Life and Living

 

 

From dawn till dusk

From dusk till dawn,

From morning till night

From night till morn.

 

From dust to dust

The destiny of the body,

What is the meaning of life?

Tell me, can anybody?

 

A few short decades

Sometimes more, sometimes less,

Sometimes full of trouble

Sometimes blessed.

 

 

 

Like the throw of a die

To determine one’s destiny

Or like picking Lotto numbers

To avert poverty.

 

Does life make a living?

Does living make a life?

Which stance should one adopt

To reduce life’s strife?

 

 

 

Some eat to live

Others live to eat,

Feeding a chicken properly

Gives better meat.

 

Some are living to die

While some are dying to live,

Some horde up everything

Never willing to give.

 

Some live for today

Since tomorrow never comes,

Some lead the way

While others march to their drum.

 

Ages and stages

Of writing on life’s pages

And as life’s tempest rages,

One to one engages.

 

Life is made for living

But what does this mean?

For some it is mostly fun and frolic

For others, a battle scene.

 

 

Wastage is a privilege

That a few can afford

While most daily scratch around

Seeking opportunity’s door.

 

Bits and pieces for some,

A bounty for others,

Some seeing life as a blessing

And for some it’s a bother.

 

For some the days are short,

For others they are quite long

And definitely life’s not the same

For the weak and the strong.

 

Life and living

Can be vastly different,

One may complement the other

Given one’s intent.

 

Primary and secondary

Don’t mix up the two!

These two are critically important

Regarding what we do.

 

 

Necessity comes first

And after comes pleasure,

Health before wealth, my friend

Is a primary measure.

 

We all start with life-

It is a living we must make

And we do so as the genuine

And not as the fake.

 

Yes, life is for living

But living the best we can

Not only for self but for others

As our daily life plan.

 

Stewart Russell © June 12, 2024

Embalmed Food

 

 

I thank God for refrigerators

And the delight that they are,

They have improved our lives

And they have done so by far.

 

Think of the wastage before:

The produce thrown away,

Before the advent of the fridge

That was another day.

 

Today it is so much different

Because of the fridge

And we must give God thanks

For this convenient privilege.

 

I especially want to highlight

The embalmed food

Simply because as I get older

This is more my groove.

 

At our house it is a practice

That no one meal serves one day;

It serves at least two days

And this is our way.

 

In my case in particular

It may serve three days or more

And this is surely because

I am eating far less than before.

 

At our house food is cooked

Expecting somebody to drop in

And if that someone doesn’t turn up

We cannot throw it in the bin.

 

 

Hence, we embalm that food

As in the fridge we store it

And this is especially after Sundays

That this has been our habit.

 

Some of you may be offended

By the word embalmed

But there is nothing funereal about it

So please stay calm!

 

Embalmed food is the sweetest

And I am unanimous in that

And many others can attest

To this culinary fact.

 

Of course, there are some

That eat fresh food every day,

They are not about the fridge

You will hear them say.

 

Sad to say, they will go in one

If they live long enough,

Please accept my humble apology

If this quip is too rough.

 

I’ve heard some call people lazy

When they don’t cook every day

But I also know for a fact

This is the bajan way.

 

Embalmed food is less stress

And for certain less effort

And it is one of the ways

In which I give the wife support.

 

 

I tell her, don’t worry ‘bout me

I will find something,

With embalmed food in the fridge

I can afford to sing.

 

She can go and rest herself

Or find something else to do,

She doesn’t have to cook everyday

Like a ship’s cook for the crew.

 

She will last much longer

And certainly, she won’t run away,

And all things being equal

You may lengthen her days.

 

So, criticize me if you must

But don’t touch my food:

Especially the food that is embalmed,

Hear me now, this is my groove.

 

Stewart Russell © May 25, 2021