Monthly Archives: January 2019

Timor Mortis Conturbat Me

Timor Mortis Conturbat Me
[Fear of Death Disturbs Me]

 

In days of yore when pupils at school were ruled with iron rod
When few would dare to question the reality of God
What might confront us when moved beyond the grave
Rarely could be swept aside, even by the brave

Fear of death was a powerful motivating force
Lest we find that by past deeds we are thereafter cursed
Reflecting on the hereafter would thus our souls perturb
Resolving that our conduct might ne’er God’s rule usurp

Today our mindset has cast aside that shadow
Death’s menace ignored with much bold bravado
Indeed death now rarely accorded even mention
Eternal life apparently the focus of attention

And yet we know that such a view is unrealistic
Life may be longer but still remains naturalistic
Indeed today perhaps our fear is not of death but living
Amidst the challenges of modern life which can be unforgiving

So what might be the Holy Grail, the nostrum for our age?
To help us navigate a course and all our angst assuage
That neither fear of death nor life might carry off our peace
And from all that would disturb we might duly find release

Ken Fisher

Poetry on a Plate

Poetry on a Plate 

[A poem for Burns Night]

A sight to make your eyes dilate
No less than poetry on a plate
Haggis and neeps to bring delight
Who can resist this tasty bite?

And on this day when we recall
Scotland’s greatest poet of them all
Let’s relish in this ancient dish
What greater pleasure could one wish?

As we savour this grand repast
Reflecting on verses from the past
We rejoice in the gift of crafted word
And joy which food on us conferred

Ken Fisher

How Do You Do?

How Do You Do?

[An odd little poem]

 

How Do You Do?
I am quite well, thank you

 
How, may I ask, are you?
All the better for seeing you

 
Oh, you really are too kind
What are you planning for today?

 
I truly have nothing in my mind
Why not just take a little walk?

 
Yes that’s what I think I might do
Might I accompany you on your walk?

 
I see no reason why not
And then together we can talk

Thus we will while the time away
Yes that’s how we both might spend the day

 
This conversation is a game of ping pong
I serve a sentence over to you

 Then you bat back an immediate response
But we must keep the ball in play

 
Until one of us has no more to say
And then it becomes a fair bet

That the chit-chat will die as words get caught in the net
I wonder what will happen if I say no more

 
And I similarly wonder that too
Will the challenge of silence be too much for us both?

 
Then again each may ask How Do You Do?

 

 

Ken Fisher

 

 

 

 

Removal Upheaval

Removal Upheaval

 

I don’t know how often you have changed your address
But for the inexperienced this seems to cause great distress
And although we look forward with keen anticipation
We advance to our move date with some real trepidation

At first there’s the trauma of the purchase and sale
Which can push your blood pressure right off the scale
Having found your new home after diligent search
You hope you aren’t out-bid and left in the lurch

And once your target property is safely secured
Will the price leave you among the indigent poor?
Then panic sets in as you now need to sell up
Caught in the pincers that could leave you bankrupt

Of course there are professionals to help steer you through
Estate agents and lawyers, and mortgage brokers too
They are all case-hardened by years of experience
And promise their efforts will make such a difference

In the fullness of time the dark clouds will lift
And earlier worries can at last be dismissed
Your old home sold off and a new one acquired
Surely your clever dealings will be duly admired

But now you are faced with an onerous chore
Of clearing your old home from ceiling to floor
Then moving all your chattels to their new habitation
You must get on quickly with no procrastination

There is no doubt that we cannot avoid this disruption
When all our normal routines suffer vast interruption
It affects our body and mind and no doubt our purse
Perhaps selling agents should provide us all with a nurse

However, in the end when in our new flat we have settled down
Perhaps we can smile and dispense with that frown
The removal upheaval no longer an obsession
And in our new home we find pride of possession

Ken Fisher

Brexit (Decision Time)

Brexit (Decision Time)

Perhaps we should ban the word Brexit
Tell it to head for the exit
For months on end we have discussed it
Everyone of us now quite disgusted!

You expect more of our politicians
Who perform smarter tricks than magicians
Surely they have had time enough to resolve
Manifold problems they had to solve

But we remain in great disarray
Observing with mounting dismay
Internal strife now quite a spectacle
As we marvel at this chaotic debacle

At the referendum the nation gave a decision
But on facts quite devoid of precision
Since then many months have elapsed
Yet we are feeling increasingly trapped

MPs in civil war are engaged
As voices become more enraged
And the public watches on quite aghast
As each other with rhetoric they lambast

The time has come to make up their mind
And without seeming to be unkind
The various factions must learn to concede
That in or out our great UK should succeed

It seems the mood of the nation
Is we have had enough prevarication
Our legislators might get a firm grip
Abandon the pointless brinkmanship

Doubtless this island people will survive
And next week we will still be alive
So let’s make up our minds, fix on one choice
And in either deal or no deal let’s rejoice

Ken Fisher

Poetry at Work Day 2019

Poetry at Work

Can daily work reveal something poetic
Or is this simply empty rhetoric?
Work needed so that we can earn our corn
Not the object of  lyrical concern

Yet there are some who find poetry everywhere
The common round, the daily toil, what’er
The humble duty, the routine task
Thoughtful language can readily unmask

So on this day when poetry we celebrate
At the water cooler let’s initiate debate
On the poetry we can discover in our work
As CEO,  professional or lowly clerk

And let us all determine to take a little time
To sample poetry’s  gifts mundane or sumblime
That not just on this commemorative day
The poet’s art might illuminate our way

Ken Fisher

Epiphany

Epiphany

 

 

Epiphany – the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles
The Magi, guided by the star seek the Christ Child
Would that we, amidst dark days and somber thought
Be granted insight of where salvation lies concealed

Let’s set aside all meaningless art and striving
And humbly bring our worldly gifts and treasures
That we like kings may bestow them at His service
Untold blessing in return be our epiphany

Ken Fisher

Time’s Progression

Time’s Progression

[Written on 1st January 2019]

There is no stopping time’s progression
Its forward movement we can’t question
And as each year succeeds the last
We marvel that it speeds so fast

The years process at such a pace
It seems as if life is a race
Each month heralds something new
Novel sensations to value

Yet not for all, this speeding motion
Experiencing sluggish locomotion
The daily duty the quotidian round
Becomes for them life’s burial ground

One thing is certain what e’er the pace
With fear or joy we must embrace
The fact of change inevitable
Its advance inexorable

How to handle time and change?
From neither can we be estranged
Time. Sometimes called the fourth dimension
Change constantly prompts transformation

If we might learn time to contain
Within each day’s confining frame
And change, accept with patient calm
Our souls thus shielded from life’s harm

Ken Fisher