Monthly Archives: June 2020

Social Distance – Is It Shrinking?

Social Distance – Is It Shrinking?

*[See my previous poem: Social Kissing – A nightmare at New Year
Archives : Jan 2020]

It may just be that there is something I’m missing
But I’m perplexed by the rules of ‘social kissing’*
And since the lockdown when we must keep our distance
The rule-enforcers have been especially persistent

That hugging and kissing we should surely avoid
Our emotional displays must of these be devoid
But perhaps there’s a change in how we can behave
No longer to those rules should we be a slave

But at a distance of two metres how do we show affection?
While wearing a face mask to stop the infection
And if in only select groups can we ever gather
Not even consorting with one’s mother or father

So let’s hope that as restrictions are gradually lifted
And for chatting to others we will not be convicted
Some have suggested to avoid any trouble
We should stick to  a highly selective bubble

However don’t get carried away in expressing your passion
Maintain due decorum and act with great caution
Ne’er be tempted to kiss babies, just give them a smile
Emotion that’s masked must be your new style

Ken Fisher
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Gossip

Gossip

Have you heard the latest…………..?
Wait until you hear this………………
Don’t you just love it
To hear something is amiss

Chimps indulge in grooming
To endear one to the other
Humans like to gossip
Telling tales of one another

The juiciest of gossip
Of faults and indiscretions
Of peccadillos, little lapses
The stuff of true confessions

It’s odd that gossip rarely
Compliments or praises
Says little of kindly deeds
Just scandal that amazes

Doubtless gossip has a purpose
That’s surely not malignant
And the hypocrite within us
Really ought not be indignant

I retail my tittle tattle
And you then reciprocate
Thus we bond together
As chimps might congregate

Ken Fisher

Father’s Day

Father’s Day

 Let’s not forget Fathers
They still have their uses
The nuclear family
Why make excuses?

Mums on their own, merit our praises
And such arrangements we don’t criticise
But to eliminate Dads from the family scene
We genuinely feel is not wise

Of household duties the Dads must remember
When rearing the kids to do their fair share
They can’t be secreted behind lame excuses
Such tactics they know are unfair

It is sometimes claimed that Dads tend to hide
Mums get landed with too much of the work
So come out of cover all Dads thus concealed
Join the front line – you’ve no right to shirk!

But surely it’s not all bad news
There is much that Dads can contribute
When Dad brings his manly talents and skills
For these gifts we would now pay tribute

So let’s on this day say thanks to all Dads
In households throughout our nation
We love you and praise you for just being you
Today is your celebration!

 

Ken Fisher

Summer Solstice 2020

Summer Solstice 2020

A glimpse of sunshine warms our heart
Flowers and leaves reflect the light
The gentle rays caress our brow
Our lips widen with a smile

For now the daytime stretches out
Filling each hour with gentle light
Dark days of winter long forgot
Rejoice again in life outdoors

From this ‘crows nest’ of the year
We scan the horizon fore and aft
Behind, long hours of winter gloom
Then spring pregnant with promise

Ahead the prospect of summer warmth
And autumn’s gold and russet tints
But winter’s spectre lurks beyond
Vaguely threatening summer’s calm

Yet in this year of virus blight
We pray that prospects may be bright
Gradually those persistent fears subdued
Our hearts once more with hope renewed

Ken Fisher

Unsuscribe

Unsubscribe

 

There is a new movie of this name
Which has rapidly shot to fame
It made me think of ‘unsubscribe’
Suggesting that I want to hide

Unsubscribe implies that we belong
And now want to escape from
Perhaps some ‘app’ we thought might do
To help explore a concept new

But as with many of these offers
We get deceived by what they proffer
The free version is a real temptation
Enticed to complete full registration

Then we find the basic model inadequate
To version two we must migrate
Alarmed to find the cost soon escalates
And we need to differentiate

If we take time to calculate
The annual charge a mighty rate
The benefits that would accrue
Far less than all that money due

So at that point if we are wise
Abort the process, unsubscribe
But then we seem to be ensnared
Making us feel really scared

But we must not be caught in a trap
By purveyors of this wondrous ‘app’
To escape, and from the deal thus flee
Hit unsubscribe to set you free!

 

Ken Fisher

Reciprocity

Reciprocity

You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours
But we won’t be counting scores
In the spirit of generosity
Each acting with reciprocity

Do unto others as you would have them do to you
This is the hallowed Bible view
And in those words from God above
The essence of our mutual love

But should not our care have wider range?
Not simply the currency of exchange
Prepared to help where need is found
No demand that it redounds

Joy comes where mutual care is shown
Self-less love content to be unknown
Reciprocity implies some give and take
Gratuitous love does self forsake

Ken Fisher

The Status of God

The Status of God

Did God create man or man create God?
Believers might think that question is odd
They assert that all that there is, their God did provide
A conspicuous truth that can’t be denied

But others proclaim God is mere man’s construction
Of his fertile mind a brilliant production
By using his vivid imagination
The concept of God granted crystallisation

Of these two approaches to the status of God
Perhaps neither of them fundamentally flawed
One side says God existed ere the beginning of time
Others affirm God is man’s timely creation sublime

The faithful declare that from grace mankind did fall
That apple in Eden convicted us all
But what of the view Adam’s sin is not ours?
An unfair indictment, exploitative power

So if man created God, not the other way round
From original sin’s burden we are freely unbound
Yet if we reject God’s salvation by grace
Standing alone, this hostile world we must face

So perhaps the cynic might say we should hedge our bets
In the hope our choice won’t yield any regrets
To Father God hang on, however opaque
Espousing both the God who is true and the one who is fake

Ken Fisher

‘Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There!”

‘Don’t just do something, sit there!’

Yes, read it again, I have got it right
Not perhaps what you thought when glanced at first sight
I am suggesting the advice that we all should heed
Is less doing, more sitting, that’s what we need

Most of our time we rush hither and thither
And our energy levels are inclined to wither
Endless demands on our time is the cause
We really should learn to take time to pause

I know the pandemic has for some slackened the pace
But for many their lives have turned into a race
Working from home and being an amateur tutor
Can burn out more than just the computer

And new worries for many have surely arisen
Competing  concerns have their crowded minds driven
Keeping everyone safe and the show on the road
Service the mortgage over their dear abode

Perhaps things will improve when they lift the restrictions
Though speedy return to normal seems like a fiction
In the meantime we simply must continue to cope
And keep alive for the future our earnest hope

So it’s NOT what’s to be DONE that should dominate
We need to find time to SIT, perhaps contemplate
Of doing we have all had far more than our share
For a change let’s just sit, it seems only fair!

Ken Fisher

Hoping, Helping, and Hingin Thegither

Hoping, Helping, and Hingin Thegither
[What the Scots do amidst the pandemic]

What can you do amidst this pandemic
To prevent your thoughts becoming quite manic?
Better perhaps give heed to sister or brother
As the Bible suggests that we love one another

First of all we must not lose hope
Else we would find that we never will cope
Believe in the fact that all this will pass
A glimmer of light through today’s darkened glass

We might then consider those who are in need
Whose many problems their joy would impede
Weary souls whose lives are acquainted with grief
Bring meaningful help, and to sadness, relief

Perhaps we must simply be ‘hingin thegither’
Even if this means just having a blether
Reach out to each other as best we may
Bring light and blessing to each wearisome day

So let’s adopt those three simple deeds
To ease our own and our neighbours’ needs
Bring hope and help to those in despair
And hing in thegither thus our burdens share

Ken Fisher