Author Archives: thebardofkelvindale.com

Self-Isolation

Self-Isolation

 

Circumstances might dictate
That we need self-isolate
It’s not that we have to atone
For sins we rightly should disown

No, victims we all may become
Of disease passed freely from someone
We did not ask for this free gift
Happy if we would be missed

A hermit we don’t want to be
Far rather we would still be free
Within our world not isolated
From all constraint be liberated

Defenceless from this spreading virus
Becomes pandemic – undesirous
Let’s hope in time the threat declines
And of improvement we catch signs

But in the meantime it’s a waiting game
Predictions made then counterclaim
Eventually the bug might tire
And world-wide panic should expire

If self-isolation becomes your fate
Normal living in stalemate
Like the stoics, without emotion
Pass each new day as in slow motion

Ken Fisher

Coronavirus

Coronavirus

Don’t panic, don’t panic I say to myself
As like others I fret about my good health
The news bulletins tell how the virus has spread
With large numbers affected and some sadly dead

We hope this will not become a pandemic
But we must be guided by the expert medics
The politicians too need direct all their attention
Their energies committed towards its prevention

Coronavirus was unknown just a few weeks ago
But its advance round the globe has not been slow
The problem today is people move far and wide
And they have brought with them this viral tide

In times past the nations have been affected by plague
But our knowledge of this remains somewhat vague
But with mass communication today we’re aware
Of every epidemic that would our health impair

So we will need to put faith in those who advise
Taking their precautions would surely be wise
And hope that in due time the risk will subside
Good health be restored throughout the world wide

In the meantime don’t panic, don’t panic I say to myself
I’ll take care of me and you look after yourself
And hope that the virus will tire itself out
That the spread of the bug might turn right about

Ken Fisher

Is That All There Is?

Is That All There Is?

 

Do you ever find yourself taking an unexpected pause
And in that brief hiatus, the enigmatic question arises
“Is that all there is?”

Most of the time we are propelled along by what has often been called
The daily round, the common task
The quotidian episodes of everyday living
Which maybe in themselves are meaningful enough

Perhaps it is fortunate that existential reflection
Is something for which we can find little time
And probably consider pointless anyway

However, every now and again we feel the need
To step off the treadmill, turn our back on the clamour
And ask ourself – what’s the point?
What’s driving us on – and where to anyway?

Throughout mankind’s seven ages
There is always something to do
Goals to reach, achievements to accomplish

Each age hallmarked by forward momentum
Growth the watchward of that decade
Until, bloated by the indulgence and excess
We grind to an undignified conclusion

And even after amassing some success
Of worldly goods, respect, perchance esteem
We yet remain unsated by it all

What was the point?
Wherein that illusive satisfaction
“is that all there is?”
The question still hangs poignantly

 

Ken Fisher

 

Why Feel the Need to Put It Right?

Why feel the need to put it right?

“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,
   That ever I was born to set it right”
Hamlet – William Shakespeare

 

The world is all at odds and nothing’s right
From poverty to climate change we get it wrong
But why must I alone campaign with all my might
Why can’t I simply learn to play along?

Lambasted day and night by media strident
Eyes and ears assaulted by their calls to arms
With such extreme demands made more defiant
I yearn to dissipate their bogus charms

The time may be out of joint but what of me?
Has time’s passing left me out of touch with life
The modern world’s virtues I refuse to see
All novelty thus fosters angst and  strife

To right all wrongs is that my great ambition?
Are not countless others seeking the common weal
Must I be sole crusader on this conceited mission
No wonder this lost cause lacks all appeal

Ken Fisher

A Valentine For Your Pet

A Valentine for your Pet

 

This is the day to send your good wishes
Accompanied by lots of passionate kisses
Lovers worldwide awaiting the post
For that one letter they hope for the most

That’s all very well for humans to fret
But let’s not forget the love-struck pet
Your moggy might be awaiting a card
And to be left out would be quite hard

So to ensure their pets don’t feel deprived
To include their doggy they have contrived
To send a valentine to that beloved pet
In case their devotion we are inclined to forget

You may think it’s mad to act in this way
But even for pets it’s a significant day
So don’t leave them out of your celebration
They want to be sure of your adoration!

Ken Fisher

S W O T

S W O T

 

No doubt you will have heard of this type of analysis
Intended to ensure no business is caught in paralysis
Strengths and Weaknesses we need to assess
Opportunities and Threats we have to address

But all this sounds like turgid ‘management speak’
Pointless obscure words concealed in mystique
To what does it amount? I hear you ask
Why waste any effort on this pointless task?

Well let’s leave the business world to its own devices
Might the SWOT analysis be for each of us decisive
Measuring our own strengths by a little introspection
Confessing our weaknesses in earnest reflection

Strengths come in a variety of guises
To realise this might provide surprises
Dormant skills and knowledge can be drawn into service
To compensate for weaknesses doing us disservice

Opportunities are the things that help us to advance
Sometimes we discover them as if by chance
But we need not just rely on luck to bring us progress
Exploiting new ideas often the hallmark of success

Finally there are threats – these can scupper our endeavour
But to negative thoughts or consternation we should not surrender
Each danger should be faced in the cool light of day
Problems thoughtfully overcome, we advance on our way

Ken Fisher

Is Thinking Good or Bad for our Health?

