Category Archives: Contemporary Issues

Poems about issues of the present day

When the Light Darkens – Yet Again

When the Light Darkens – Yet Again

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The Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France

Following the Paris bombings in November, then Brussels in March, and now yet again with the runaway vehicle on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice, on Bastille Day,  July 2016.   One wonders if we are ever to be free of the spectre of impending terror.  And yet, I dare to repeat the sentiments of my poem posted on those two previous occasions

 

When life seems good and full of light
How can its days turn into night?
But that it does there is no doubt
And inwardly we have to shout

What has gone wrong, who can we blame?
Why can’t our path remain the same?
A life of praise for all its joy
No longer does our heart employ

We seek for reasons why things change
And far and wide our thoughts do range
But contemplation brings no balm
It does not cheer or bring us calm

We agonise o’er words and deeds
O’er failure to confront the needs
That might these tragedies divert
And so our sorrow thus avert

But in this time of sad reflection
No nostrum found for lost affection
And only sadness is in sight
No early hope of love or light

Thus we must journey on our way
No cure for pain our fears allay
Our only hope that time might ease
And thus restore our inward peace

But just as night will turn to day
We’ll find again the sun’s bright ray
Will slowly mend our broken heart
As warmth and love it does on us impart

Ken Fisher

Regime Change

Regime Change

[13th July 2016]

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Today the Queen will give an audience to Theresa May
Our new Tory Party Leader and Prime Minister
We are almost breathless at the political turmoil
Which has engulfed the nation since the EU Referendum

Whether this can be described as Regime Change
[As claimed for Afghanistan after the invasion]
Or something on a more modest scale
Nonetheless we have been witnesses
To cataclysmic change in leadership at home

The race to the top became more of scramble
As aspirants slipped on the mud slung at each other
Touseled heads rolled down slippery slopes
And the fairer sex became the victim of their own jibes

And not only the ‘ruling’ party but the opposition too
All seem bent on internecine strife, the nation
Watches on in incredulity and bemusement
Not our greatest moment midst political mayhem

But surely in due time the dust will settle
After all, compromise will no doubt be the cure
But in a new geo-political climate nothing can stand still
And regimes new or old must meet the challenge of the age

Ken Fisher

 

 

The English Riviera

The English Riviera

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Torquay

 

This coastal gem, twixt Exeter and Plymouth
Since Victorian times beloved of pleasure seekers
And renowned for the healthful climate
Its atmosphere, that of a continental clone
Has long enjoyed the sobriquet of the English Riviera
Perchance a poor shadow of Nice or Cannes?

However in these modern days when all seek to maximize their air miles
Many more fly high over Torbay than ever sample its ground level charms
Thus its air of fading gentility not yet gone beyond maturity to terminal decline
But who knows – as this nation enters isolation mode over Europe
And foreign travel once again seems more of a risk than adventure
Let’s hope the resurging trend of ‘staycation’ will bring revival

But is this judgment on the delights of South Devon just too hasty?
On closer examination I was reminded that there is much to savour
On this southern coastline, whose strand encompasses tiny coves
Expansive beaches, garish promenades, and flotillas of shiny yachts
Bobbing at anchor, or riding the waves, under the eagle eye of the Coast Watch
And, even yet, throngs of holidaymakers, bent on pleasure come what may

So let’s not too readily dismiss this southern coast, skirted by
The reclaimed railway line as it speeds through Dawlish, Teignmouth
And onwards, via Newton Abbot, to Plymouth and far Penzance
Recall with affection the quaint village charms of Shaldon
Or worship the sun in sheltered bays at Babbacombe and Goodrington
A ferry to Dartmouth’s port, then Totnes, or see craftsmen work at Cockington

For those who still hanker for the Mediterranean shores
Should try just one more time to find their pleasure near at home
The English Riviera may conjure up an image less exotic
But the unbiased visitor will find that for food and wine,
For sport and leisure, and for stimulation of the mind and heart
No need to span the Channel, or escape these native isles

Ken Fisher

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I Thought It Was Only The Birds that Twitter

I Thought It Was Only the Birds that Twitter

 

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In days gone by the ‘dawn chorus’ would stir us from our sleep
But nowadays it’s not just the birds but other things that tweet
Our mobile phones and tablets too disturb our gentle reverie
Their attention-seeking messages, a modern kind of slavery

