Monthly Archives: December 2021

No Longer and Not Yet

No Longer and Not Yet

Stumbling towards Hogmanay
Amidst this year’s dwindling days
We cast a wistful backward glance
And forward through the unknown haze

No longer amenable to change
Those unkind words regretful deeds
The clock refusing to turn back
Too late apologies to plead

Not yet whatever lies ahead
Its promise still to be revealed
Time remains the secret’s guardian
For good or ill our fate concealed

No longer, not yet, a moment’s pause
Straddling calendar’s divide
Accept what’s past, welcome the future
Providence will yet provide

Ken Fisher

 

Twixmas

Twixmas

What do you do during the week we call Twixmas
The seven twilight days following Christmas?
And as rowdy Scots may gear up for the revelry
Traditionally known to them all as Hogmanay

I suppose most use these hours to sleep it off
All that rich food and booze that they quaffed
Others take time to play with their toys
Not only the kids but grown-up boys

Perhaps the virtuous write thank-you notes
For gifts received which fulfilled their hopes
Others might try to remember who gave them what
From Aunt Matilda – underpants? Who would have thought?

Then there are all those gift vouchers or Amazon codes
If you’re into high tech you might have got loads
Like on a much coveted cake these are the cream
But I wish you success as you try to redeem

Perhaps in Twixmas we might visit some friends
To bring seasonal greetings, but try not to offend
For the coming year, to wish them all the best
But you must first of all take a Lateral Flow Test

Some might decide they want to get active
That new sporting kit they think makes them attractive
But there are even more who prefer indoors instead
Tucked cosily together neath the new duvet in bed!

So in Twixmas it’s for each one to decide
And whatever it is you are not surely obliged
To listen to others telling what you should do
Lazy or active it’s all down to you!

 

Ken Fisher

God Surprises Earth With Heaven – (2021)

God Surprises Earth with Heaven

God comes in a surprising way
As we awake on Christmas Day
He comes the gift we don’t expect
No more commanding our respect
We’ve grown world weary, cynical
Incredulous of any miracle
How can the gift of the Christ Child
Make God and man be reconciled?
Only in humble trust and expectation
For pride and conceit make expiation
Grasp the hand from God above
Here below, show forth his love
Thus heaven surprises here on earth
Confounded by an infant’s birth

Ken Fisher

Christmas Isn’t Cancelled

Christmas Isn’t Cancelled

Christmas isn’t cancelled
It just had to change its name
Like those colonial tumbling statues
We’ve been told we should defame

The problem seems to be
The name ‘Christmas’ too exclusive
And in the modern world so woke
We must learn to be inclusive

‘Winter Holiday’ is considered quite acceptable
Or ‘Festive Season’ we can easily defend
At all costs avoid religious labels
That might certain faiths offend

I suppose life in these islands
Has become largely secular
So the loss of Christ in Christmas
May not now seem peculiar

But although the genesis of Christmas
May have lost its true significance
It’s a pity this great Church festival
Might not still have resonance

So we’ll have to be content
With Christmas by another title
Not demur at enforced change
And all objections stifle

You may have thought that Covid
Has made Christmas disappear
But it’s the mighty PC warriors
Who have filled us all with fear

However by whatever name
Attached to this celebration
Let’s hope it still brings joy
To all throughout the nations

Ken Fisher

See also this poem presented a year ago when,
like now, Covid remained a menacing threat to
all celebrations
Click link below:
Is Christmas Cancelled?

Winter Solstice 21/12/21

Winter Solstice 21/12/21

The shortest day the longest night
Benighted souls seeking the light
The sun in deepest declination
Darkness shrouds the northern nations

The solstice marks a time of change
From the light we’ve been estranged
For longer days our hearts do yearn
Sunlight surely must return

For in due time by slow progress
Climbing sun will dark suppress
And soon its penetrating rays
Bring the lengthening of our days

As the solstice now we mark
Entombed in gloom and shadows dark
Let’s look to brightening days ahead
Returning light becomes widespread

In this, wretched Covid’s second year
Yet engulfed by gloom and fear
We pray that with extended light
All our future’s may yet turn bright

Ken Fisher

 

People, Planet, Profit

People, Planet, Profit

In the world of sustainability
There’s a new Holy Trinity
And for those who would invest
An enterprise that’s best

For magnates in the past
Profit came first, not last
People did the work
From labourer to clerk

The planet is our Earth
Exploited for its wealth
We gave nothing in exchange
No thought of climate change

But now we realise
This strategy unwise
Resources are finite
That’s our human plight

So changes must be made
With rising centigrade
And floods that inundate
We can not tolerate

A new vision is required
Sustainability much desired
The planet we must nurture
That people have a future

But for profits that’s unfair
About them, who will care?
Perhaps everyone would care
If with clear conscience all could share

So People, Planet, Profit
Together we must cosset
That all obtain their legacy
A fourth P – Prosperity!

Ken Fisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

Politics is War Minus the Shooting

Politics is War Minus the Shooting

[George Orwell once said that Serious Sport
Is like War Minus the Shooting.
Is politics the same?]

