A “GORDIAN KNOT”?

Examples are easy to find,

Examples of a Gordian knot,

Examples of an extremely difficult, 

or complicated problems.

They are what we love to produce,

A problem wrapped in a riddle,

Tied in a bow with technical ease,

Wrapped in sheets of self-recrimination.

Which we blame on someone else,

(there’s always a “someone else” -

If not, we elect or select one.

It doesn’t matter ‘who’.)

Where was I? Self-recrimination,

Very important - add a touch of sin,

What else considering the world we are in,

So much temptation. So much temptation.

The problem wrapped in a riddle,

(yes, yes; we’ve got that) lays there

In the slime and decay, what we mortals

Term ‘day to day’. Who wants to touch it?

It’s a mess.

A mess is a mess is a mess,

That’s what it is, all that it is,

A mess. It can be tidied up,

Rearranged, be decorated with flowers.

Our subject, to reaffirm, is knots,

Gordian knots. The sort that mystifies,

Frustrated, send us into a rage,

Amazing, regardless of age.

Consider carefully. Is it a matter of degree?

Could you describe the situation as “a difficulty,

issue, trouble, worry, complication, or snag;

A hitch, drawback, quandary or predicament?

A “Gordian knot” has all these elements,

Interconnected with, tied with, each other,

Where does one end and the other begin?

You’re in a daze, in this horrendous maze?

Do you want to know what to do?

Alexander the Great chose action,

He drew his sword and cut through,

The tangle of knots. The very first 

‘Cutting of the Gordian knot’.

So, you have a problem,

You’ve looked at this way and that,

You’re confused, frustrated, delayed,

(Schedules are most important).

Stand back, have a fag; I apologise,

No smoking is allowed. Let your mind wander,

To Paris, Rome, Istanbul or Palmerston North,

Think of the erring problem as a traveler.

Yes, it’s had its vaccine shots,

Where would it go, what would it do,

What wouldn’t it do? Is it alone?

One by one run the scenarios through your mind.

In the hope that somewhere you might find,

The weakest link; is somewhere to attack,

Not with a sword. With an incisive mind,

To cut through the wrapping down to. 

The problem inside. The Gordian Knot,

Is a metaphor, for decisive action,

No committee meetings, reports,

And endless discussion.