So relentless beeps emit from these devices electronic
And frantically hit the airwaves at speeds quite ultrasonic
Our message to our followers defying all resistance
No barrier to its progress, no matter what the distance

Social networking has re-defined the meaning of ‘society’
In the past, it was people, in all their wide variety
But Twitter has now garnered beneath its brooding wings
All that each myriad tweeter to this network brings

Our avian friends who filled the air with dulcet whistling sounds
Have been usurped by tweeters who now the world surround
Endless short messages replace those tunes melodious
Making the ‘mood music’ somewhat less harmonious

But I suppose there is no way of turning back from progress
From the World Wide Web there is no likely chance of regress
So enjoy our feathered friends and their morning serenade
And the electronic tweeters who daily us cascade

Ken Fisher

 

 

Making Sense of Society

Making Sense of Society

Or what on earth is it all about?

[Perhaps an even more pertinent question following the EU Referendum result]

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Each one of us, a soul alone
Yet life is no a solo performance
Born into a family – even if only ‘nuclear’
[perhaps nowadays dysfunctional]
Socialised through nursery and primary
Dragooned through the schooling process
Finished off in higher education
Launched out into “society”
Like debutantes of old seeking a good marriage

How can we understand this complicated world?
From infant’s baby chatter to literature’s lofty tomes
From simple fairy tales to the treasure chest
Of history, philosophy, all the humanities
And that pragmatic realm of science
Describing all from single atom to the universe at large
Then technology the mighty progeny of science
And all of these given order by the ideology of politics

How then do we make sense of all of this?
Is this not too much for our tiny mind
Perhaps the point is that we cannot
On our own make sense of society
Rather, the very existence of society
makes sense of us and of our place in it
And only as we play our part as citizens
Can society be to our mutual benefit

And so let us rather praise that we live
Not as hermits on some island paradise
But as valued members of some collective realm
Each contributing to the greater whole
Which is the blessing of civil society
Combining our efforts and our gains
And accepting some loss of identity
Within the larger whole and for the greater good

Ken Fisher

But what about Mrs Thatcher’s much quoted utterance:
“There is no such thing as society”

So why try to make sense of it anyway?

NOTE: IN THE 1980’S THE OPEN UNIVERSITY’S Social Science Foundation Course
had the title : Making Sense of Society

Decision Day [23 June 2016]

Decision Day [23 June 2016]

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Although every day of our human span matters
Some days are more momentous
Perhaps not as significant as our birth day
Or our last day – for that matter
Nonetheless today – REFERENDUM DAY
Will be epoch-making

After all the arguments have been rehearsed
Ad nauseam, all the killer points thrust like arrows
From the politicians’ quiver.
All the heat generated from debate and argument
Rising into the clouds of confusion and bewilderment
We are left alone to make that choice – Remain or Leave?
Would the throw of a dice be just as cogent?

Some have a clear perception of how they should vote
Others may have been swayed by the rhetoric
To change earlier allegiances
Some, even at this late date, still undecided
But let’s hope they all turn up to cast their vote
It is their civic duty and hard won privilege

Well, wherever we make our X on that ballot paper
We will do it in hope
Hope that whatever be the final national verdict
That bruises inflicted in the fierce campaign
May be quickly healed, and calm restored
Hope that in the aftermath we might all come to terms
With whatever new reality confronts us each and all

Ken Fisher

 

Click to see my earlier poem on IN or OUT

Materials

Materials

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Have you ever stopped for a moment to think
about all the Materials that we use in the modern world
Nowadays there is a lot of interest in the wonders
of the Natural World and the environment
and the preservation thereof

And sometimes the production and extraction
of materials is seen as the enemy of nature
But unless we all wish to revert to a primitive
lifestyle, with no manufactured artifacts
the use and development of materials is vital

I suppose our awareness of materials began
when humankind developed the use of tools
to till the soil, and build shelters to live in
The discovery of the wheel must have been
a major breakthrough in development of mobility

And so we began to look around at Materials that
might prove useful in what we now call rather grandly
The Built Environment!

So here is a reminder of a few of the Materials – the list could be almost endless

MATERIALS

Thank goodness for timber not just for the fire
So many creations wood can inspire
From beams for our roofs and planks for our floors
And carvings to decorate ancient church doors

Thank goodness for steel which shows such great strength
Upholding our structures, making ships for defence
Thanks goodness for plastic so strong and so light
Framing our specs and making them bright!

