Last Year Lights

 

Cheeze man!

Dese lights gihing me hell,

When I put dese down last year

Dey was working well.

 

I buy dese Christmas lights

Only last year

And duh getting more expensive!

This isn’t fair.

 

Not one complete string

Is not burning

And I telling wunna,

Right now, dis got me fuming.

 

Only last year!

And I put dem down good

And uh neatly wrap them up

As uh should.

 

 

And now, dis!

Dis cud be fuh real?

I change out so many bulbs

And evah time uh fail.

 

If only I cud find de receets

I wud cah dese back

And ask back fuh my money:

Dah’s a true fact!

 

I mek up my mind

Dis year I en buying none,

Not a string, not a bulb,

Not a single wun.

 

Duh too expensive

An’ I en got nuh money,

You cud laugh all you like

But I en fine it funny.

 

Last year lights

Does give nuff trouble,

Yuh is tek dem down wid expectation

But duh does bust yuh bubble.

 

Jest like some people-

Yuh is cahn depen’ pun dum;

Yuk better doan tek duh word,

Dum is nuff problum.

 

 

Dese last year lights;

I should o’ leff dum up,

I have a strong, strong feeling

I would o’ had better luck.

 

Yuh see me,

I done wid last year lights,

Cause it seem to me

I got a second-year blight.

 

Gih me some lights

Fuh my pre-Christmas gift,

Mek sure dum en last year lights;

Yuh ketch my drift?

 

Stewart Russell © December 4, 2024

 

Impossible

 

 

You cannot do another’s work

However hard you try,

But if perchance you manage to

You are living a lie.

 

For then, you see, I must believe

Your work is oft unfinished,

For if you have time to do another’s

Yours must be quite diminished.

 

Little or nothing to do

Or, perhaps not exercising enough,

If this be the case my mixed-up friend,

That is rather tough.

 

All the work you’ve managed to do

Simply was your own,

If it wasn’t at the beginning

Then your workload had grown.

 

To whom much is given

To the same much is expected,

So the thought it is someone else’s

Must surely be rejected.

 

You will be held accountable

For the work you have to do

And the excuse it was not your work

Will never see you through.

 

If you do another’s work

That person is automatically absolved,

His work is now become your work;

You are the one involved.

 

It switches from him to you

Hence, you are now responsible,

And if anything should go wrong

You’d be the one in trouble.

 

If it is good, you get the praise,

If it is bad; the blame,

And that to my mind is fair enough

However much you complain.

 

 

You cannot do another’s work,

Whatever you do is yours

So, do it well with all your strength

For your reward is sure.

 

The reward is fitted to the work;

The two go hand in hand,

He that works, the reward is his,

That’s according to the plan.

 

You might do ten men’s work

Or five men or even two,

It’s your work you must remember

So keep this within view.

 

You cannot do another’s work

That is not at all possible,

Concentrate on the work you have

And do it while you’re able.

 

Every believer has a work:

A work he or she must do,

No one can do another one's work

And that also means you.

 

Stewart Russell © January 16, 2022

 

Mottley and Motley

 

 

Just one ‘T’

Separates these two:

Mottley

And her Motley crew.

 

One plus twenty-nine

We know makes thirty

But only one in control

Is kind of quirky.

 

Mottley is that one

And transcends her crew,

Clearly without her,

What can they do?

 

She’s large and in charge

Without a doubt

And none of her crew

Dare calls her out.

 

Jump she says

And they ask how high,

Mottley decides

And they comply.

 

Adams had opposers

And so did Owen

But of Mottley’s motley crew

Not one is willing.

 

 

She is both their heart

And their brain,

It's Mottley's Labour Party

That’s what some claim.

 

I sometimes wonder

If she were to part,

Re moving forward

Where would they start?

 

The ‘T’ Mottley has

Distinguishes the two,

Mottley is far more clever

Than her motley crew.

 

That ‘T’ is tenacity

Which her crew lacks

With no bone it appears

Supporting their backs.

 

They refuse to speak

Because they must agree,

Hence, what she sees

Is what they also see.

 

That ‘T’ spells trouble

If they speak up,

Without Mottley’s say-so

They’re out of luck.

 

 

I anticipate that day

When one takes a stand

That differs from Mottley

Re her command.

 

Two ‘T’s to Mottley

And just one to her crew,

Motley they are,

Not much they can do.

 

Stewart Russell © August 16, 2023

 

God Uses People

 

 

 

I have often heard

“I have no help but God”

But is that really true?

Think before you applaud.

 

“God came through for me”

But how did God do this?

In so many ways, they say,

And then supply a list.

 

“Were it not for God

To whom would I have turned?”

Think again, I advise,

There’s much you can learn.

 

“God sent me the money

To pay an important bill,

And to think of how He did it

Really gives me a thrill.

 

I hadn’t a clue concerning

How the money would come

But in God I put my trust

And Presto! It was done.”

 

 

 

But, did it fall from the sky

Like manna in Bible days?

Certainly not, my funny friend,

Is what you’d likely say.

 

God does not print money

He uses what is in print,

All the more reason, my friend

Why I am begging you to think.

