Category Archives: Ideas

Poems about the world of ideas

Chequer Board

A chequer board pattern to our life

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Life might sometimes be compared to a chequer board
Although this pattern seems to taper to the centre
Experiences classified in grey or black and sometimes blue
Perhaps this is altogether a motif far too rigid

And yet its regularity brings some reassurance
As we trace our way across the squares, we know
what’s coming next – nothing unpredictable
All uncertainty safely averted

But would we not soon be overwhelmed by boredom
If the progression of our days hardly ever varied?
But just trace a different course from the usual
Let your eye move towards the top of this display

The squares then seem to shrink, not just because of perspective
Perhaps as our years increase our vision too contracts
Our focus narrows, our outlook on the world begins to pucker
We return to childhood’s concentration on ourself

So let’s rejoice in regularity and order
But in our quest for stability in daily life
Still welcome those surprising moments
When serendipity comes to us unannounced

Ken Fisher

 

Holiday’s Challenge to our Soul

Holiday’s Challenge to our Soul

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The calendar routine is set aside, released from enslavement to its rhythms
The prospect of a week or two of uncharted freedom leaves some uneasy
Perhaps the regularity of familiar patterns has turned us into automatons
We seek liberty but fear the impending loss of habitual strictures

However, no turning back now, forward is the only choice remaining
And so we set off on our journey casting aside our doubts and trepidation
We move steadily towards our destination, relieved no incident has impeded
Our progress to the long-planned journey’s end

Within a few hours of our arrival, new sights and sounds have our mind assaulted
New situations, and novel experiences soon cast aside our earlier foreboding
As we begin to feel the joy of patterns unfamiliar and surprises unforeseen
Thus re-awakened to a fresh and different mode of living

Those early days of holiday seem to pass at their own plodding pace
But very soon the tempo of life’s carousel accelerates
Each day now filled from dawn to late sunset
With activity to stimulate our bodies and our minds

This onslaught of frenetic activity, and sometimes quiet reflection
Has quite dissipated the doleful mood which marked our earlier arrival
So that now the prospect of the end of our vacation
Is viewed with equal disquiet as was the start

Perhaps most holidays are too short, not sufficient time
To disengage from all that would our lives oppress
Yet if they were to become much longer
How would we cope with re-entry to reality?

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

Unknown

Digital Memorial

Digital Memorial

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Recent reports in the press and elsewhere point to a novel trend
Instead of erecting a tombstone or other such tangible shrine
The deceased, in advance, or their bereaved loved ones, in time
Have chosen a modern way for their lifetime’s work to transcend

Apparently we no longer live just in our everyday material sense
Our footprint on life reaches right up and enters into the ‘cloud’
And if others would know of all those deeds of which we think we’re proud
They should be made aware of what they were and similarly from whence

They thus can be informed of all those whose life we helped improve
And how in so many ways we facilitated much worthy change
Where our little efforts helped to bring about such serious gains
Or those, thanks to us, who found their burdens were lessened or removed

And where do our mourners find this great record of multiple achievement?
Normally it appears in an obituary, or some other published eulogy
But the digital memorial requires a great deal of electronic scrutiny
A much more complex appraisal amidst the process of bereavement

The daily paper’s death notice or the clergyman’s funeral oration
Are too limited to provide all that can be trawled on today’s social media
Whose various forms taken as a whole are large as an encyclopaedia
Thus Face Book, Linked In, Twitter, and YouTube each make their declaration

About the life of the deceased, in short messages, tweets, and clips encapsulated
Thus revealing to the world, in sound bites and Photoshop images
And snippets of communication in a million email messages
Like shards in a kaleidoscope our little life thus venerated

I’m not sure that the digital memorial is better than a graveside stone
And no matter what Big Data may tell of our life’s distinctive story
Of our dark days and sometimes even those of joy and glory
I prefer something more dignified than downloads from my phone!

