Category Archives: Ideas

Poems about the world of ideas

Mickey Mouse Degree

Mickey Mouse Degree

 

The Government is now showing concern
That taking certain degrees won’t help you to earn
Mickey Mouse is the label they give to these courses
And they may decide to cut their resources

In expanding their range some Unis were rash
Concocting degrees that for them brought in cash
But for their students this proved a rather poor bet
Leaving them up to their eyeballs in debt

The problem for students is they need take out loans
For something much less worthy than buying a home
And when it comes to repayment from the little they earn
They discover any job yields too low a return

But this doesn’t hurt the student right then
They don’t start to repay until as and when
They are earning enough to refund the State
Who find the debt burden an increasing weight

Mickey Mouse degrees are often in music or arts and design
Although social sciences rarely yield a goldmine
But that’s not to say these degrees should be trashed
Many persevere with them quite unabashed

Of course student debt grows greater each year
And to pay it off you need a career
To do this you want a good qualification
Accounting, law or computing helps you even more than the nation

Medicine, science and engineering might yield a return
Creative arts and media studies perhaps one should spurn
But if the best choice is to do something vocational
Take college training linked to trades occupational

And what of degrees in subjects traditional?
Your acceptance of these might be provisional
Geography, history, economics, even theology
As much Mickey Mouse as a course in astrology!

The problem suggesting it’s a trivial degree
Is to imply it’s of little use to you or to me
But many such degrees are quite life-enhancing
And their value is more than just their financing

So let’s not of Mickey Mouse be too pejorative
Such courses of study might start as explorative
But for the diligent student they can open the door
To lifelong learning promising so very much more

Ken Fisher

 

 

Posh

Posh

‘Posh’ describes some lofty people
Perhaps they have all our heart’s desire
That superior quality of living
At once we envy and admire

But why should this make us jealous
What do they have that we might crave?
Is it how they dress or speak
Or in the manner they behave?

Perhaps the words they use
The diversity of  language?
The rich vocabulary, superior accent
In us inducing anguish

A kitchen rack full of spices
The Aga oven, log burner in the hearth?
Fancy sports car, skis stored in the garage
Trinkets witness to  their wealth

Perhaps the extent of their possessions
Of this world’s goods they have it all
But I suspect you may be posh
With hardly anything at all

You don’t need limitless belongings
Houses, gardens, clothes, or toys
The hallmark of the truly posh?
Calm superiority and poise!

Ken Fisher

 

 

An APP for the Day

An APP for the Day

Moderns seeking motivation
From words that challenge or inspire
Often turn to social media
For goals to which they would aspire

And apple a day keeps the doctor away
Was once the best prescription
The modern version of this advice
Let an APP feed your addiction!

The range of apps is now extensive
By which friends communicate
But not only news or juicy gossip
Ideas too, they circulate

But some suggest it’s gone too far
The speed of growth impressive
From hero worship to hate mail
Their influence excessive

Many are the diverse platforms
Employed their message to proclaim
Words to lift our flagging temper
Our languid spirits to inflame

Carpe diem – seize the day
Be a rainbow in someone’s cloud
Make each day your masterpiece
Let inner joy shout out loud

New thoughts to guide our living
Pithy aphorisms retailed on Facebook
LinkedIn, What’s App, and Snap Chat
Ideas made visible on YouTube

TikTok, Twitter vie to catch your eye or ear
Instagram and Flikr seek to grab attention
Each purveying instant wisdom
Boost our happiness, shrink our tension

But all this has made me wonder
Can brief messages be life changing?
Well-chosen words can have impact
But life is complex, its paths wide ranging

Unlike Bible texts or rulings Ex Cathedra
Demanding all the world’s respect
Can social media’s daily diktats
Ever have equal effect?

I suppose they can despite being mere opinion
Hoping that we all may heed
Inducing us to spend, adopt a view
But why should we concede?

Keep social media under tight rein
No doubt it can give inspiration
Stretch your mind, expand horizons
Words and images firing your imagination

But let no-one else control your fate
No weasel words should e’er dictate
You were born free, chose your own path
Deny influencers their right to dominate

 

Ken Fisher

 

Politics is War Minus the Shooting

Politics is War Minus the Shooting

[George Orwell once said that Serious Sport
Is like War Minus the Shooting.
Is politics the same?]