 

“I could find help nowhere

So, as always, I turned to God,

He provided the help I needed:

It was surely not King Fraud.”

 

When people cannot help us

It’s God to whom we turn

But is this really the lesson

This poem wants us to learn?

 

Look again, I beg you,

And its lesson you will learn,

“God uses people!”

It’s people to whom God turns.

 

 

It’s always somebody He uses

To help us in our trouble,

Think back again and you’ll see

God uses people.

 

The one who gave the money,

Or the one who paid the bill,

The one who brought the meal

Or the one that vacancy filled.

 

A helping hand that was given

Or a piece of needed advice,

A timely word of soothing comfort

That in a difficult time sufficed.

 

A lift to the supermarket

And a ride back home again,

An hour or too spent in company

As you deal with severe pain.

 

That shoulder you cried upon

A cheery good morning greeting,

Yes! God uses people

Is certainly worth repeating.

 

So, whenever God responds,

It’s people that He uses,

In the many and varying ways

It is people God chooses.

 

Stewart Russell © July 23, 2021

 

Our Trouble Source,

 

 

The source of our trouble

Is a four-letter word

Sometimes expressed as two

Or even one.

 

Sometimes “my” is added-

That’s in its longest form

But regarding the one mostly used,

“I” is the norm.

 

By now you have it:

It is I, Me and Myself,

And we three are about wealth

If it ruins our health.

 

 

 

 

The “I” look for number 1

And number 1 is Me,

Just Me and Myself

And that is all the “I” see.

 

Therein I tell you

Is the source of our trouble,

A myopic view-

Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

I shaded my eyes

And what did I see?

I will be honest with you…

I only saw “Me”.

 

Maybe you were there

And maybe you were not,

But it really doesn’t matter

“Me” is all I have got.

 

 

 

So, I am never short of trouble

As long as I’ve got Me,

It’s Me, Myself and I-

I always have all three.

  

We name the devil

And we give him the blame

But the truth be told,

It is these three that reign.

 

Me, Myself and I:

That’s the source of our trouble,

Not Satan, the devil,

Now I have burst your bubble.

 

He is our cop-out

Since we must blame someone,

“The devil made me do it.”

It is time that was gone.

 

 

Me, Myself and I

Honestly look at yourself!

That’s what I am doing now-

Not at you but Myself.

 

Stewart Russell © October 16, 2020

 

The Suspect

Mostly seen in Callenders Gardens

Fully clothed in body not in mind,

More than a little crazy

Should not approach at any time.

Frequents the Lodge Road district

Usually on Sundays

But also on Wednesdays and Fridays

He is occasionally swayed.

Not anywhere near six feet

So you know he is not tall

But in this he sees a consolation

He doesn’t have far to fall.

No distinguishing features

Except for a mark in his head,

Concerning the cause of this

Nothing more will be said.

Currently he is unemployed

But that is not all

Probably outlasted his usefulness 

But that is only my call.

Notwithstanding the above 

He still has three bosses,

However they provide him shelter

So he is able to ignore his losses.

Doubly armed and dangerous

Though mostly to himself,

Not known to the criminal court

But short on mental health.

Spent many years in school

In fact more than five decades,

Most of it while wearing spectacles

And in need of a hearing aid.

Possessed such love for children

That he himself never grew up,

Still behaves in a childish manner

And like them always interrupts.

  

Likes attracting attention

That’s another childish antic

And like children he doesn’t stop there

But adores in playing tricks.

Be very careful with him

He likes to twist your words

And when he has finished with you

You’re trapped in his crazy world.

He pretends at most things he does

For clearly there’s a struggle

And the reports from all on him

Determined that he is trouble.

His talents are many and varied

But nothing to shout about,

He dabbles in mostly everything

And fancy words he spouts.

He likes to flatter people

Hence he uses these words

But most can see right through him

And know he is disturbed.

He is in dire need of help

Particularly the psychiatric kind,

Just a cursory glance at him

Will show he is out of his mind.

He could be tricky with it though

Like most mad people are

And if you’re not on top your game

He’ll outsmart you by far.

He’ll have you eating from his hand

You’ll want to be his friend

But you can never tell with him

How it will turn out in the end.

If it were up to me 

I wouldn’t trust him one little bit,

That boy is smart

And he doesn’t miss a trick.

He has a good heart though

And only he would know that,

I know him personally

And I tell you that is a fact.

So whatever his short comings

And there are many

Be gentle with him, please

Don’t treat him like a public enemy.

Not one of us can change him

Only the good Lord can,

Remember that for the worst of us

God still has a plan.

If you should see this suspect

Do not confront him alone,

Ensure that you are with company

Or simply use your cell phone.

Get in touch with his bosses

I will give you their numbers offline

But do not try to apprehend him

He’s dangerous all the time.

Some have tangled with him

And they were not the same

But the interesting thing they noted

Was that he remained insane.

Take note of the sketch above

Your sanity might depend on it,

He is not easy to apprehend

Escaping is his habit.

Last seen writing a poem

And pretending to be a poet,

He answers to the name of Trouble

But he is certainly not a pet.

Stewart Russell © May 2018