a common utterance

For both the strong and the faint.

Adversity is no respect of persons

It cares not who we are,

Like death it visits everyone:

From the stage help to the star.

That sounds rather fair to me

But it’s all right for me to talk

Until my “Why me?” time comes

And affliction begins to stalk.

Often one person’s adversity

Becomes somebody else’s yearning

That may sound rather peculiar

But let us take in some learning.

Some people’s dilemma

Is which of their outfits to wear

While for many others

A second would bring then cheer.

  

Some have several flat screen TVs

There’s one in every room

And should one begin to falter

It is replaced quite soon.

For some it doesn’t matter the extent

To which the economy recedes

They have sufficient and more

To satisfy their utmost greed.

But when something comes their way

Which possessions cannot fix

Hear the “Why me?” cry

When they are suddenly hit for six.

Believers are guilty too

As they soak up their daily blessings

But then the “Why me?” comes

In something they find distressing.

It mightn’t be anything big

But once it goes against the grain

“Why me?” is the automatic response

Once we have to hold some strain.

Don’t for one moment think

That I am exonerated,

This is just my call for help

I too need to be spiritually educated.

For when I think I am learning

I will sometimes lapse again

So this is not to knock you

But to encourage us all in Jesus’ name.

It’s in adversity that we grow

So “Why not me?” we should ask

Every time we face a trial

Since God may be prescribing that task.

I know it’s easier said than done

And I am still struggling with it

So here is my call for help

To anyone that’s well equipped.

Stewart Russell © June 2018