A Friend for Life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

We are still in lockdown here in England while Government decides how best to approach Christmas this year. I am personally of the view that any relaxation of safety regulations, will prove to be a mistake. 

Those of us who live alone, as much if not more so than most, acknowledge and empathise with the call to allow more people to meet up, but see it as asking for trouble and likely to result in an increase in coronavirus cases and deaths, especially given the way some people continue to flout safety regulations. 

Other religious festivals have come and gone with no special treatment so why should Christmas prove any different, just for one year, for safety’s sake? After all, Christians believe that Christ said ““All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” – and no one wants to catch Covid-19. 

Many businesses, of course, rely on the run-up to Christmas to show a profit or risk going under so it would make sense to make some allowances for this, although, yet again, customers will need to respect safety regulations regarding social distancing and wearing face masks correctly.

 Meanwhile … 

A friend who also lives alone recently confessed that he sometimes talks to the furniture for want of anyone to engage in meaningful conversation. I told him not to worry, I have been doing that for years. 

It can often help to try and put our frustrations into words. Rather than whinge to someone else, at least the furniture is guaranteed to be a good listener; it becomes less of a monologue than a debate between our conscious and subconscious selves, often resulting in our seeing our way more clearly than simply trying to think things through. I suspect being literally lost in thought is not an unfamiliar condition to many if not most of us.

Today's poem is a kenning.

A FRIEND FOR LIFE 

I have lived with all human moods,
try to go along with them as best I can,
humour folks when angry,
let them vent the worst of verbal spite
on me, the world, whatever 
it takes to calm one down, make one see
how life, it has its ups and downs,
as if by way of teaching us, ourselves, to know,
stay alert to the pull of undertow 

Good times, bad times, happy times,
and sad times, we have shared them all,
gradually establishing a philosophy
of sorts along the lines of no use crying
over what’s said and done,
needs must choose to play deaf and dumb
or come with cap in hand
to make reparation, encourage reconciliation
or learn to manage our frustration 

Good companions for many a year,
we watch TV together, listen to the radio,
relax with our favourite music
keep in touch with friends and wider world
on laptop, tablet or mobile,
no coronavirus likely to come between us
until death us do part,
mind-body-spirit striving to keep mortality at bay,
positive thinking, Order of the Day 

It’s one and all for whom my kind is always there,
assuming the persona of a comfy armchair 

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2020