Category Archives: Events

Poems for special events and occasions

Welcome, but Feared

Welcome but Feared

search

 

Welcome to the snow – it is not unexpected
Without this blanket white some might feel neglected
Thus a winter wonderland appears for our delight
Although it does seem for others to give them quite a fright

Because, while children in the snow are happy to cavort
Older folks may find their living turns quite fraught
And commuters on our roads and rails suffer travel woes
While youngsters of every age skid on the land that’s froze

So whatever is your point of view you’ll have to stick it out
Fortunately it’s usually only days before a turnabout
If we are lucky we will avoid any trials and tribulations
And warm and cosy by the window pane we may find consolation

Ken Fisher

p1110560

Grosvenor Terrace, Glasgow in the snow January 2017

 

Electric Blanket

Electric Blanket

search-1

One of the aspects of these dark winter nights
When we all bemoan loss of warmth and of light
Is the prospect of retiring early to bed
When the thought of cold sheets we assuredly dread

However the appliance of science has come to our aid
And at bedtime we need be no longer dismayed
The electric blanket has brought us relief
So climbing to bed won’t ever cause grief

As we tuck ourself in between blankets and sheets
Heat envelopes us all from shoulders to feet
And if we want to maximize the full size of the bed
We can duck right down, even cover our head

Freud might suggest thoughts of return to the womb
But our cosy bed probably offers more room
For tucked up in bed we feel so safe and so warm
Just as our mother kept us free from harm

Thus cosseted we languish surrounded by heat
And soon we are gently wafted to sleep
All the world’s problems slip quietly away
As we are renewed to face a new day

There is just one problem that you may discover
And from the shock of it may take time to recover
And surely it will leave you quite woebegone
If earlier you forgot to switch blanket on!

Ken Fisher

 

See also:  https://thebardofkelvindale.com/2018/01/05/hot-water-bottle/

New Beginnings

New Beginnings

search

New year, new beginnings
It is the time for resolutions
Prevaricate no longer
Act now let’s ‘carpe diem’

Clean slate wiped and ready
Freed from choices of the past
Poised to draft a whole new image
Facing the future with resolve

As this new year slowly wakens
Before many days have dawned
Let each rise to the challenge
Of a new beginning to our life

Ken Fisher

At The Threshold of the Year

At the Threshold of the Year – 2017

[First posted at the end of 2015]

DSCF1590

Time is sometimes called the Fourth Dimension
Length, breadth and height the other three
But time can fill our hearts with apprehension
No wonder that it’s often said to flee

‘Tempus fugit ‘ we plead as ready-made excuse
When everyday concerns and never-ending cares
A sense of guilt and failure does induce
Our quest for peace and freedom thus impaired

But time cannot be stalled; its steady progress will not falter
It’s march like Roman legions moving ever onward
Along straight roads, their fixed direction does not alter
The army moves in steps that take them ever forward

And so it is that in these dark fading days of late December
As we approach the threshold of yet another year
Thoughts filled with joy and sorrow as we remember
Hopefulness for days ahead but not without our hidden fear

What lies just beyond the gate of this New Year?
We’ve been warned: ‘the past no guide to future performance’
Would life be simpler if the way ahead was clear?
Why do we ever have to seek for reassurance

And so as we peer into the void beyond this New Year’s Day
We simply must accept that unlike length or breadth or height
The realm of time brings with it ‘come what may’
Our prayer remains that faith and hope will bring us light

And so my friend step onward with a steady pace
Give thanks for many blessings in the past
Let love for life and all mankind your heart embrace
And to God’s providence our trust remain steadfast

Ken Fisher

 

An Extra Second

An Extra Second

search

I wonder if you realise that this year will be extended
By adding an extra second it will be protracted
So ensure you make good use of this bonus time
To enjoy an extra moment doubtless is no crime

To guarantee our clocks remain forever accurate
Scientists tell us it is now vital to create
A ‘leap second‘ and add it to the year
Which on Hogmanay will surely bring much cheer

Thus by this adjustment our clocks will keep in line
With what the experts describe as solar time
Coinciding with the earth’s slowing rotation
The planet and the clocks echoing gyration

Ken Fisher

In Between

In Between

images-1

Right now we are in that no man’s land
Between Christmas and New Year
For some the party may still span
To fill the week with cheer

Extended families may need each day
For all their tribe to gather
To forget their work, take time to play
Their familial get together

Others find that these days between
Noel and what we call Hogmanay
A prompt to raid the cash machine
As on sales they splurge their money

Then there are those who realise
Due to excessive Christmas feasting
To call a halt it would be wise
And stop that endless bingeing

The obvious antidote to ever more excess
Is exercise of any kind, it’s bound to do you good
So if your slim figure you would like to repossess
Now is the time to avert your gaze from all tempting food

So there we are, a few timely reflections
On how to spend these days while we’re in suspension
Whatever is your choice, few can raise objections
If you just relax, lie back and say good-bye to tension

Ken Fisher

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning

search

The excitement of anticipation,
Children tip-toeing downstairs
In search of Santa’s bounty
The tearing open of those wrappings
The shrieks of pleasure as the long-awaited
Gifts are exposed

Mum and Dad come to find out if burglars
Have arrived to upset the household
The children squeal with joy as they
Show what Santa has delivered
Parents gasp conspiratorially
Admiring his awareness of all
That had been hoped for

Then the stockings are pillaged
Revealing their cache of treats and sweets
No longer just the time honoured fruit
The current Apple is probably a Mac!

After the intial excitement
Then parents too check to see
What Santa has done for them
In the hope that it might be more than
Socks or hankies – perhaps a spa break
Or a hamper full of goodies!

