Monthly Archives: May 2018

Forgiveness is the Threshold to Healing

Forgiveness is the Threshold to Healing

 

When we are stung by someone’s sharp rebuke
Their piercing words however unintended
The thoughtless gibe, unthinking sneer
That leaves our very soul offended

When those around apparently conspire
To thwart all our plans, our hopes and ambitions
How can be bring ourselves to readily forgive?
When our undoing seems the object of their mission

When in life we suffer losses and misfortune
Caused by others’ wanton actions or omissions
How can we cast aside our pain and resentment?
Absorbing all in self-deprecating submission

Of course we must attempt to stand up to the storms
And positively respond when confronted by adversity
Yet if our reaction is to meet challenge with aggression
Would not that alone simply be mean travesty?

We must find a better way to assuage our hurt
Not living out our days in pique and bitterness
But setting aside all past pain and suffering
Traverse the threshold of healing through forgiveness

Ken Fisher

Thought

Thought

Not animal, vegetable, or mineral
Sometimes fact, fiction or myth
As illusive as quicksilver
Unlike solid, liquid or gas

Who can define thought?
Or measure its power
To delight or scare or anger
An alchemy of energy

Would we be rid of this tyranny?
Which dominates our mind
Determines our deeds
And destroys our peace

Thought, intangible and unreal
Initiator of action from idea
By which we make a kirk or mill
From every brooding notion

And yet the delight of thought
The joy of inner anticipation
Treasured memories of happier days
All realized within that inward eye

Let’s rejoice in all that thought begets
In quiet contemplation or mental gymnastics
Find solace, peace, or ready stimulation
A memory bank and spur to this day’s living

Ken Fisher

 

GDPR

GDPR

The latest challenge to face our British nation
Is the General Data Protection Regulation
Now we must comply with detailed rules
To help us, some guidelines are useful tools

Curiously it is Europe who commands we comply
And Brexit appears to offer no alibi
In the UK the Information Commission
Demands our complete and ready submission

It would appear all these changes come in the wake
Of frequent liberties that intruders may take
With our personal data which we let others hold
As in on-line processing we have entered so bold

Big Data is the feature that might fill us with fear
As facts known about us break every frontier
Thus personal data ascends to the cloud
And lands where we surely would not have allowed

So all these new rules have been devised
To ensure of our data use we keep appraised
Above all, our privacy must be secured
And of that fact let us all be assured

Businesses, charities and all kinds of organisation
Will find they must meet their new obligation
To ensure that they comply with GDPR
Whose ramifications stretch both wide and far

One aspect of GDPR that surely will scare
Are the punishments if firms seem not to care
And it’s best that all submit to the ICO Regulator
Who is the ulitimate judge and arbitrator

So I hope all goes well in data protection
And miscreants will soon suffer detection
But don’t let all your links to others be lost
A price we may think is too high a cost

Ken Fisher

Cactus

Cactus

I don’t know what you think of these prickly plants
Their spines or spikes are seen at first glance
Their stems have chambers to help them conserve
The water they need, their life to preserve

Originally most cacti grew in dry habitats
Where all other plant life would simply collapse
And their thorny exterior would soon scare away
Any desert snake that might chance come their way

Cactus plants come in every shape and size
The number of species is quite a surprise
They don’t have conventional leaves as such
But some do have flowers, but you better not touch

Some cacti are tall, pointing up to the sky
Others quite low and shaped like a pie
Some are multi-coloured, some monochrome
Some, like a temple complete with a dome

There are tiny cactus plants ever so small
And others whose height is really quite tall
Some seem to have large internal tanks
Holding water like our saved money in banks

Anyway whatever you think of these succulents
Many  aficionados appraise their excellence
As decorations arranged in a classic display
Which can easily compete with a floral bouquet

Ken Fisher

Thank You for Your 10,000 Visits

Thank You for Your 10,000 Visits

Ten thousand ‘hits” is my reward
Ten thousand clicks my site explored
The oeuvre on the web dispersed
My views in simple verse expressed

