The Time has Come

 I really feel the time has come

When I must make a move

To change from spending all my life

Within the same old groove.

Perhaps a new job might suffice

To put me on the path,

For change of colleagues and of scene

Would be the aftermath.

And that might lead to other things,

And well could be the cur

To put me on the road to find

New friends and interests too.

Sharks

The banks all want to lend to people, so that more and more

Are in future in their debt, though they were not before;

They aim to make vast profits from their money-lending schemes

While they pretend that they are just fulfilling people’s dreams

Interest rates are often high, so there is little hope

That paying off the loan will be within the person’s scope,

So borrowers may easily find that they’ll be forced to pay

Many times the borrowed sum, which still’s not gone away.

But though this situation for the people is no fun,

The policy of lenders is “Just take the cash and run.”

They make a fortune, unconcerned about the harm they cause,

And only try ensuring they’ve not broken any laws.

They do the same to countries which are small and need some cash,

Though borrowing  for them is also often very rash.

For if the loan is not repaid quite quickly they will find

That paying endless interest will become a constant bind.

And also they might lose control of how their country’s run,

As lenders may insist on how they want things to be done.

More Time Needed

I really need more exercise,

It’s just I haven’t time

To do the sort of things I need

To keep me in my prime.

If only every day contained

Ten extra hours or more,

The list of things that I could do

Would absolutely soar.

The Need to Increase Low Wages

Companies should not pay their staff low wages such that they

Don’t earn enough on which to live, though working every day,

But need to access benefits to help them pay the rent

And many other basic things on which a wage is spent.

If no-one could get government help because their pay was low,

Even though in full-time work, their wage would need to grow,

For firms would find it difficult to get new staff on board

Unless they raised their wages so that workers could afford

To pay for all their basic needs, without the need to claim;

For every major company, that should surely be their aim.

Rent-a-Crowd

There are some who enjoy a good demo; the fun of being out of doors,

With placards and lots of loud shouting, for some vaguely thought-about cause;

The same people turn up so often; their interests seemingly range

For nuclear power to the government, to foxes suffering from mange;

They can’t devote much time to working, or they wouldn’t usually be free

To take part in demos on weekdays, wherever they happened to be.

And some when they’re asked a straight question, are not too clued up on the cause,

And probing will only result in a slogan or long, silent pause.

They’re part of the rent-a-crowd army, who’ll turn out (and sometimes get paid)

For waving a banner and shouting, which makes life less boring and staid.

An Indecisive President

Donald Trump now seems to be

To many people, all at sea;

They think he truly doesn’t know

Where he really wants to go,

But blunders on, without a thought

Of all the trouble he has wrought.

But maybe it could just be true

His mind is made up, what to do,

And while he seems in disarray,

With different statements every day,

That could be just a strategy –

And we’ll just have to wait and see.

What Societies Want Most

There’s one thing societies want more than anything,

Something they value above other things,

And that’s the existence of peace and stability,

With all the benefits that always brings.

For if there is peace, there is no constant danger

That fighting will cause much destruction and harm;

No need to fear for the breakdown or order

When everything round is so peaceful and calm.

Stability means all can plan for the future,

Certain that changes won’t come over-night,

Leaving them free to invest without worrying,

Knowing that everything should be all right.

Over-rated Sports

There’s far too much publicity for certain types of sport,

With some of them receiving more attention than they ought.

Their exploits feature constantly in papers and TV,

With matches broadcast everywhere for all the world to see.

Their players earn tremendous sums, enjoy a life of fame,

And know that there’ll be millions watching every single game.

An alien might think they were the most important thing

Within this world, as everywhere their names and praises ring

In endless column inches, on TV and internet,

As they receive more coverage than big events now get.

Other sports are treated as if they did not exist,

With many women’s sports appearing high up on the list.

Their players are not major stars, and usually they’re ignored,

With nothing in the sporting press of all the goals they’ve scored.

They don’t earn vast amounts of cash, and many players work

As cash received for playing’s often seen as just a perk.

Perhaps it’s time for certain sports to fade off every screen,

And lose their current status on the international scene,

For sports are unimportant when it comes to world affairs,

And all the vast attention showered on them should not be theirs.

Fake News

It’s hard to tell if news is true, or whether it is simply fake,

Especially at the moment when the story first begins to break;

Some things may sound quite plausible if background facts aren’t known,

And others from small acorn facts to mighty oaks have grown;

Papers often state as fact what might more nearly be

Described as propaganda, from which stories should be free.

And many just accept as true whatever they are told,

With journalists a different breed from days when they were bold

And chased stories for themselves, and checked at every stage

That everything was really true, before put on the page.

Today that simply isn’t done by every source of news,

With much reported simply being a firm’s or person’s views.

So one needs to be careful and think each story through,

Before deciding if it’s fake, or if it’s really true.