Is thinking good or bad for our health?
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”
Hamlet  –  William Shakespeare

As eyelids open and consciousness returns
Befuddled mind once more becomes aware
Of issues, anxious subjects of concern
That burden the fragile soul with care

It is not thinking of itself that brings us harm
But doubts and fears arising from this cogitation
Mere reasoning ought not to spawn alarm
But minds whipped up in angst and agitation

Moments dominated by endless thought
Anxiety o’er past hasty words or foolish deeds
Fear of the future, a battlefield quite fraught
Doubts where the tangled paths might lead

We must set each thought into its context
Past assumptions so quickly become out-dated
Future plans should not our hearts perplex
Only the present should leave us animated

So what e’er comprise our everyday reflection
Let not our thinking the hope of fuller life impair
Flights of fancy amounting to mere speculation
Should not obscure joy abounding everywhere

Ken Fisher

Massaging the Eyeballs

Massaging the Eyeballs

It has been suggested our eyeballs need a massage
Perhaps these dark shadows it might camouflage
But I think the reason is not just cosmetic
Perhaps it’s intended to be therapeutic

One website says it can stimulate the vagus nerve
Slowing the heart rate, relieving much stress
But I don’t recommend any vigorous rubbing
Or eyewashing incurring relentless scrubbing

The eyeball massage concept is more about vision
Of things we espy in life or television
Of sights that amount to mere titillation
Which many believe are blatant temptation

The phrase ‘eye-candy’ is now commonplace
To label female tv presenters with a beguiling face
I suppose hunky men might make a similar claim
Their rugged looks – their passport to fame

In the world of high tech there are endless images
Used to grab our attention, to pass on their messages
Whether we consider our eyes are thus being massaged
When our settled view of the world is sabotaged

Anyway what do we do to protect precious eyes?
Avoiding sights that offend, even mesmerise
What is the answer to crack this tough nut?
It’s really quite simple, just keep your eyes shut!

Ken Fisher

Brexit Day

Brexit Day

No doubt some will shout bravo!
But others do not want to go
47 years the full duration
UK as one Euro nation

Freedom regained some will claim
But many think it is a shame
To break the bonds of these long years
And surely they will shed a tear

The pros and cons are balanced finely
Divorce will not be gained benignly
But from Brussels rule we will be free
The Eurosceptics wish to flee

But what of solidarity with others?
Continental sisters, brothers
Surely we can still be friends
When formal Union meets its end

Ken Fisher

Just As Soon As

“Just as soon as”

Why must we live life with the ever-present thought
Something will happen “just as soon as”
Just as soon as I have completed my education……..
Just as soon as I have got a good degree…………..
Just as soon as I land a rewarding  job……………..
Just as soon as my career progresses……………
Just as soon as I meet the right partner………..
Just as soon as I can afford my first home……..
Just as soon as I start a family………..
Just as soon as the kids grow up and leave home……
Just as soon as my divorce settlement comes through….
Just as soon as I can afford to retire……………
Just as soon as I escape all responsibility for anything…….

So life is a sort of local train chugging relentlessly along
As soon as we reach one station we must head on to the next
Never stepping off to enjoy the pleasures beyond the platform
And then at last, when we have fulfilled the timetable
We stagger towards the terminus – only to hit the buffers
What was that all about? We ask

Ken Fisher

Note: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) viewed the ‘just as soon as’
mentality as the most significant problem of Western Civilisation!
Mainly as a snipe against religion which promised ‘pie in the sky by and by.’

Declutter

Declutter

Why wait for Spring before you declutter?
Oh give us peace! Do I hear you mutter?
But I think you’ll agree without any doubt
There comes a time when we need a clear out

But what has triggered this irresistible urge?
Which of all our affairs now demands that we purge
Is it clothing or towels making drawers overflow
Where it’s clearly time that all this junk must go

We live in an age of relative affluence
Where the advertising moguls have exerted great influence
So most of us have far more stuff than we need
And our comfort and warmth is thus guaranteed

Maybe our bookshelves are simply groaning
And in literary works we find ourselves drowning
Or computer storage, of which we are proud
Has now almost inundated that overhead ‘cloud’

Indeed it might even be that our own tiny mind
Finds its content too great to be thus confined
And our brain is demanding to have a spring clean
It’s incumbent on us to improve its hygiene

Perhaps our whole life a declutter demands
Many problems and issues filling our hands
We feel over-committed in every direction
And from many of these it’s time for defection

So to decluttering we should all now pay close attention
Thus ensuring that in future we consider prevention
Of that malady which typifies the modern age
And from all such excesses we might disengage

Ken Fisher

The Chateau and the Gateau

The Chateau and the Gateau

Poor Harry and Meghan have been told it’s not on
Their fairy tale has reached its denouement
They really cannot be that conceited
To keep all the cake and then simply eat it

The chateau an ideal place to abide in
The cake just the thing to get your teeth in
But why should the subjects be expected to pay
From taxation extracted from their daily wage?

We don’t wish to be unkind and seen to be mean
But to afford part-time royals we’re not very keen
Most of the people work hard every day
And the Sussex proposal they viewed with dismay

So Meghan and Harry and even Baby Archie
Have no doubt had quite a loud argy-bargy
But they now know how most of us feel
And we’re not coming up with any new deal

So I hope all goes well on the far distant shore
And with America they will not get bored
Star quality like Harry and glitzy young Meg
Are unlikely to find that they need to beg

So in the meantime as we bid them farewell
Who needs an HRH their career to propel?
They’re bound to succeed with their oodles of charm
And a little hardship might do them no harm

Ken Fisher

Note: the headline Chateau and Gateau is the invention of the UK
Sunday Press