Author Archives: thebardofkelvindale.com

Time to Reflect

Time to Reflect

A moment of respite
A reality check
Go into neutral
Take a deep breath
Time to take stock
Hold on just a minute
Let’s simply be
No need to do

Yet as each new day dawns
Challenges to meet
Opportunities to seize
Targets to aim for
Boxes to tick
The urge to compete
No time to be wasted
Success is our creed

Surely there’s more to life?
What’s it all for?
What really matters?
Who pulls the strings?
Find:
Time to pause
Time to chill
Time to ponder
Time to reflect

Ken Fisher

See also: Action & Reflection

Nodding Donkeys

Nodding Donkeys

Democracy is somewhat ineffectual
If voting is reduced to ritual
When electors vote as they are told
By the ‘party line’ they are controlled

Surely there is need to use our voice
And exercise freedom of choice
Secret ballots assure anonymity
Guaranteeing electors’ privacy

The problem is, even when considered
The need to choose leaves us bewildered
Zealots exercising all their might
Delude us issues are just black or white

But many of the problems of our day
Not black or white, much near to grey
Thus the need for consideration
Even measured deliberation

Not just in matters politic
The force majeure can simply trick
Us into decisions precipitate
Reasoning inadequate

Nodding donkeys we must not be
No longer ready to agree
To those who would life dominate
From their will we’ll deviate

Ken Fisher

 

What gain have the workers from their toil?

What gain have the workers from their toil?

What gain have the workers from their toil?
I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race
[Ecclesiastes Ch 3 v 9 & 10 Bible NIV]

Perhaps the life of faith and trust
Is for most of us simply too much
Submission to God’s sovereignty
Great strictures denying  humanity

Sufficient that we do our best
Without accepting His request
To live life by our God obsessed
Each moment by the Lord possessed

Those who labour in God’s garden
Shouldering a mighty burden
Toiling  for some heavenly gain
What earthly joy for all their pain?

And yet a life of dedication
Can provide true compensation
Extending love to one another
God’s face discovered in our brother

Ken Fisher

Punch & Judy Politics

Punch & Judy Politics

While watching a broadcast of Question Time
I wonder if your feelings are the same as mine
Must every session be a confrontation?
Why is there no room for moderation?

Of course politicians alone need not take the blame
Journalists are behaving just the same
Each interview used to debunk and deflower
Strip the MPs of all vestige of power

It seems a pity with so much at stake
Rational argument they seem to forsake
Of course they must not renounce the party line
Whose dogma all wisdom is said to enshrine

But this conviction rules out compromise
Even when events prove it would be wise
The result is that they simply harden their stance
Of rational thinking there is little chance

But in these days when there is no sign of unity
Our leaders should grasp the great opportunity
To draw us together, promote harmonious attempts
Rather than viewing each other with disdain and contempt

So my plea is cancel the Punch & Judy show
Drop dogged devotion to the manifesto
In the public discourse behave with respect
Then our precarious future we might yet protect

Ken Fisher

What is the Point?

What is the Point?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself
Of anything, what is the point?
Perhaps we are too afraid to ask
As the answer might disappoint

So much in life we simply accept
And questions we rarely attempt
Some topics have somehow become taboo
And from challenge remain exempt

But habit can sometimes be a lazy thing
If we don’t take a moment to think
And tradition can make slaves of us all
When perchance we are being hoodwinked

So perhaps we should pause just now and again
To ask why some notions exist
Not simply be ruled by the status quo
And let sloppy thinking persist

So what are the concepts of which we might ask
“Please let us know what’s the point”
Religion and philosophy might fill the bill
What is their aim and endpoint?

And some may well claim that art seems ever so dense
For others all sport leaves them cold
And gardening while loved by quite a few
Leaves many quite unenthralled

In theatre and music some find their passion
But to many they make no sense
As for politics, ancient history and maths
Who is ready to advance a defence?

We could go through the wide gamut of human endeavour
Question  devotees and fanatics
Have they ever stopped to take time to reflect
Before adopting their stance quite dogmatic

Of course the danger here is we might over-react
Our rejection becomes unforgiving
Then we can find little reason for existence itself
Conclude there is no point in living!

Ken Fisher

Purpose and Profit

Purpose and Profit

 

Traditionally it has been the view that profit
Should be the only aim of a business enterprise
Of course in the interest of shareholders
And fund managers, a surplus is surely wise

Others would claim that firms should have a purpose
That stretches beyond mere shareholder satisfaction
Wider stakeholders must be in contemplation
Else against raw capitalism there will be a reaction

Industry should take account of many disparate factors
And maximizing returns cannot be their only intent
The welfare of employees and the public at large
How will the products affect the environment?

Technological advance has wrought many changes
New gizmos developed never heard of before
Novel methods of dealing with complex situations
Ingenious methods of selling new products galore

When basic needs are met and standards are rising
The citizens pursue greater aspirations
Their eyes are cast on a wider horizon
Other goals now arise to become their new passion

Many factors determine strategic objectives
Political turmoil, economics, even advanced automation
So how to achieve profit amidst such a maelstrom
What is the purpose?  What consummation

Is this the dilemma for entrepreneurship?
The purpose that all this effort achieves
To survive and prosper amidst constant change
An outcome in which all might justly believe

Ken Fisher

Summer Solstice 2019

Summer Solstice 2019

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
We rejoice 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

Ken Fisher

Proximity Without Community

Proximity Without Community

Could it be that surrounded as we are
By thousands of our fellow human beings
Yet our heart cries out for companionship?
We have proximity but lack community

While sitting on a crowded tube train
Hundreds of heads clamped by earphones
Fingers tapping on smart phone screens
Perhaps community is in the ether?