I wonder why politicians
Always seem like contestants
In the boxing ring

Ready to fight their corner
Against a hostile world
Whether fellow MPs of a different stripe
Or when bated by the belligerent press

PM’s Question Time like some gladiatorial contest
Insults slung mercilessly from the opposition parties
The Government benches filibustering
Answering anything but the question posed

Politicians pledged to stick to their Party line
Only the odd maverick prepared to speak their mind
Cheering and jeering and waving of order papers
No quarter given or expected

The Speaker fighting to maintain order
The members, like schoolboys running amok
No room for rational argument or calm reflection
Is this simply War Minus the Shooting?

The battlefield extends beyond the House
In TV studios and debating chambers
The skirmishes on a smaller scale
The invective no less spiteful or acerbic

And at election time on hustings throughout the land
The candidates convinced of the validity of their Party’s case
Unwilling to recognise any virtue in the policies of others
Belief in their own Manifesto unwavering

In the war of words
Truth and lies cut from the same cloth
The authenticity of any pronouncement unclear
Veracity and falsity rendered indistinguishable

One wonders if there is no other way
Must democracy only ever be viewed in monochrome
Can no-one ever concede there are shades of colour?
And muzzle their guns in the pursuit of the common good
Ken Fisher

Cancel

Cancel

Have you noticed a subtle change
Like when a word takes on another meaning?
‘Cancel’ no longer implies you’ve changed your mind
It now means something more demeaning

The woke world has forced us all
To be much more aware
Of what we state as our opinions
Of the words our lips declare

Before we hoist our colours to the mast
We must watch lest we offend
A world waxed hypersensitive
Our cherished views we need defend

The unguarded candid comment
The throw-away remark
Might quickly rebound to us
A blazing flame lit by our spark

Thus our words on social media
Views however gently stated
May lead to consequences
Far beyond our being berated

You may well ask what is the harm
Why must so much be seen at stake?
Risk to job, health or reputation
Dire consequences in its wake

But some may ask whither democracy?
And the principle of free speech
Where gone the right to state one’s mind
If every utterance will impeach?

So let’s set aside the ‘cancellation culture’
Let the Speakers’ Corner be restored
Open debate remain unchained
Vicious critics be exposed
Ken Fisher

 

Unknown Unknowns

Unknown Unknowns

 

With the latest threat from Covid – Omicron variant
I am not sure if we are in the territory
Of the Unknown Knowns
Or the Unknown Unknowns

We have all grown a little weary
Of the dark menace of the plague
And we were beginning to get to know it
But now are we once again, in the land of the unknown?

We know this latest beastie seems to come with
Unknown features, which may also be unkind
It’s unknown if it is susceptible to a vaccine
And it’s unknown if it is more transmissible

On top of these unknowns which are presently known
I wonder if there are any other unknowns still unknown
Wouldn’t it be great if just a little more can be known?
Changing the unknowns into knowns

One other thing perhaps is still unknown
And that is what will be the reaction of the public at large
Who know what lock-down is like, but what we don’t know
Is will they resist such strictures this time?

It is not of course known how much comfort
All of us can take from all that is now known
From our knowledge of how to respond to a pandemic
But we do already know the effect on the economy
As reflected in plunging stock market prices

The sooner the unknown unknowns
Can be turned into known knowns
The better for us all
But we don’t know how long this might take
Does anyone know?

Ken Fisher

See other Poetry for the Pandemic

Dum Spiro Spero

Dum Spiro Spero

[While I breathe I hope]

A somewhat sombre motto
But while we breathe we can indeed hope
Of course the concern for breath
Has never been far from our mind
Throughout the world-wide pandemic
And the need for hope has coloured
Our thinking and attitudes
But while maintaining breath is one thing
Maintaining hope is quite another
Mind you, without breath we have little hope
But without hope is breath worthwhile?
Yet while we breathe I am reminded
Of the positive attitude embodied
In the sentiment which has sustained us
Namely let’s keep Hoping, Helping and Hinging
Thegither!

Ken Fisher

See that poem here:

Hoping, Helping, and Hingin Thegither

 

 

 

Sorry!

Sorry!

Sorry is not always an easy thing to say
Suggesting we might have gone astray
Done something wrong, or missed the mark
Kicked the proverbial ball outside the park

Saying sorry means we apologise
We wonder if this is always wise
Politicians rarely make such confessions
No hint of guilt in their expressions

Perhaps ‘sorry’ is somewhat overused
Leaving others quite bemused
Need we apologise for stepping first
With  others queueing  for the bus?