Then breakfast – don’t eat much
Leave space for the Christmas feast
The full works accompanied by the crackers
With their crafty little jokes – who thinks them up?
Indeed who needs philosophers?
The whole thing kept afloat by your favourite tipple
Remember to drink sensibly – especially the drivers

Traditional TV programmes will compete for those
Whose eyes will be glued to their new iPads
The Queen’s inspirational message muffled
By those ears stopped with headphones
Lambasted by the latest gaming wizardry
The traditional phone call to relatives
Superseded by a thousand tweets, Skypes, Face Time
Or whatever instant messages assail your privacy

Anyway that’s the modern Christmas
And of course not all will celebrate in happy families
Some choosing to be alone, others filled with memories
And yearning for the companions now gone from their life

And somewhere in the distant background is that stable
At Bethlehem, with the baby in the manger,
Still radiating the message of love
To every human soul in this angst-torn world

Ken Fisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS CAROL – FOR PARTY PEOPLE

Christmas Carol – for Party People

[A re-posting of a poem issued at Christmas time in the last two years]

[Sing this to the tune of ‘Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown’]

CHRISTMAS CAROL - FOR PARTY PEOPLE

We left God alone with his throne and his crown
For we had little time to spare
We were too busy spending our hard earned cash
Buying gifts and grooming our hair
For it’s party time and we must look good
As we’re all heading off to town

But then someone reminds us of that stable bare
With the Holy Child in the manger
And the ox and ass and wise men three
Then we thought of those living in danger
The sick and the poor and the refugee
And all those deserving our care

So that Baby of old and the twinkling star
Tells of God’s great love which came
Into the world to save souls in their need
By kindling that loving flame
So come dear Lord wipe out all our greed
With the light from that stable afar

God never says no when we celebrate
He is happy to rejoice with us all
So give thanks to God who loves each of us
He too will come to the ball
So come dear Lord, we won’t make a fuss
As again you with us incarnate

Ken Fisher

Darkness

Darkness

imgres

Doesn’t this time of year make you feel depressed?
We wake up in the dark and darkness descends again
when we are only half-way through the afternoon
Then we have to face the long hours through twilight
And the elongated hours of night

Perhaps we should be doing what other sensible creatures do –
Hibernate! But no, we humans must be always awake,
To switch off somehow demonstrates weakness
So we flounder about in the gloaming and the pitch black
Determined not to let the lack of light make any difference

I suppose there are some advantages of these dismal days
The imperative of cultivating the garden or allotment is
Lifted as the plants obey their preordained cycle of life
Similarly the trees cannot any add any further shade
Where shadows have little means of existence

Of course we humans do all we can to defy the dark
As we approach Christmas we create more artificial light
From huge town-centre displays where civic pride is demonstrated
In multi-coloured, electronically choreographed star bursts
To a humble domestic tree, with a few twinkling bulbs

Perhaps we should learn just to accept the darkness
As part of the natural rhythm of the year
And take the opportunity to disengage our minds
From constant stimulation, endless arousal
And simply BE, instead of always DO

Ken Fisher

Christmas Gifts

Christmas Gifts [A reposting of last year’s Poem. Issued between Black Friday and
Christmas Eve]

Selfridges London

Selfridges London

 

The Three Wise Men – is it them we should blame?
For starting this craze which can drive us insane
Each Christmas demands that we spend so much cash
As in our giving we are ever more rash

We know that it’s time that we all took a stance
And tried to control this needless expense
But somehow it seems we cannot reduce
As the desire to give still seems to seduce

We feel that it’s good to be kind to our friends
So to one and all our largesse extends
But we know that deep down their love can’t be bought
And much reckless spending is really for nought

So why don’t we reflect as did those Wise Men
Who sought out the Infant in far Bethlehem?
That gifts are mere symbols of their adoration
As to that Baby they bent in prostration

Now, as long ago, we need only one gift
As we too our faces to Jesus uplift
Just hearts filled with love for God and for man
Reflecting that glory whenever we can

Ken Fisher

 

Turkey Without Legs!

Turkey Without Legs!

p1110223

Here’s a thing you did not know
And I assure you that it’s so
Legless turkey is being served
A phenomenon I have observed

As you see from this tasty plate
Who needs legs you might debate?
When stuffing’s there and so’s the meat
With sprouts and roasties, quite complete

It’s just that somehow one does wonder
Has the chef just made a blunder
Or have those legs now gone astray?
Their absence may cause some dismay

However, I really have to claim
Legless turkey tastes the same
And with the trimmings on display
Such a meal will make your day

Ken Fisher

A Scottish Funeral

A Scottish Funeral

 

Hillhead Baptist Church

In kirk or chapel, crematorium or even by the graveside
Somber faced kin and friends, of the deceased assemble
The nearest and dearest still in deep shock from their loss
Others less close prompted to recall their own mortality

In these moments of quietness the outside world excluded
Time is forced to pause – its busyness suspended
And as we listen to the tribute to our loved one
Our minds are chastened as we reflect on life’s fragility

Of course when we are young we think our vitality impregnable
Unless the deceased be young and now a tragic victim
Of some untimely illness or overwhelming force majeure
The older, more conditioned to the prospect of approaching death

So we gather in respectful homage round the coffin
Listen to the biography which often reveals surprising facts
We wonder why we hadn’t taken more time or made more effort
To get closer to such a person, as a friend, a colleague or loved one

Our emotions charged as we sing an ancient psalm
And hold in prayer those for whom this loss is most deeply felt
For some the familiar words of scripture might offer consolation
Even the prospect of re-union on some far off shore

And then at the words of final committal
The curtains closed or coffin lowered
The body shrouded in unknowing
And we return to face the world
Which now is never quite the same

Ken Fisher