Surely the best memorial that most people would truly respect
Would be recognition of our ‘real time’ presence among all those we loved?
And no matter how many followers clocked us from the cloud above
Our true friends’ joyous remembrance would the best we might ever expect

Ken Fisher

[The idea for this poem based on an item in the BBC Radio 4 Sunday Programme on 8 May 2016]

 

Personality

Personality

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Introvert or Extrovert, Intuitive or Sensor
What type are we, as seen by those experts who us measure?
Thinker or Feeler, Judger or Perceiver
I hope the test ne’er proves to be a false deceiver

Personality typing is a tool with many uses
And cynically, I suppose, even some abuses
I am told it is a method of true self-discovery
Sometimes even helps us in self-recovery

Historically the main researchers in this field
To whose opinions we might humbly wish to yield
Were Jung then Briggs and the Myers tribe
And subsequently others who to their views subscribe

Myers-Briggs have defined sixteen different profiles
Each of these describes just one distinctive style
Each profile has a group of letters to avoid confusion
The group defines the type thus by allusion

So here we find the ISTJ known as “The Inspector”
The ISFJ – apparently “Protector”
Then there’s the ESTJ who’s a “Supervisor”
While ESFJ’s a kind and good “Provider”

The INFJ is known as a “Counsellor”
Better still, the INFP can often be a “Healer”
The ISTP is a handy “Artisan”
INTP “the Architect” another useful man

Many wish to be an ENFJ that is a “Teacher”
An ISFP “Composer” or ESFP a “Performer”
Then there is the ESTP known as a “Dynamo”
But can the ENTJ “Commander” him readily o’er throw?

We still need ISFP who’s a “Composer” of fine work
And ENFP the “Champion” – never known to shirk
Finally ENTP the “Visionary” in front and never left behind
But best of all there’s INTJ known to all as “Mastermind”

The jumbled letters range from narrow INTROVERSION
And at the other end, expansive EXTROVERSION
The letters also point to the humans’ wide dichotomies
Similarly wide-ranging in size and shape like their anatomy

So S stands for “Sensing” against N for ‘iNtuition”
J is “Judging” against P for “Perception”
And finally we set T for “Thinking” over against F for “Feeling”
Such categorization might not seem so appealing

Anyway this is my summary of personality typing theory
I have to say I am now getting somewhat weary
No doubt the experts in the detailed field of HR
Will apply the testing for employment near and far

But I have to wonder if putting us into a labelled box
And judging all we do against the ticking clock
Will really make us willing to put our best foot forward
Perhaps a smile, a kindly word, yield just as much reward.

Ken Fisher

[Acknowledging data from Myers Briggs and Jung Personality Tests websites]
http://www.humanmetrics.com           http://www.myersbriggs.org

A Timely Warning!

A Timely Warning!   Not to be taken too seriously

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Just cast your eyes upon these tombs
And think what in the future looms
If we stray from the straight and narrow
Our fate it certainly will harrow!

As we gaze upon these stones
From underground, do we hear groans?
What pains were suffered by the dead
‘Fore resting in their earthly bed?

But surely all that here do rest
In life did all their very best
To earn a place in heaven above
By showing others generous love?

So here’s the lesson we must learn
If just reward we hope to earn
Throughout this life be kind to all
That from God’s grace we will not fall

Lofty gravestones may impress
But monuments can rarely bless
If when we’re gone we seek respect
In this life, let love reflect

The simple message of these stones
And tombs filled with those old dry bones
Is nothing does forever last
Live life today, accept what’s passed

 

Ken Fisher

 

FOUNTAINS ABBEY

FOUNTAINS ABBEY, YORKSHIRE

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This ancient pile, whose history stretches back to 1132 AD
The sour fruit of a dispute among the Benedictines of York
Some 13 monks formed the basis of a new foundation who
Settled not far away on the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure

In due time the expelled monks applied to join the Cistercian order
Whose leader was St Bernard of Clairvaux Abbey in Burgandy
And under the tutelage of that order the community at Fountains
Learned how to celebrate the Canonical Hours and to construct their buildings