Even while jostled in the rising lift
Our personal space acutely threatened
Proximity enforced upon us
A community manifestly silent

In the age of individualism, solo performance
highly valued, the allure of the selfie over all
Of course nominally we admire ‘team spirit’
But community consists of elite teams

In the pursuit of comfort and privacy
More than ever live as single occupants
So we become a community of persons
Living in proximity but in a soul-less community

In work we may be surrounded by others
But our freedom is regulated, our productivity calibrated
Together we are enslaved in the joint endeavour
But that common bond is very tenuous

And so we bob along like corks floating in a tank
Proximity demands that we impinge on each other
But in no way are we united in community
Perpetual drifting along together in independent flow

Ken Fisher

Don’t Give Up the Day Job

Don’t Give Up the Day Job

Wise advice when we are considering some mad-cap enterprise
And yet if caution is our only compass what is the gain?
Sometimes we need to step out into the unknown
Take a gamble, be adventurous for once

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step
If we are too timid to take that first stride, no headway
So why not cast aside all doubts and fears
To boldly go…………

But hang on a minute, do we need to burn our boats
Must we throw all caution to the wind?
Slam the door on past achievements
Eschew all that has given us comfort and security?

Surely there is a middle way, not stagnating
And yet not stifling all initiative, all creativity
Are we so confident in the need for change
That the decision to act can only be binary?

After all, when advised ‘not to give up the day job’
Isn’t there just a hint that others have reasoned
That, in the gamble we are about to take
The odds may be stacked against us?

The day job may seem tedious and tiresome
Characterized by boredom and routine
But at least it ensures that life is sustained
And others can still depend on us

But lest we think this view is a spoiler to all initiative
Many an enterprise has sprung from hobbies and pastimes
From the energy and enthusiasm of amateurs
Eagerly beavering away at moments snatched outside the day job

Ken Fisher

Election Over

Election Over

 

The Euro Election has come and gone
Some are pleased, others forlorn
Brexit party fired a huge barrage
Launched by smiling Nigel Farage

From the EU, Brexit wants us out
We must stay in, the Lib Dems shout
SNP say yes to Europe,  but in UK don’t stay!
Most other parties in complete disarray

The Tories have wasted almost three years
Infighting among their peers
Labour simply prevaricate
And now they’ve left it much too late

The Greens have gained a high profile
Something sure to make them smile
The planet is what they want to save
From a perpetual heat wave

In Europe itself there has been change
Centrist parties hit across the range
Europe’s voters are making different choices
Not a fact in which everyone rejoices

So there we are, the election’s over
New MEP’s will now take over
Who knows how that might make us feel?
Only the future will all reveal

Ken Fisher

Vacancy at Number 10

Vacancy at Number 10

 

There’s a vacancy at Number Ten
Open to women and to men
No need for you to be a snob
Just a Tory, to get this job

The money isn’t really great
Far short of a CA’s rate
Or even of some City clerks
But there are some quite good perks

At the start you get to meet the Queen
This might make your pals turn green
With envy at your new high status
In charge of such power legislative

But you have to toe the party line
Normally that would be fine
But no-one is clear what that’s about
To Europe are we in or out?

Facing the rabble at PM’s question time
Might induce you to commit a crime
On every side the baying mob
Your peace of mind they’re sure to rob

The press are bound to wind you up
And delight if they can trip you up
To them politicians are fair game
Unconcerned whom they defame

Eventually you’ll have no defence
Facing a vote of no confidence
Your promising career evaporated
And at the end humiliated

Having said all this it’s some surprise
So many seem to want the prize
Of occupying Number 10
It truly is beyond my ken!

Ken Fisher

Election Fuddle

Election Fuddle

Does anyone know how I ought to vote?
Hold on while I quickly take a note
Confusion abounds causing me such trouble
Who will release me from this gigantic fuddle?

Our esteemed politicians have not helped one bit
‘For purpose’ they clearly are quite unfit
At one time we thought they might provide a lead
But sadly in that duty they have failed to succeed

Every media debate seems to end in a fight
And the last thing that happens is increasing light
On the issues that concern the whole population
We only feel ever-mounting frustration

For we cannot see a clear road ahead
And conflict and division is so widespread
The prospect of uniting in one common view
The political classes certainly seem to  eschew

If only we could come to any kind of consensus
Some basic core ideas, nothing pretentious
Then we might be able to see the way forward
By which our future affairs may then be ordered

At the heart of it all is that one basic question
If answered we might clear the congestion
Do we leave or stay on in the European Union?
Do we hang on in there or opt for exclusion

The half-way house seems to please very few
Demanding compromise which would surely ensue
So perhaps someone will show how we get out of this bind
And tell us it’s time that we all made up our mind!

So as you come to vote in the impending election
When you finally have to mark your selection
Try to make it clear to the powers that be
Thus from fuddle and fog we might at last be free!

Ken Fisher