Some timid people’s whole appearance
Implies a lack of self-assurance
Sorry for their very existence
Pleading they should have kept their distance

On the other hand some will never apologise
Their arrogance more than life-size
They’re always right in their opinion
All life’s affairs are their dominion

Perhaps the middle way is best
Say sorry for things that you have messed
But don’t make life one long apology
Rationing ‘sorrys’ the better policy

Ken Fisher

 

Emotion’s Prisoner

Emotion’s Prisoner

By emotions do you feel imprisoned?
Those passions that incarcerate
Such impulses running uncontrolled
Peace of mind might liberate

Those thoughts that prompt rapid reaction
No time taken for reflection
Imagined threats to our esteem
Deserve greater circumspection

And anger, jealousy, disgust, frustration
All impose a custodial sentence
Paralysis denying mental freedom
Punishment demands repentance

But not all emotions would our soul confine
Love, joy, surprise, amusement, anticipation
Break the bonds, and lift the spirit
Bring blessings prompting acclamation

Sentiment, woven through the warp and weft of thinking
Emotion, hallmark of the human life
Feelings that govern every mood and action
Obsession in elation or in strife

From unwanted thought’s detention
Release our mind’s captivity
Float above preoccupation
Through serene passivity

Ken Fisher

 

Hands-On Philosophy

Hands-On Philosophy

Is there such a thing as
Hands-on Philosophy
Or is it all too airy fairy
Pie in the sky?

Who can make sense
Of the study of the
Fundamental nature of
Knowledge, reality, and existence?

Well that seems to be
The agenda for the
Aspiring philosopher
Mind blowing!

From deep thinkers of the ancient world
Thales, Pythagoras, Heraclitus
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Every one had got the bottle!

To search for truth and understanding
Make sense of life
And all there is
St Anselm and God thoughts

And on it goes
The panoply of lofty thinkers
Through the Age of Reason
To modern times

In every decade
Philosophers exercised their minds
In wrestling with logic, free will
Happiness and conflict

But was any of this Hands-on?
No doubt it was brain engaging
But just as faith without works
Is said to be dead

So then philosophy
Without application and action
Is mere abstraction
Comfortable navel-gazing

So what, you might say
Can a thing, an idea, an object
Not simply exist for itself?
Surely that’s philosophy

Hands off!

 

Ken Fisher

 

Telescope, Microscope, Horoscope

Telescope, Microscope, Horoscope

 

 

The telescope is a vital tool of cosmologists who would reach for the stars
The microscope the choice of technicians who peer nearer rather than far
The horoscope essential for astrologers predicting forward not back
These wizards are deft at navigating cryptic signs of the zodiac

All these devices are the stock in trade of those who would aim to shed light
On phenomena, not immediately clear to our ordinary sense of sight
The first two of these were designed by applying principles of unalloyed science
More mystical formulae the basis on which astrologers place their reliance

Mind you in earlier years astronomers and astrologers seemed to tread similar paths
But with the passage of time the former gained prestige by flaunting a knowledge of maths
In the meantime the microscope helped speed advances in biology, geology and chemistry
Its magnifying power revealed fine details which hitherto had been a dark mystery

What more can be said about these three types of scope – are they each of equal worth?
There is no dispute on the advances to which the telescope and microscope have given birth
But the dubious horoscope regularly gets an outing in much of our daily press
And there can be little doubt this pseudo-science can a credulous public impress

Ken Fisher

 

 

 

Ideas

Ideas

Ideas curated in the library of the mind
Thoughts form the basis of ideas
Ideas expressed in ideologies
About politics, beliefs and moralities

Ideas sometimes formulated into theories
Theories rooted in these notions
Signposting the quest to
Make sense of the world and our life in it

Ideas the platform of the imagination
The launching pad for great endeavours
Ideas the seed bed for ambition
Germinating the genesis of achievement

But ideas are not always benign
Ideas may foster the plot for evil intent
Ideas the planning forum for war or terrorism
Obsessive ideas multiplying, unbridled

Ideas heralding serenity
Ideas provoking despair
Ideas rarely ever neutral
Ideas sometimes best ignored

Yet without ideas there is no vision
Ideas, not merely flights of fancy
Without ideas there is little hope or aspiration
Let action fly on ideas’ wings

Ken Fisher