And so a succession of venerable abbots oversaw the building and
development of this community of worship and work and service
Which continued until 1539 when, as a result of the desecration
Instigated by Henry VIII the abbey lands were sold to a London merchant

Gradually the fabric of this magnificent site was cannibalized
So that eventually all that remained was the gaunt outline
Of this formerly glorious construction within whose walls
Praise and prayer and community life had persisted over four centuries

KEN FISHER (with info from other sources)

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Radio – the Listener’s Window on the World

Radio – The Listener’s Window on the World

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For the genius of Guglielmo Marconi we must truly all give thanks
Among all his contemporary scientists he was in the very front rank
On the shoulders of Heinrich Hertz who found waves electromagnetic
Marconi built a method to send out these signals energetic

 

Marconi concocted a plan most cunning that avoided telegraph wires
And thus sent out his ‘wireless’ signals far above all those church spires
As the 19th century reached its close his experiments came to fruition
When with magnets, coils and dancing sparks he made his first transmission

 

From such primitive experiments by these wise men of invention
Flowed a cascade of ideas yielding endless innovation
Hence crystal sets and thermionic valves (which frequently got hot)
Transistors followed next and radio sets did then shrink a lot

 

As the years took their course and broadcasts grew universal
Transmitter networks worldwide ensured signal dispersal
Initially wave lengths were short or long and sometimes just medium
For local sites we had medium and long, for distance, shortwaves gave a premium

 

Sometimes people would complain of FM interference
Then along came VHF giving much more coherence
And in latter days, in a world of instant communication
Quality transformed as satellites beam o’er the nations

 

But the radio scene was much enhanced not just by technology
Its programming stretched wide spanning all ideologies
From off-shore pirate ships to internet radio delights
Broadcast output unceasing by day or by night

 

So today we have radio which is quite all-pervasive
It’s in our cars, on our phones, perhaps too invasive?
Where e’er we roam in this wide world its waves fill the air
We get it live, by DAB, or pod-cast, no matter when or where

 

And radio for each listener is a window on the world
Its masts like nations’ flags are everywhere unfurled
And if the aim is that ‘nation should speak peace unto nation’
Then those early pioneers assured its true foundations

 

So we have come a long way from that first pulse ethereal
Art by invention sent from masts to aerials
A world-wide enterprise to educate, entertain and inform
The broadcast media have all our lives transformed

 

Therefore acknowledge the debt we owe those pioneers of the past
Without whose achievements we could not amass
Such bounteous gifts as come winging by the air
An inheritance rich that is quite beyond compare

 

 

Ken Fisher

 

 

 

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When the Light Darkens – Again

When the Light Darkens – Again
Following the Paris bombings in November, now in Brussels

Now at this time of Tenebrae in the days leading to Easter when the candles are successively extinguished to bring only darkness, we reflect again on the clouds over Europe.  I present once more my poem written following the Paris Bombings – When the Light Darkens

 

Brussells

Brussells

 

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 this tragedy 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

 

Happiness

Happiness – published for the International Day of Happiness 20th March 2016

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In this mortal life we spend much time in seeking satisfaction
Chasing things we hope will bring much happiness and joy
And many a time these efforts bring no positive reaction
No bliss nor gain do we discern for all efforts we employ

In recent times the need for all to experience this felicity
Has come to be the battle cry of those who claim what’s best
And thus this need for untold joy’s been given much publicity
A new nostrum to lift our hearts and ensure that we are blessed

Politicians have on this matter long before pronounced
Jefferson in drawing up the US Constitution
Made clear to one and all when it was first announced
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” their chosen resolution

The New World pioneers held not the slightest doubt
That it was man’s clear and inalienable right
At the heart of all we do, all that we are about
To Live life, be Free, seek Happiness with all your might

In modern times our rulers revisit that great vision
The government claims it’s time again our happiness to measure
To calibrate our state of joy once more becomes our mission
And in due time we’ll have to gauge our sadness and our pleasure

To count and measure the nation’s joy is said not to be woolly
But to grasp it all may stretch demands on any Excel spreadsheet
If each and every factor be identified quite fully
The recording and analyzing, a highly complex feat

