Ralph Windle RW

I observe, in the press,
Embarras de richesse
Of ideas for relief
Of executive stress.
And, with each diagnosis,
Some further prognosis,
On optimum means
Of a metamorphosis.

Some believe in mens sana
In corpore sano,
And the marathon jog
By the Thames or the Arno;
Till the rampant corpuscle,
And ache in the muscle,
Put paid to the pains
Of executive hustle.

While others, I find,
Are more strongly inclined,
To some Freudian view
That it’s all in the mind;
And executive gloom
Can be traced to the Womb,
Or the Ego and Id,
As they elbow for room.

But until we exhume a
True cure for the tumour,
I recommend massive
Injections of humour;
The kind we can give –
Laughing not at, but with –
As the most therapeutic
Incentive to live.

When a smile meets a trauma,
It’s mainly the former
Which tends to prevail
Where the atmosphere’s warmer.