Autumn Fruits
[Newly harvested from our garden]
Caressed by raindrops
Chilled by winter frosts
Kissed by sunbeams
Cooled by gentle breezes
Coaxed to maturity
Month by month
From bud to fruit
Bramleys burgeon
Until they can no longer
Defy gravity
And their goodness
Cascades down on us
To titillate the palate
In tasty tarts and
And crunchy apple crumble
Such joy!
Ken Fisher
Unfettered Catastrophizing
[One man’s description of our press and media]
No such thing as Good Tidings of Great Joy
News only news if it conveys catastrophe
That’s the creed that editors live by
News only news if it trumpets calamity
A world serene, characterized by peace
Not news unless interrupted by disaster
A diet of accident, fire, bloodshed and disease
Such graphic scenes described by the newscaster
Of course we know we cannot deny life’s tragedy
The press does have a moral duty to report
To sanitize news bulletins would of course be calumny
But is it not surprising how little good news they exhort?
Must our media ever resort to catastrophizing?
Every incident, every misdemeanor, every commotion
Showcased into something quite tantalizing
Designed to evoke the strongest of emotion
Shock, horror, the watchwords of our press
Perhaps this is the dying cry of a threatened tribe
The slant of their news reveals their own distress
In a world which increasingly ignores the scribe.
Ken Fisher
Plus ca Change, Plus c’est la Meme Chose
‘the more it changes, the more it remains the same’
Nothing new under the sun, we sometimes declare
Because what appears to be new is already there
And when confronted with what we’re told is new
We suddenly experience a flash of déjà vu’
Doubtless we are surrounded by never ending change
Without it life would indeed be rather strange
But frequently we have inwardly reflected
Newness is just the old, believed to be perfected
And sometimes that perfection is not quite achieved
Leaving us feeling somewhat cheated, even deceived
Eventually it dawns upon us that what is claimed as change
Is simply a revival and much remains the same
Perhaps we should be just a little hesitant
Of novelty hailed as completely without precedent
On closer examination we may find that sometime in the past
This latest idea or gizmo had been claimed unsurpassed
But if something from former times had been so highly prized
Its reappearance in another form should no-one surprise
Thus ‘plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose’ should still be acclaimed
Proving the worth of continuity in a world of change
Ken Fisher
Hic et Nunc
[Here and Now]
Here and now that’s all there is
Past and future don’t exist
As past is gone so let it be
Future we can not yet see
Let not shadows from the past
Cause our mind to be downcast
Nor foreboding for what’s ahead
Keep us wakeful while abed
Here and now is all that’s real
At its altar let us kneel
For hic et nunc we bring our praise
And seek to live in all our days
Ken Fisher
Repeat Prescription
Those of us of a certain age are by now quite familiar
With receiving from the doctor, nurse, or someone similar
A repeat prescription for all those many pills and potions
We take to aid our health and locomotion
But I wonder if we ever stop to think how much our daily living
Might be described as a repeat prescription, a routine unforgiving
The pattern of each day or week prescribed so regularly
That month-by-month and year-by-year it really does not vary
Of course stated thus it all seems boring and confining
A straightjacket of a life, imprisoned and constraining
But is there any virtue in our regular routines?
Although we are all human, not merely dull machines
So the life prescribed by a regimen of work and play
Such that we find satisfaction in the passing of each day
Carpe Diem – seize the day might be the best watchword
The aim and motivation by which our life is spurred
Thus rather than feeling enslaved by the repeat prescription
We should rejoice that life is truly not conscription
But freedom to choose how each day and hour be filled
In no way determined by our daily dose of pills
Ken Fisher
The Brink
The world seems to go on its merry way largely undisturbed
Yet in the background we are aware of standing on the brink
Is this not quite unreal, should not our minds be more perturbed?
Can deep passions not be set aside thus giving time to think
Most of the world’s inhabitants go about their daily round
The rich amassing wealth, the poor struggling to survive
And millions in-between caught up in life’s merry-go-round
But what e’er their lot they rightly expect to remain alive
But as powerful national leaders confront each other eye to eye
Realisation begins to dawn how fragile is the way ahead
The challenging rhetoric will only magnify
Menacing words are flaunted as warheads
But this is no computer war game, this is for real
Let’s put away all illusion and face stark facts
The world stands on the brink, to humanity we appeal
Together we must quickly find the way to step back
This will not be easy, when threats and counter threats abound
National pride and need for compromise play equal part
But each side must learn how to give ground
To wrestle these protagonists apart
We pray that heightened passions might soon subside
That the world could breathe easy once again
And the hostility that great nations so divides
Common sense, if not love, might constrain
Ken Fisher
WDTM?
[What Does That Mean?]
WDTM is shorthand for What Does That Mean?
When we are trying to make sense of something we’ve seen
Or heard someone say, or maybe we’ve read
Which leaves us confused and quite often misled
A chapter in a text book that is required reading
Such obscure words, comprehension impeding
Or a professor whose lectures don’t throw any light
And preachers who vaguely hint at your impending plight!
Legal jargon is frequently quite impenetrable
Insurance renewals equally unintelligible
The instructions for assembly of any flat-pack
We must be smart if their secrets we’d crack
Guidance to fix a puncture on a modern car
Our mechanical awareness is really stretched far
Even setting a post code address on the new sat nav
Requires more savvy than most of us have
Have we ever tried a digital radio to programme?
It demands more awareness than an old wireless ham
Equally I find the handbook for an alarm clock
Can give the uninitiated quite a nasty shock
What about the manual for the flat screen TV set?