Thank goodness for textiles to wrap us up warm
For carpets and curtains our rooms to transform
For shiny ceramics making plates that are durable
And, of course, the convenience of the public urinal!

Thank goodness for glass that lets in the light
And in our lenses to improve weakening sight
And then there is rubber abundant in tyres
And now glass-fibre in broadband’s sleek wires

Then there’s brick and stone and perennial slate
Essential to builders, despite their great weight
And for our roads, little use without coatings of tar
On bumpy highways we would never get far

Of course paper has been vital to our modern existence
Decorating walls, for letters, its uses persistent
And dare I mention its use in personal hygiene
The greatest invention there ever has been!

And all those other metals like copper and zinc
And aluminium in the shape of our kitchen sink
Iron and nickel and lead for our pipes
Even silver and gold used by much richer types

There are those modern materials invented by science
Acrylics, PVC, polystyrene – to pack each appliance
By chemical wizardry new substances  grown
Using methods which previously were quite unknown

No doubt in the future we’ll use matter from space
Undiscovered products will become commonplace
So let’s give thanks for materials of infinite range
Whose application has brought to us such a great gain

Ken Fisher

SCREENAGERS

Screenagers

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A new word has appeared to describe the fact
That every young person must always react
With their mobile screens of whatever design
They worship as idols housed in a shrine

The new word is ‘screenagers’ but applies to all ages
And devotion to screens seems to infect at all stages
From tiny tots playing CBeebies games downloaded
To schools kids and students where Mindcraft has exploded

But grown men use screens throughout their busy lives
Keeping in touch with their kids and their wives
Mobile devices help us to deal with the homework
Knowledge unlimited on tap on the network

So phones have evolved and are ever so smart
Kindles and tablets play a significant part
Lap-tops and desktops are still much alive
Without PS4, Xbox and Nintendo we’d never survive

We have all become ‘screenagers’ in this age of the screen
They are part of our life, as much as caffeine
It makes one wonder how we lived life before
Without the screens – was life such a bore?

Well here we now are on Facebook and Twitter
New ways to keep our minds active and brains even fitter
So let us hope all these hours using computing devices
Will be a great  boon that’s hiding no vices

Ken Fisher

 

IN or OUT – Does it Matter to You? [The European Referendum]

IN or OUT  Does it Matter to You?

[An observation on the European Referendum]

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The airwaves pulsate with the broadcast debate
Each side convinced of their argument’s weight
Those pro-Europeans who want us to stay
Against Brexit supporters who wish us away

Experts have weighed in on each side of the fence
Learned opinion both For and Against
Those who feel if we leave we will all just go bust
Others say those ‘bean-counters’ you never should trust

Brexit supporters say the greatest threat to our nation
Are unending waves of cross channel migration
Each year those who move here exceed those who leave
Causing problems of which we yet cannot conceive

On the side of ‘remain’ are the financial guru’s
Lamenting the prospect of missing Euros
The continent provides us with markets galore
Depletion of profits we must surely deplore

On a serious note ‘sovereignty’ affects how we live our lives
And history tells us, a cause of much strife
The Leave campaign says Europe seeks to rule all
Their restrictions become the supreme protocol

The EU comprises some huge institutions
Each one determined to find good solutions
Through its Treaties, Decisions, Rules and Directives
They say they make laws that are truly effective

But some in our land question if all this is needed
And our autonomous actions are thereby impeded
They claim that an enlarged Europe is much overgrown
And now is the hour to strike out on our own

We have ceded to Europe the right of control
And political union is their supreme goal
But the Stay campaign deny this is true
And many safeguards this aim would subdue

In addition to these undoubtedly critical factors
There are other issues which to all of us matter
Many Brits love their two weeks in glorious sun
As ‘Non-Europeans’ travel might be less fun

And others whose thoughts are more philosophical
Think of the wide implications, social and political
Is not Europe much safer if to it we belong?
From inside, more chance to right any wrong

Many Brexit supporters abhor Europe’s rules
Laid down they claim by bureaucratic fools
Others say that Europe protects those who labour
And o’er the years it has shown workers favour

And so they go on striking points off each other
Showing little regard for their European brother
While each of us tries to discern what is best
As through all the fog, the ‘facts’ we digest

Perhaps in the end the choice that we make
Between complex issues, so very opaque
May simply be what in our heart we think right
Which the future will tell by the use of hindsight!

