Honesty

Honesty’s the best policy, I am sure you will agree

Stick to the truth and from it never flee

Try to live your life without one lie

And if you fail, do not your faults deny

Honesty is a virtue much regarded

Not to be ignored or readily discarded

And like this plant which shows no brilliant bloom

Yet nonetheless brings great blessing and much boon

Ken Fisher

When the Light Darkens

When life seems good and full of light

How can its days turn into night?

But when it does there is no doubt

That inwardly our souls cry out

And when our settled way of life

Is menaced by the sounds of strife

When scenes of carnage assail our eyes

And loud the shrieks of panic rise

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 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 disaffection

And only sadness is in sight

No early hope redeems the night

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 world to peace

Ken Fisher

Tangles

Twisted together in a confused mass

Somehow that’s how our lives have become

There is a beginning to life, and

without any doubt, there will be an end

But the course of our journey

although linear in time

rarely traces a straight path

from birth to grave

How come all those loops in the rope?

What caused these coils and snags

Knots have formed without our intervention

It seems that the threading occurred all by itself

We seem quite helpless to unravel the mass

But perhaps we are not meant for

the straight and narrow, and life would be dull indeed

without the warp and weft of constant change

Ken Fisher

Schadenfreude

Why is it that we sometimes take perverse pleasure

On hearing of the misfortunes of someone or other?

Our expressions of sympathy really quite fake

And relief it’s not us whose heart has to ache

We make all the right noises, express our concern

Upbraiding the cause in a voice oh so stern

The victim we comfort being most sympathetic

But somehow these pleadings seem rather pathetic

‘Cause inside our mind we’re so glad we’ve escaped

The events which our friends’ lives have now reshaped

The future for them will be never the same

And our crocodile tears say – oh what a shame!

Why can’t we be honest and admit our relief

And tell them what should be our honest belief

That life is unfair, they are not to be blamed

And for what has occurred let them be unashamed

Of course we are glad that our life is untouched

By whatever our friends’ peace will now disrupt

Then get alongside to help lift their dark cloud

A much kinder response than mere schadenfreude

Ken Fisher

Middle Classes Under Siege

The backbone of our nation’s frame
Bending under excess strain
This vital prop helped states walk tall
No longer would prevent their fall

What is the cause of this malaise
What shadow darkens our sun’s rays?
Once confident, the middle classes
Reduced to equal working masses

The problem seems lack of regard
For gains achieved from working hard
Democracy downgrades respect
Advantage no longer is unchecked

Re-distribution might be fairer
But state largesse should still be sparer
Ignoring those who pay more tax
To keep the budget in the black

And with costs of living ever rising
Retirement recedes to far horizon
Offspring laden with early debt
Their student spending we regret

For them where is that bright career?
Basic wage for many a year
How can they ever own a house
Let alone afford a spouse

And adding to that angst and tension
Don’t forget they’ll need a pension
So middle class comfort just a dream
Forlorn hope their life’s new theme

Traditional values swept away
New changes we face every day
Lasting friendships seem to fritter
Replaced by chit chat via twitter

And marriage too has felt the strain
Broken bonds bring mighty pain
Families often re-invented
Lost happy days now much lamented

After decades of advance
The middle class looks round askance
For years they’ve given of their best
And now they feel the dispossessed

So what can they do when so perplexed?
There is no point remaining vexed
They must give thanks for all they’ve gained
And maintain their efforts unrestrained

Because without the middle class
The nation fails, we say alas
And duty ever was their strength
To run the course what e’er its length

The upper classes thrive the more
Accumulating wealth galore
The gap twixt them and all the rest
Reflects how they are surely blessed

The working class seems still to suffer
But benefits to some extent bring succour
The middle class gets scant reward
Life costs them more than they afford

So what’s the point of being the middle
Those above are on the fiddle
And those below with no ambition
Eye those above with deep suspicion

Is this the lot of our middle class
To be a buffer what e’er may pass?
Just keep calm and carry on
Into this legacy you were born!

Ken Fisher

On Retirement

There comes a time later in life
To say good-bye to working strife
At last the chance to take our ease
And do just what ourselves will please

In work our daily grind provides not a little tension
So nice it is at last to say, thank goodness for the pension!
And if the scheme will grant us an even bigger crumb
We’re really in the money thanks to that Lump Sum

Ahead of us the prospect of a life of idle leisure
Of days and weeks when we indulge whatever is our pleasure
In our mind’s eye how nice to see
The prospect of a life quite free

And yet perhaps we do glance back at all that we have done
At tasks achieved, at battles won, and worthwhile things begun
Life is a journey, new steps each day
There’s no going back to fix regrets, no matter what they say

But after all, it’s best for us simply to forward face
And trudge along the road ahead keeping a steady pace
Life has been good, despite the pain
And year on year we’ve seen the gain

So as we enter this new chapter of our living history
We go in trust for much remains still a deep mystery
But if we’re able to hold on to our living zest
There’s little doubt that come what may we surely will be blessed.

Ken Fisher

Sunrise

A new day dawns

With all its promise

What will it bring

Of good or ill?

From eastern skies

The sun emerges

Gentle rays

Caress our face

Bodies stirring

From their slumber

Minds renewed

To Consciousness

For night’s rest

Our hearts are grateful

In this new day

May we be blessed

Ken Fisher