It can easily bring us out in quite a cold sweat
All its options for timers and downloads galore
And too many choices that we mostly deplore
In completing Tax Returns for the HMRC
We must always be as honest as we can be
But our attempts at the truth can easily be thwarted
As the language of their questions is so very turgid
At any time have you tried to make sense
Of those paragraphs that are ever so intense
In contract conditions expounding the law
Or warnings from banks if you dare overdraw
Which reminds me of messages sent out from the bank
I know they will claim they are just being frank
How many paragraphs does it need to explain
If you cash in early that ISA there will be no gain
The same problems arise if you feel bold enough
To enter the realm of social media and all that guff
Setting yourself up on Twitter, Facebook or Google plus
Is rarely achieved without a great deal of fuss
In all these situations we are increasingly confused
Words spoken or written simply leave us bemused
The recurring question is What Does That Mean?
To receive an answer to this we are really keen
Perhaps the problem is that we are awash with information
So many words thrown at us just leads to frustration
We need time to make sense of all that we are told
There is little doubt we’re at the information threshold
So when we receive any message, we should readily enquire
What does it say, what facts need we acquire?
And if we can make little sense of the communication
We should take early steps for its extirpation
W D T M ? should be our clarion call
Clarity from the message should be the demand from us all
Make them say what they mean, and truly mean what they say
Thus a clear message to us all they might surely convey
Ken Fisher
September Moon
September moon shines brightly in the sky
Heralding that Autumn time is nigh
Harbinger of harvest’s bounteous yield
From farmers’ labours in extensive fields
Moonlight illuminates the ripened crops
Nurtured by sun’s rays and soft raindrops
Then daybreak signals time to gather in
The just reward that their sore efforts win
Ken Fisher
Traffic Jams
The bane of modern living is the daily traffic jam
When the flow of vehicles forms a metallic dam
We sit there a prisoner in our little solo cell
With no easy escape from this very private hell
But somehow we seem prepared to endure this daily grind
As commuters we have been sensitized to problems of this kind
After all we’re not alone as we crawl along the highway
Surrounded by mass travellers as we take a quick glance sideways
As long as we keep moving we seem to be appeased
But when others break lane discipline we surely are not pleased
A string of shiny red lights ahead is a warning we don’t like
And if we stop completely we might be tempted just to hike
But of course we won’t leave this cosy little capsule
Even if lack of progress will destroy the daily schedule
Because we are safer just to hang on in there, however long it takes
Missing all the deadlines and the subsequent heartache
We are tuned into the traffic news which brings us little comfort
And we know a stern warning awaits when our boss we must confront
But we will tell her we were not alone on that crowded motorway
Not the only worker with a bad start to their day
Unfortunately there is a thought in our head which will not go away
No matter otherwise the progress of the day
And that notion is the prospect looming ever closer
The journey home in twilight’s gloom might well be even slower
Ken Fisher
[This poem is published on the day the new Queensferry Crossing
on the Forth opened to traffic (30 Aug 2017)]
Send for the Cavalry!
An expression sometimes used when we are in dire straits
Completely overwhelmed, the enemy at the gates
In essence, when we are facing a threatening emergency
Then that’s surely the time to call for the ‘cavalry’
Of course most of us want to remain independent
Coping with any crisis, mishap or accident
But just now and again events overwhelm
And we lose our grip, our control on life’s helm
It is then that we’re glad there is an external force
Who to our futile efforts might bring support
They will come to our rescue, respond to our call
Shoring us up just when we might fall
Who is this elusive cavalry, ready to swoop?
It might be one person or even a group
Friends might be willing to come to our aid
And our loving family will not see us betrayed
So it’s a good idea that you should keep in
With friends, even more so with your kith and kin
For you never quite know when help you may need
To summons the cavalry at breakneck speed!
Ken Fisher
Action and Reflection
Luke 10 : 38-42 Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary
What matters most when living life, to act or to reflect?
The truth is not just a dichotomy so simple
Life is neither all action filled, while thinking we neglect
Nor solely contemplation which all activity would cripple
Perhaps it is a matter of which mode of being
Best fits the present moment and the circumstance
Partly our thoughts and frequently our feelings
Which of mind or hand we would advance
Some people by their nature more disposed to action
Yet others content with gentle rumination
But either approach will yield its own reaction
A measured thoughtful response or deeds wrought through passion
Of course the different players may find it hard to accept
That the response of the other is truly justified
They choose one stance and the other they reject
Either to act or to reflect will forever them divide
But surely the truth is that throughout all our days
We are constantly embroiled in both thought and deed
The one informs the other as we negotiate life’s maze
While respect for each approach is what we truly need
Ken Fisher
Solar Eclipse
[Monday 21 August 2017]
As we look up towards the skies
[And don’t forget to shield your eyes]
The moon will block light from the Sun
As its shadow will our globe o’er run
Not everyone will be in shade
So you need not really be afraid
But parts of the U S A
Will find that night replaces day
I think that those who will be in shadow
Won’t miss the daylight they must forego
Because if they observe with care
They might catch the Sun’s coronal glare
I suppose there is a kind of magic
To experience this shade fantastic
And all fear of the dark will be dispersed
As in the gloom they are immersed
Eclipses make us all aware
Of other objects ‘way out there
And just as shadows cross our path
We should not let them prompt our wrath
For the moon’s shadow will progress
Renewed light will its power repress
And in due time the sun’s bright rays
Will penetrate another day
Ken Fisher
thebardofkelvindale 