EU Migrants Should Stay

The EU migrants – let them stay!

Why should they be sent away?

They’re workers and will never cause

Any civil strife or wars.

Just agree that no-one can

Get around a total ban

On coming here with just the aim

Of putting in a welfare claim.

As workers they contribute much

And their lives and culture’s such

That they will quickly integrate,

Becoming loyal to their new state.

And think of all the Brits in Spain,

Who recently have made it plain

They want to stay just where they are –

The climate’s better there by far!

Forecast of Snow

Snow, they say, is on the way,

And should arrive by Saturday;

Not just flurries, which will go

Before they have a chance to show,

But larger falls, which may well lie

While several freezing days pass by.

But we will need to wait and see

What reality will be,

For often things don’t go to plan,

As set out by the weatherman.

Scaremongering

There are people everywhere who can’t resist the chance

To talk about impending doom a great deal in advance;

There may be little evidence that it will come to pass,

Their loudly stated arguments being nothing but a farce.

But rumours of disaster often quickly gain long legs,

Even if their basis rests on nothing more than pegs;

And so they grow and very quickly  turn to actual facts,

With people adding details which they feel the story lacks,

Often causing panic for the people who don’t know

‘Twas nothing but scaremongers who had made the story grow.

Double Standards

Donald Trump is here to stay,

And certainly won’t go away

Until his current term is up,

So with him all will have to sup

If living in a world that’s real

And with the US want to deal.

Many countries now are lead

By leaders some would like seen dead;

But though they might be hated much,

They’re leaders, recognised as such.

It’s true that most of them are small,

And count for little, if at all;

The US on the other hand

Is a large and powerful land;

But what he’s done so far is just

What many others thought they must,

Because they could; and no-one dared

Within those states, to show they cared.

It’s fairly easy to detect

The reason many now expect

America will never be

Like other nations all can see.

The demos in the US show

What many there have come to know

And which cannot be easily missed

That double standards there exist.

The Future

It’s really difficult to know

Which way all the world will go.

Things are changing very fast,

The status quo will hardly last

For more than just a few years hence,

And change will likely be immense.

Downtowns, economically,

Are something that we well may see;

New wars may quite soon appear,

Disasters may bring massive fear.

Governments may fall or rise,

Lands may loosen ancient ties;

Whatever some might now proclaim

The world will not just stay the same.

A New Type of President

There’s something wrong in politics when it is a surprise

That Donald Trump, campaigning, spoke the truth instead of lies.

Many thought the statements he proclaimed so very loud

Were just a form of rhetoric, and aimed to please the crowd.

They didn’t think he meant them, but as politician do,

Was chasing after votes from those who held that point of view.

For many politicians promise things they know that they

Will certainly forget once they have passed election day.

But now it seems in Mr. Trump they’ve got a person who

Hasn’t changed his promises for ones completely new,

But seems to be intending as his presidency proceeds

To turn his former promises from simply words to deeds.

Against Censorship

People shouldn’t try to ban all views with which they disagree,

For among the educated, everyone should be quite free

To proclaim their own opinions, backed by evidence of course,

Of they may face loud derision for the views that they endorse.

Often there are variations in what people think is true,

And there is a constant movement as new facts come into view;

Things that yesterday were sacred, might today be out-of-date,

As new theories reach the forefront, which some people well might hate.

Or it may be that some people want to silence those who hold

Views which have a firm foundation, going back to days of old.

For they think they are old-fashioned, based on ignorance and fear,

And today are quite offensive – that to them seems crystal clear.

But that some may be offended isn’t reason to refuse

To allow those other people to express their thought-out views.

If they feel they are in error, and their statements have no base,

They should just prepare an answer and then calmly put their case.

But they should not try to censor any reasoned arguments

Even if the drawn conclusions don’t to them make any sense.

Doris

Another storm is on its way,

And should arrive here any day;

This time it’s Doris who will be

Roaring in across the sea.

Gale-force winds and driving rain

Will assail us once again.

But though such storms one must expect,

I wonder when we’ll get one next.

Aron's Grandmother's Complaint

Aron’s a sweetie – of that there’s no doubt,

But still he’s quite often the reason I shout;

“Please stop that” or “Aron, please put that away.”

“Why can’t you just quietly sit there and play.”

“Don’t touch that” and “Please will you leave that alone,”

“Please don’t dial numbers on my mobile phone.”

“Don’t be so noisy, or we will soon find,

We’re driving the neighbour quite out of her mind.”

“Eat your dinner all up, and not just the sweet,

You’ll never grow big, if you don’t learn to eat.”

“Stop banging”, “Stop shouting”, “Stop running amok,”

“You must go to bed, it’s now past ten o’clock.”

He may be a sweetie, but oh, he’s hard work,

And sometimes I feel that I might go berserk,

If he doesn’t stop being such a typical two,

Constantly trying out something that’s new.