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.
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
Labels: armchairs, escapism, home comforts, hope, human nature, human spirit, imagination, life forces, love, mind-body-spirit, personal space, poetry, positive thinking, self-awareness, stoicism
posted by R. N. Taber | 14:25
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