Ken Fisher

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May We Hallow Life’s Brief Span

May We Hallow Life’s Brief Span

 

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The passing of a friend can often be the prompt
Sets the mind reflecting on this finite span
In childhood and youth there seems no end to time
In middle age, too busy, consolidating life’s gains

And approaching retirement can pull us up quite sharply
One quick retro-glance reminds us less than half left in our glass
Mind you the modern retiree – despised by many younger
Is conqueror of the world as o’er its globe they trot

Intent on spending their defined benefit pensions
Lump sums are blown hedonistically on experiences of a lifetime
Or taking early release within new pension freedoms
Why not they say? If life is short – live it to the full!

Darkly we observe the loving concern of the staff of the local
Care Home who strive to nurture their charges’ lives
As in second childhood they sleep twilight days away
Is this how we spend the bonus of a longer life?

But what about a Christian dimension to all of this?
The biblical span of years is now oft exceeded
But should our creed not permeate all the years
From earliest understanding to mature faith?

Notwithstanding the fact that our life seems long
Against the background of history its span is brief
So how can we hallow the years we have been granted?
How do we live the philosophers’  worthy life?

And as we tread life’s path in daily increments
We might seek to live and love as God would wish
Not neglecting our duty to ourselves and kith and kin
But seeking always to support others as best we can

And so life’s span would thus indeed be hallowed
All our encounters, all deeds both great and small
Made somehow holy as others we would seek to honour
And thus their lives and our own be truly blessed

Ken Fisher

[HALLOW: To make holy, consecrate, sacred, sanctified, blessed, venerated]

 

The State Opening of Parliament

The State Opening of Parliament

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Pomp and pageant, precedent and politics
Golden coach and heraldic caravanserai
The sovereign at parliament
Noble head bearing the Imperial Crown
And shrouded in the Robe of State

The Queen enthroned, confronts her Lords Spiritual
And Temporal in the grandeur of the upper house
The Commons symbolically excluded, then reluctantly
admitted as Black Rod hammers on the door

The procession to the Lords’ chamber led by
The Speaker of the Commons as lesser members
Follow on, recognizable faces then others in their turn
Thus all of parliament awaits the monarch

The Queens’s speech – written by the government
Mouthed by the sovereign, outlines the proposals for
Legislation and reform. Filled with noble aims
And high ideals but seasoned by ideology of the party

Thus the plans for the new session are set forth
Royalty, in great dignity retreat, and both houses
Begin the debate on the content of that speech
First to agree ‘An address in reply to Her Majesty’s
Gracious Speech’    Then let battle commence!

Thus continues a tradition stretching back to the 17th Century
Perhaps somewhat archaic but truly redolent of our
Constitutional democracy.

Ken Fisher

 

Election Time – After the Event

Election Time

The day after polling day

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A long sleepless night, the vigil of the Results
Much excitement throughout the land
Early reports show the participation rates quite high
No man or his dog could escape the frisson

Polling day witnessed the stations fully used
No boredom or tedium this Thursday
And steady flows of voters
Eager to make their choices

The complexities of our PR voting system
Do not seem to have caused the voters great confusion
Whether it creates a two-tier universe of MSPs
In due time this seems to matter little

The magic hour of 10 o’clock, no more ticking
The metal caskets sealed and sent on their way
The smooth electoral machinery secures their safe progress
Ensuring each one directed to their counting station

World’s media turns on its search-lights
Politicians and pundits hover by the podium
At first there is little to say as there are no results
And comment from participants seems ambivalent

Then the early results – from small rural communities
Throw a crumb to the hungry journalists
Extrapolating tiny numbers into ‘national swings’
After all they have to say something

Gradually the momentum grows
Hopes begin to be dashed or faint hearts warmed
Explanation and rationalization comes thick and fast
Warning against early conclusion

Airwaves filled with chatter, rudely interrupted
The result is coming in from ……….shire
Self-important returning officers
Give their unhurried verdict to the anxious listeners

Broadcast journalists seize the opportunity
To demand some instant response
To any turn of events that challenges their prey
They go straight for the jugular

As the dark hours give way to daylight

A clearer picture takes shape, firmer outcomes predicted
Sharper focus now demanded in comments and explanations
The results seem to say this election has more to do
With constitutional issues than the traditional divide

The protagonists now face their new reality
Some heave a huge sigh of relief
Others nurse their wounds
Whither now the future of Scotland?

Ken Fisher