Philosophical Truce – 18th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

All is a contradiction,
a place where opposites meet;
avoiding confrontation
in a war where words compete.

Reading many philosophical texts, which contradict each other and often themselves. This doesn’t render them useless but keeps us in balance and open-minded to all ideas.

Shared with GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 17:
Write a poem in which you respond to a favourite poem by another poet.
While this is not a response to a specific poem, it is a response to the poetry of the philosophers.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Opinions Are Like…

Think about the world around you
And the opinions you pile on top
Dogma, expectation or ignorance
Weed them out until they stop

After Words – 19th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments

Epilogue:

So that was it, the story done,
everyone was dead – everyone!
A tragic tale to be very sure,
even the heroes were no more.

But just as this tale was being told,
a similar one was taking hold,
Because history is always repeated,
as if the lessons had been deleted.

It becomes a chore to tell again
the hows, the whys, the where, the when.
So the storytellers always return
to teach the students who failed to learn.

Shared with GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 18:
Try your hand at writing a poem that could be a section or piece of one. 

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Our Sphere Of Impulses

Surrender and serve the common good
With power or not – leave room
Everyone can be the one who could
Provide the answers that you’d presume

Some Kind Of Love – 17th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Every day I hear you call.
The beast rumbles
and so the hunt begins!

Temptations triggered
by olfactory memories.
Salivating salvations!

Down the aisles
or spread before me.
Swords to the ready!

Sometimes I don’t want
to talk or think about you.
I’ve had enough.

Some days are sharp,
others piquant or honeyed,
but balance is better.

Some kind of love?
Because without you
I would die.

Written for GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 16:
Write a poem in which you describe something that cannot speak, and what it has taught or told you.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

No Harm No Foul

The interpretation of words holds power
The difference between fight and connection
The choice between the sweet and sour
Is purely based on your reception

Hourglass – 16th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 22 Comments

Where did you go?

You were still there
as I tried to get each
grain of sand back
inside the hourglass
I’d smashed.

Our hearts no longer full
yet still far from empty.
When shared with another
did you disappear?
I can still feel you here.

Where did you go,
shuffling away so slowly?
I still see your trails
on every new horizon
I’ve chased.

Memories morphed
deeper within
the longer valleys between us,
old sun making shadows
of that time.

Where did you go?
My love.

Written for dVerse Poetics: Where does love go? and GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 15:
Write a poem that muses on love, but isn’t a traditional love poem in the sense of expressing love between romantic partners.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Observe Cause And Effect

Learn to identify the thoughts
 and behaviours that are destructive
Cause and effect are sorts
 where patterns are observed constructive

The Words – 15th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments

only a notebook
a smooth-flowing ball-tipped pen
soon, the words will come

or, in lieu of that
any old device will do
the words must emerge

a scrap of paper…
(from one mind to another)
…even a whisper

A senryu chain written fro GloPoWriMo Day 14:
write a poem that bridges (whether smoothly or not) the seeming divide between poetry and technological advances.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Pay Your Taxes

Pay your taxes gladly
Never hope for exemption
You are not special, sadly
To fight is just pretension

The Track – 14th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 8 Comments

Once you were a garbage dump,
then covered over with soil,
You became a perfect playground,
that only time would spoil.

“Burty monghead!“

Bored kids became opportune,
building jumps and berms,
Weaving in and out of the trees,
navigating tricky turns.

“Chinny rack-on!“

At night great fires were built
and danger was closely tested,
As boredom lead to discovery
with all our effort invested.

“Muz twang!“

We dug a hole eight feet down
and covered it over with branches,
Camping and drinking underage,
partying through teenage chances.

“Crabby dareya!“

As time went on we all moved away
and the track fell into disrepair,
But I’ll always remember those times
of laughter and joy that we had there.

Written for GloPoWriMo Day 13:
Try your hand today at writing your own poem about a remembered, cherished landscape.

As kids, we got up to a lot of monkey business in our village and ended up with a nightly drive through from the police just to check in on us. The track was a mini-refuge where we were mostly concealed from prying eyes. At first, it was a BMX track and then as we grew into motorbikes, we tested each other to see who could jump the furthest and highest. The next generation of kids after us was quite tame in comparison, perhaps with the rising influence of video games keeping them indoors. Boredom was the best – we had such fun.
The odd phrases in the poem will only be understood by the few of us involved, somewhat our own colloquialisms.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Becoming An Expert In What Matters

We get very good at what we’re paid to do
But do those things contain any value?
Of all the many things you know
Are there any to help your children grow?

No Salvation – 12th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment


You are not the saviour

The world needs saving from you

Get out of the picture

What business is it of yours?

Inspired and paraphrased from a quote by Sri Nisargadatta

Question: Is there no salvation for the world?
Maharaj: What business have you saving the world, when all the world needs is to be saved from you? Get out of the picture and see whether there is anything left to save.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Reject Tantalising Gifts

Would you reject the flood of fortune’s gifts?
Is it something that your philosophy resists?
The new and shiny can become awful traps
Leading us towards a devastating collapse

The Key Is Art – 11th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

An erasure poem using text from the condescending and unreadable “The Chinese Have A Word For It” which I duly decided was only worth cutting up and using for this purpose.

I don’t know how to get WordPress to format text the way I would like so have added a picture at the top of the post, followed by the original text and below, text that can be cut and paste.

Key in the war
500 business principles
grasped the bible

When derisive laughter
import a reflected perspective

The appropriate war requires the management art
vital death; the road essential
the under thirteen

Each one is vital

success;

The principle planning
first that can

While equal on flex
it makes shapes
ground by enemy
as constant war
constant; the victorious divine

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

If You Want To Learn, Be Humble

It’s impossible for a person to begin
To learn what they think they already know
If one wishes to get to the bottom of everything
It’s time to make a start on letting go

Skittering – 10th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

I am the king!
I’m a veteran!
For 400 million years
In the order of Blattodea.

Shedding nymph skins
Over a year of omnivorous nights.
Breaking down your decay
Into nutrients for our homes.

When you are ash and memory,
Footnotes in the soil,
I’ll still be here, one antenna raised,
Skittering from the sun.

Written for GloPoWriMo 2026 – Day 9:
try writing your own poem in the voice of an animal
“I am the king” is borrowed from The Birthday Party’s ‘Junk Yard’
‘I’m a veteran’ paraphrased from the Volcano Suns ‘Veteran’

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Judgments Cause Disturbance

The perceiving eye gives supposed meaning
Making judgments without screening
But the observing eye only sees what is
Simple, inanimate and objective