An Olympic Marvel

 

 

Who is the fastest in the world?

I know who got your vote,

It was no other, I am sure,

Than the fleet-footed Usain Bolt.

 

And the time he ran

That made him the all-time great

Was a jaw-stopping, foot-stomping

Nine point five eight. (9.58s)

 

Achieved back in 2009,

That record still stands today

And his competition, though fierce,

Was kept at bay.

 

But this is not the marvel

That I really want to highlight,

Rather, I want to highlight another:

That of team fight.

 

 

The fastest team in the world

Contains the fastest man

And I do not have to ask the question,

You know it’s Jamaican.

 

A mind-boggling 36.84 seconds

As four men scorched the track,

Of the skill pertaining to this event

There was no noticeable lack.

 

Four men with varying abilities

Ran as though one man,

None feeling he was better than the four

Thus, sticking to the team plan.

 

Do the math, I implore you

And divide 36.84 by 4

And you will discover, if I am correct,

That 100m took Bolt 0.37sec more.

 

 

On average the four ran 9.21

While Bolt’s fastest was 9.58,

Therein is the marvel I highlight

Bolt’s time is not as great.

 

No one man, however great,

Is nearly as good as his relay team,

Bolt knew this and together the four

Achieve their World dream.

 

Not one of us is as good

As all of us put together,

A team can achieve more than one man

By its collective endeavor.

 

Four men together ran 9.21 seconds

While the fastest man ran 9.58,

I submit, Usain Bolt compared to the four,

Was not nearly as great.

 

 

The fastest man, you see, 

Is not as fast as the fastest team,

Such a feat can never be achieved

Even in a dream.

 

Stewart Russell © February 19, 2023

 

Mother Hewitt

The hundred metres record

Was absolutely smashed

When Usain Bolt

And the titans clashed.

A mere 9.58 seconds

After the start of the race

The finish line was reached,

What tremendous pace!

Bolt had won it

Like a lightning flash,

For a race 100 metres long

That was certainly a dash.

Talking about a dash

Brings to mind Mother Hewitt,

She recently demonstrated

That she is quite fit.

She ran a hundred too

And that’s not the end

Because last time I checked

She was still running my friend.

We rejoice with her

For running so well,

This poem is to congratulate her

And to the whole world tell.

Although life is a dash

She has not completed yet,

Hopefully a super centenarian

Would be the next goal set.

Setting a steady pace

From 1918 to this time

She has run with determination

And a focused mind.

Many a milestone

She would have accomplished

Many an achievement

And many a wish.

  

A longstanding member

At Carrington Wesleyan Holiness

Celebrating a century together

Well, more or less.

The church’s was in February

Mother Hewitt’s was in March

What an achievement for both

From a very humble start.

I remember Mother Hewitt

When I was a little lad

She always had time for the youth

Both good and bad.

She didn’t make any distinction

She treated them alike,

Perhaps because of that

Many turned to the right.

The last time I saw her

Her memory was quite remarkable,

Her recall was exceptional

About events and people.

She spoke of the time

When she came to Carrington,

We were going to a birthday party

And for her that was fun.

It was the ninetieth birthday

Of a very good friend,

Mum Norris was the celebrant

And she was delighted to attend.

I took some photos of her

As she enjoyed herself

Sitting by her old friend

She appeared in good health.

I am not surprised

She has reached this score

And somehow I feel

God will grant her some more.

I bless God today

For precious Mother Hewitt

And congratulate her being a part

Of this great bajan trait.

Almost every week

A bajan reaches this mark:

Centenarian after centenarian,

It’s like a walk in the park

Stewart Russell © July 2018

Galloping Time

 

Against what is time racing?

After what is time chasing?

Could this be the shortening of the days?

What a mystifying craze!

September 1st! Can you believe it?

Eight months gone before you could spit,

Just yesterday this year began

And like Usain Bolt away it ran.

Time appears to be winding down,

Much is going on in every town,

The news is the same in every tabloid

Advising which cities and countries to avoid.

Such is the time in which we live

For peace and safety what wouldn’t one give?

But alas, these commodities are rare

And war and violence is too much to bear.

With just four months to go in this bolting year

Men’s hearts are failing them for fear,

Death and dying fills the air,

For whom next will the Grim Reaper appear?

The rate at which evil is occurring

Is so heart stopping and so unnerving,

Seared consciences and little respect for life

Give rise to conflict and unimaginable strife.

Against what is time racing?

After what is time chasing?

Could this be the shortening of the days?

What an absolute mystifying craze!

There is a saying under the sun,

“How time flies when we’re having fun!”

Here is a difference we must admit, though

How we wish evil could go on “go-slow”!

It is as though someone is deliberately at work,

Yes, some particularly insensitive jerk

And who not even time can divert

From seeing all of life interred in the dirt.

We have an idea who that someone is

So I need not ask that question in a quiz,

Most people know though unwilling to admit

That until all is lost that someone won’t quit.

And so now that someone races against time

And time races too I humbly opine,

A real race, more than an illusion of the mind,

It’s a race that affects people of every kind.

 

Many have lost the race against time

Their time having run out, nature’s design,

Having come to the end of their daily grind

At the end of their day were forced to resign.

For the others time gallops on at a terrific rate

Like a runaway train ignoring the gate,

Whistles, warning lights and trumpeting horns

Have no impact on time’s oncoming storm.

Time, a created segment within eternity,

Is quickly approaching its end, that’s a certainty,

As predetermined by the Godhead Trinity

It’s coming to an end most definitely.

And so too this year having just begun

Races on like a bullet triggered from a gun

And like the thousands that have gone before

Gives subtle insinuations of what is in store.

More of the same, perhaps more intense

Evil on the increase, intrigue and suspense,

Amidst it all a certain bravado and pretense

As the more aware become more incensed.

Against what really is time racing?

After what is time chasing?

Could this be the shortening of the days?

What really is this time galloping phase?

Stewart Russell © September 2017