Thoughts meant to stimulate the mind
Not politically aligned
Nor to any genre restricted
Or to unruly passion addicted

Statistics helpfully inform
That from this blogging platform
Visitors from all the world around
So many poems they have found

I hope the pictures have enhanced
As my regular offerings advanced
It’s not my intention to advertise
Just amuse, perhaps surprise

In these poems I encapsulate
A thought that could evaporate
And thus preserve its very essence
Before it sinks to obsolescence

Often set down in simple rhymes
Frequently in styles of various kinds
Of ways in which words to present
Your understanding to augment

These poems are not a bold campaign
No propaganda will on you rain
But rather some gentle musings
Perhaps novel, even amusing

Thanks many hundreds who came to visit
By exercising the clicking digit
I hope reward has come your way
My own pleasure I won’t gainsay

If you have had even momentary pleasure
It would please me quite beyond measure
That on your friends you might just prevail
To proclaim of The Bard Of Kelvindale!

Ken Fisher

THE BARD OF KELVINDALE

 

Sunshine’s Kiss – Summer 2018

Sunshine’s Kiss

Sunshine’s Kiss is

Gentle on our faces

Basking in its slanting rays

Tree lined arches project

Dappled patterns

On the pathways

The wind is hushed

Replaced by buzzing bees

Marauding in bright flower heads

A dragonfly takes a momentary rest

A world of warmth and peace

Caressed by our loving star

Ken Fisher

Dragonfly

Umbrage

Umbrage

 

Whenever someone seeks to criticize
My words or ideas oh so wise
Umbrage is the first thing I take
As I simply find I cannot wait

I know I should stop and listen
And avoid the quite wrong supposition
That your comments are meant to wound
My knee-jerk reaction too finely tuned

Thus I have lost the art of conversation
Each dialogue becomes a confrontation
Unwilling to accept your point of view
I may be right but so might you

It’s funny how often I feel slighted
Temper’s fire quickly ignited
You only made a passing comment
But suddenly my mind’s in torment

I really must change my diet
Choosing things that won’t disquiet
Taking umbrage does no good
Tolerance a much better food

Ken Fisher

Hiding Under the Duvet

Hiding Under the Duvet

Too much to do, too little time
But too timid to resign
Must I pretend to run the nation?
Living, one drawn-out obligation

Is this how to make life fulfilling?
Ever the need to “show willing”
Too weak to lower my eyes
Avoiding pleas that I oblige

So I have created my own prison
Destined to serve time with no remission
Freedom glimpsed through duty’s bars
Liberty tempts but from afar

Where might refuge be discovered?
Tucked warmly beneath the covers
The duvet gives shelter from the storm
Secreted from pressure to conform

Ken Fisher

Let’s Iron Out These Wrinkles

Let’s Iron Out These Wrinkles

Where would we be without this useful device
That ensures all our clothes are kept looking nice?
The washing’s complete but still in a crinkle
Time to eliminate those creases and wrinkles

In days of old we put the iron next the fire
To get it warm enough for what we require
But sometimes this resulted in far too much dirt
Which was quickly transferred to our lovely clean shirt

Eventually the iron was given its own water tank
An improvement for which we all give thanks
Because this meant it could retain its heat
As in its reservoir it did hot water secrete

In due time further changes evolved
Ensuring all ironing problems were solved
Thus pressing of clothes duly came on stream
Achieved by expelling jets of hot steam

The electric iron of today boasts a great range of options
Some offer anti-scale, easy glide, in such modern contraptions
Even safety controls to ensure the machine wont overheat
Indeed no ironing challenge can these marvels defeat

So if you are looking for ways to smooth everything out
This household wonder without any doubt
Can kill off those wrinkles at remarkable pace
But be warned it must never be used on an old care-worn face!

Ken Fisher