Dear Newsletter Readers,
Welcome to this week’s newsletter and I hope it finds you all happy and well.
My contribution to the newsletter this week is a poem of sorts; I had a rather unpleasant encounter today with someone who inspired me to write the poem and through putting my feelings down in words I believe it has helped me to forget that the encounter ever took place.
I would like to take this opportunity to ask you all to spare a thought for all the displaced people that are caught up in the war between Russia and the Ukraine. I know that many of my fellow countrymen in the UK are opening their doors to families that have fled from the Ukraine which is a very noble thing to do, especially now when the UK is mired in so much social unrest and uncertainty itself because of the government’s new social economic policies.
Plenty of experts think the UK government should reverse its recent policy on cutting taxes as the pound has plummeted against the dollar to its lowest rate in 37 years and the Bank of England has had to intervene by buy up pensions funds to stop them from collapsing. The government’s decision to cut public spending when the NHS in particular is so grossly underfunded is in my opinion political suicide. It really is a calamitous situation in the UK at the moment and the knock on effect could well mean the UK falls into a deep recession, which in turn means that for at least the next 2 months or so the UK population will be on tenterhooks, which only adds to the other financial worries that people have with rising costs and how they are going to pay their heating bills over winter.
Until next week, keep healthy in mind and body and we’ll be back again next week with some more news stories, perhaps a poem and one or two other bits ‘n’ pieces for you to read.
An Unpleasant Encounter
I’ve had sit downs with him over the years.
He’s not short of grey matter between his ears.
He likes only to listen to his own voice because it’s the most agreeable sound.
He carries the weight of controversy on his back, he feels insecure without it around.
He’s generally received negatively and blames others and not himself for their views.
He talks with an accusing tone about the weather and distance in relation to wearing his clothes and shoes.
Navigating his life in such a manner has taken its toll.
It’s true that the more earth one removes the deeper one digs a hole.
As a result, there’s a decline in his physical and mental health.
He thinks of no one other than himself.
He is highly skilled at getting under the skins of others.
Even that of his mother’s, father’s, sister’s and brother’s.
He’s always fallen short in the department of awareness and social etiquette skills.
All these character traits have led to paranoia for which he has been prescribed pills.
He’s a narcissist in the first degree.
He’s blind beyond what this illness allows him to see.
Self-centered and obstinate describe him the best.
Hardened in his ways, becoming less so only when he’s laid to rest.
Somewhat oblivious as to how he has been perceived by all those whom he’s met.
More a refusal rather than an inability to pick up on social ques allowed the stage to be firmly set.
Spending any length of time in his presence leaves one feeling disappointed and ill.
Still, I want to think change is possible, but to do so one needs a will.
Encounters of the unpleasant kind neither leave us feeling empty nor full.
However, they do teach us about the direction in which we should push or pull.
A poem by Stephen Austwick.