I wonder why politicians
Always seem like contestants
In the boxing ring

Ready to fight their corner
Against a hostile world
Whether fellow MPs of a different stripe
Or when bated by the belligerent press

PM’s Question Time like some gladiatorial contest
Insults slung mercilessly from the opposition parties
The Government benches filibustering
Answering anything but the question posed

Politicians pledged to stick to their Party line
Only the odd maverick prepared to speak their mind
Cheering and jeering and waving of order papers
No quarter given or expected

The Speaker fighting to maintain order
The members, like schoolboys running amok
No room for rational argument or calm reflection
Is this simply War Minus the Shooting?

The battlefield extends beyond the House
In TV studios and debating chambers
The skirmishes on a smaller scale
The invective no less spiteful or acerbic

And at election time on hustings throughout the land
The candidates convinced of the validity of their Party’s case
Unwilling to recognise any virtue in the policies of others
Belief in their own Manifesto unwavering

In the war of words
Truth and lies cut from the same cloth
The authenticity of any pronouncement unclear
Veracity and falsity rendered indistinguishable

One wonders if there is no other way
Must democracy only ever be viewed in monochrome
Can no-one ever concede there are shades of colour?
And muzzle their guns in the pursuit of the common good
Ken Fisher

Christmas is Coming 2021

Christmas is Coming 2021

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
What might Santa bring me? Dominates the chat

And this year, still oppressed by the great pandemic
We need something special a gizmo or a gimmick

Lots of choices to entertain and amuse
Making it impossible for each of us to choose

It seems no time at all, since this month last year
Your previous gift – is still unwrapped I fear!

The problem for me is you are so very very generous
Thus I am overwhelmed with great mountains of stuff

I can only wear one pair of slippers at a time
Such excess warms me quicker than jugs of mulled wine

It was good of you to buy me that new casual shirt
Its gaudy colours nearly made my dim eyes hurt

I don’t know if you’ve heard, no-one now wears ties
If I donned one nowadays it’d be a great surprise

I realise that your attempts to keep up with new trends
Might have stretched your credit, made you over-spend

But please this year don’t push things to excess
Our neighbours are so rich, it will never them impress

I am wondering if this Christmas something novel might suffice
Unusual, surprising, still at reasonable price

So here’s a few ideas which might have some appeal
At least one of these, most folks should find ideal

What about a ticket to an outdoor swimming pool?
Once you’ve cracked the ice you really will look cool

Or a trip in one of those new driverless cars
With free insurance cover for any consequential scars

I rather fancy a tattoo, of course somewhere quite discreet
Tucked away neatly underneath the soles of my feet

And have you thought of having your head shaved bald
It’s bound to leave your relatives somewhat shocked, perhaps appalled

And how about a faux-fur dressing gown for cosy nights at home?
Or for the horticultural zealot perhaps a garden gnome?

Or this rather sick suggestion about a novel coffin
Called a “wooden onesie” you won’t use it very often!

If you need ideas on what’s now all-the-rage
On-line catalogues put temptation on every flickering  page

As Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat
I can take PayPal or BitCoin and not just a penny from your hat!

And perhaps this year you might want a lie detector
Something, from dear Boris’ mind must be a defector
With such a tool you will easily recognise
My profuse “thank youz” are just a bunch of lies

Ken Fisher

Cancel

Cancel

Have you noticed a subtle change
Like when a word takes on another meaning?
‘Cancel’ no longer implies you’ve changed your mind
It now means something more demeaning

The woke world has forced us all
To be much more aware
Of what we state as our opinions
Of the words our lips declare

Before we hoist our colours to the mast
We must watch lest we offend
A world waxed hypersensitive
Our cherished views we need defend

The unguarded candid comment
The throw-away remark
Might quickly rebound to us
A blazing flame lit by our spark

Thus our words on social media
Views however gently stated
May lead to consequences
Far beyond our being berated

You may well ask what is the harm
Why must so much be seen at stake?
Risk to job, health or reputation
Dire consequences in its wake

But some may ask whither democracy?
And the principle of free speech
Where gone the right to state one’s mind
If every utterance will impeach?

So let’s set aside the ‘cancellation culture’
Let the Speakers’ Corner be restored
Open debate remain unchained
Vicious critics be exposed
Ken Fisher

 

Advent Calendar Makeover

Advent Calendar Makeover

Have you noticed how the Advent Calendar
Has evolved?
Less traditional ‘nativity’
Now involved

Gone are the shepherds
And the sheep
Of the Wise Men
Not a peep

Mary & Joseph gone A W A L
Baby Jesus escaped the stall
Even that twinkling star
No longer seen afar

The modern calendar you will discover
Given a radical makeover
Bethlehem now rarely features
Behind the doors quite different creatures

Each day your taste buds stimulated
Your sweet longings thus are sated
Miniature morsels in confection
Cheeses wrapped into perfection

Jewelled trinkets for the rich
Despite the cost, seem rather kitsch
Wine and spirits for the tippler
Mini biros for the scribbler

For those concerned about their looks
Opening doors in tenterhooks
May find something quite prosthetic
Amidst offerings cosmetic

And so on it goes, those daily treats
From micro gifts to tasty sweets
Until at last on Christmas day
We gasp at this endless array

And then we ask
What’s this all about?
Amidst cheap goodies
Don’t shut love out

Ken Fisher