But can the concept of happiness be something quite objective?
My views on what to me brings joy or lasting peace
Are subject to emotions often quite subjective
For you my choice prove no great gain, from any fear, release

The Bible, on happiness quite often does declare
Ecclesiastes says – to be happy, no better aim can be
To build a world where life is truth, and acts are just and fair
Should on the lips of worshippers be their own earnest plea

But the Good Book says of happiness for its dear sake alone
The Christian life demands we seek the good of every other
The nobler path to which we’re called, that we must try to take
Shows peace we gain, when life is lived in service to our brother

But perhaps all this for you and me, a little too high-minded
Too vague an aim, such lofty thoughts, perhaps too altruistic
Our vision of happiness too bright and thus our eyes are blinded
Our keen pursuit needs grounding in plans more realistic

Perchance like me you may find that in order to pursue
The prospect of a worthy life, but not too hedonistic
For a life which cares for self but gives others too their due
We need a plan, not lofty thoughts, but much more realistic

Thus it may seem the media hype broadcast of latter days
Happiness an Agenda and call to Action
For each of us prove gainful and some dividend might pay
As step-by-step each one of us decides our own reaction

By daily acts of kindliness and personal good deeds
By loving thought, supportive words, and little acts of grace
We might promote goodwill as we note others’ needs
Each friendly word, each happy smile, radiating from our face

Now perhaps this does not answer, give adequate reply
To those whose quest for happiness seeks answers universal
But this gentle, kind approach I hope you won’t deny
Might from our gloom, our fear, our woe, initiate reversal

Ken Fisher

 

See this link from the BBC: Happiness http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z996cwx

I am H-A-P-P-Y (HAPPINESS DAY 20 MARCH 2016)

 

The International Day of Happiness 2016

 

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The old chorus says:
‘I am H A P P Y, I am H A P P Y
I know I am I’m sure I am,
I’m H A P P Y’

Sounds like an attempt at self-conviction
But are we happy? And if not
What can we do about it?
Indeed should we do anything about it?
Well, the joy-mongers of today are suggesting
That the road to Happiness is paved with
the building blocks of Connectedness

By this they seem to mean that we all need
To make the world a MORE CONNECTED PLACE

So today we should reach out and make new connections
We should do it in person,
We should do it on-line,
We should do it by letter or card,
By Facebook or Twitter,
By getting back in touch with one another
By re-building broken or lapsed contacts
And by simply finding a way to
Connectedness

They tell us the Ten Keys to happier living are:

Giving : do things for others
Relating: connect with people
Exercising: take care of your body
Appreciating: notice the world around
Trying Out: keep learning new things

So there you are then
BIG SMILE – NO PROBLEM!!

Ken Fisher
thebardofkelvindale.com

 

 

ANGST

ANGST

[DEF: An unfocused feeling of anxiety or dread about the human condition or the state of the world]

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We try to maintain a bold face, let’s hide our true feelings
No one likes a misery guts, keep your worries to yourself
‘Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone’
Load the smiley emoticon, the rictus grin for all to see

No doubt that is just exactly what some do, immersed in  a
swamp of others who are on a downer, we few feel the need to
buck the trend.
But it isn’t fair – why must we feel obliged to don the mantle
of spirit raiser? Are we not allowed to be ourself as well?

Is there a kind of collective guilt? Are society’s woes somehow
all our fault? Why must we show resilience while our fellows crumple?
Can we not equally share in this overwhelming angst
Suffer or rejoice under this communal cloud of foreboding

And if we seek the freedom to complain or soldier on stoically
are we then seen as unsympathetic – callously heartless they may say?
But if this mood has somehow become the temper of our time
Perhaps we must simply be swept along by this tsunami of unease

Yet hold on a mo, why not try to free ourselves from the zeitgeist?
Soar above the clouds of melancholy and despair, and even from
our own compulsion to disown all such hopelessness
Thus liberated, we may face life with equanimity

Ken Fisher