Dodging A Bullet – 15th May 2024

~ tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Never not the same, always
The same, the stubborn stays
Beating chests, off with the shirt!
Myself may be all I hurt

A little bit unusual, quirks
Quietly, and in the corner lurks
Watching, loving the success
At being the worst, being the best

A screw-up, never succeeded
At joining in, as normal receded
Into the dark, I remained on my feet
Offbeat, walking my own street

Submitted to Ragtag Daily Prompt – Offbeat (hence making the phrasing a little off!) and inspired by another entry there from A.M. Moscoso

King For A Day – 13th May 2024

~ tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Arrogance is not self-confidence
The tall poppies will get cut down
A chest swollen with pride will get
Snuffed out, rubbed out into the ground

Because there’s always someone bigger
The kings come and go each day
What is that high opinion hiding?
Always causing offence in this way

Second attempt at writing an 8-line poem about what offends me. I avoided pronouns in this and was trying to put myself into the position of being offended by something but it didn’t quite work out.
Submitted to FOWC – Arrogant

A Seed Of Sympathy – 12th May 2024

~ tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments

Why does the devil drink?
Is he no longer happy
With our eternal suffering?
Has he grown a seed of sympathy?

Why does the devil drink?
Perhaps he suffers alone
We can’t be happy all the time
And that brimstone must irritate the nostrils!

Why does the devil drink?
Because his book didn’t sell that well?
Always seen as the bad guy
When he’s just doing his job

Why does the devil drink?
Does he want to forget past love
That keeps him awake at night
Tossing on his skull pillow?

Why does the devil drink?
Because too much is not enough?
Are hot tempers calmed
After too much banging on the bone drum?

Submitted to No Theme Thursday

Early Bird – 10th May 2024

~ tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Egged out, we must survive
Enthusiastic push to thrive
Finally, no one gets out alive
That’s the way we all go

Early birds catch the worms
The voice inside us turns
In turn, the worm learns
That that’s the way we all go

One day, in a different way
Here tomorrow, gone today
Even the early bird will say
That’s the way we all go

Paraphrased and plagiarised (in the nicest possible way) from various majestic Cardiacs songs.
Submitted to Ovi Poetry Challenge 47

Don’t Tell The Monkeys – 9th May 2024

~ tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

Don’t tell the monkeys that we understand
Let them think we’re stupid and dumb
Otherwise, they’ll force us to work
And their rat race sure looks no fun

Don’t tell the monkeys we understand
Our nature is just to laze and play
Let them think we’re too stupid and dumb
To be forced to an office job all day

Don’t tell the monkeys we understand
Can you imagine us wearing suits!?
We’re happy right where we are
Still closely attached to our roots

Don’t tell the monkeys we understand
We chose to communicate with grunts
The monkeys have forgotten now
That that’s how they were once

Apparently there is an old Indonesian myth that says that Orang-utans have the ability to speak human languages, but choose not to, because they know if we caught them speaking we would force them to get jobs.

In Her Sleep – 8th May 2024

~ tenzenmen ~ 8 Comments
Image credit; Marianna Smiley @ Unsplash “Thrive” by Danial Pooper a sculpture in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Under her ribs
(She spread them open
Pulled apart with the strength
Only a goddess can claim)

Under her ribs
Exposed for all to see
Grows the green heart
Life given, life giver

Her perfection cracked
Time-worn and serene
Her beauty unaffected
Welcome to her world

Welcome to thrive
Life sprouted on edges
Breathing in the goodness
Breathing out goodness
In her sleep

Submitted to WDYS #237