The Take Away – 20th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

An erasure poem using Maya Stein’s Bless The Stars, shared with What’s Going On – Blessings

crossword cream coffee

sun slips by breezes

on the drive


cheer the age

just before the run

days difficult mixed ache


the night watches

minus time

marks rest


if the stars feel still

stars left blue over light


music fills this entry

poetry might shape fog

as the stars remember home

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

The Grand Parade of Desire

The dictators harem filled with plotting
Are the pleasures worth all the stressing?
When every desire is ageing and rotting
What were your indulgences addressing?

Staring At The Sea – 18th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments
credit: Takashi Sakamoto

Shared with Melissa’s FFFC #360 picture prompt

Shifting into sunrise

the rats race behind me

while I wave at the horizon


“Good morning, fresh air”


My good friends, the gulls

hopefully jig,

gold glinting in sharp eyes


The sea laps, the sea laps, the sea laps


As your worlds wander by

wondering how I can be so happy

sitting on a wall, staring at the sea


Head held high,

shifting into sunset

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Prepare For The Storm

The struggle is great, the task divine
So meet the storm with preparations
Within, without, we’re always fine
Because of our solid foundations

Steeped In Shadow – 16th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 11 Comments

thrust from the summit

sharp peaks scrape towards the sun

carved statues of light



slumbering valley

steeped in afternoon shadows

reaching for her night

Shared with Senhai Saturday #39 picture prompt

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Don’t Make Things Harder Than They Need To Be

On edge, always prepared to escalate
Righteous indignation is a losing state
Manage your duty until it’s done
There are few battles that must be won

Shadows Hall – 15th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

Shared with Sadje’s What Do You See #327 picture prompt

Within a wall
where it shouldn’t be –

at the end
of the hall

What waits beyond its history –
a mystery
of the many wronged?

The morning light
casts shadows long,

that don’t feel right.

The arches set at brighter angles,
that entangles
where memories forget.

An architecture
of concealed trust –

unveiled conjecture;

A debate around congealed dust –

what’s found
beyond
this barricade?

The Beauty Of Decay – 14th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The initial inspiration for this write was from another poet who took the first and last lines from someone else’s poem and then wrote their own words between. The bolded, first and final lines are from Matthew Maitland, but his poem is no longer available.

‘no crows circle the carcass’ is from Aaron Guile
‘Fate creates strange apologies’ from this post at Poetry Culture

Outside. You hear all sorts of things.

The future isn’t what it used to be.

Watching your beautiful suicide,

no crows circle the carcass,
the poison too pure;
the ignorance makes us feel a little prettier each day.

The axis of evil is us – a

blight on everything we touch.

The bag now empty of cats

– the dream too slippery to hold.

Smiles that held secrets;

pit the people against each other
as bullet-headed scorpions.
Fate creates strange apologies.



It’s a beautiful world you’ve forgotten
– you’re all monsters to me.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Think Before You Act

“What was I thinking?” you said
Well, you weren’t really, were you?
But reason is within your head
Do what you are supposed to!

The Crush – 13th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 28 Comments

is it true that it’s a weakness?

– a tender trap that crushes;

a sweet anguish to be mad about,

– a cherished affliction;

ah! blissful misery, hopeful despair

– crushed under its own weight.

A sijo for Tanka Tuesday #48 – love and passion and also shared with Poets and Storytellers United #214

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Pleasure Can Become Punishment

Guard against getting carried away
On the waves of too much pleasure
Take a breath, think and say
Will this bring me further pressure?

Farewells – 12th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

A poem using the memento form, inspired by That Wedding Day by Benjamin Tonkin

One last little look at the sun;


please don’t forget to say


goodbye.


It’s ok if you want to run;

please don’t forget to say


goodbye.


I knew it was over and done;

please don’t forget to say


goodbye.


When two divided becomes none,

please don’t forget to say


goodbye.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Protect Your Peace Of Mind

Keep guard over your perceptions
It’s not a small thing you’re protecting
Don’t sell out to simple deceptions
It’s your peace of mind you’re respecting

Fateful Feeling – 11th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 13 Comments

parenthesis

spring approves wholly
lady, my flowers, blood kisses
will to wisdom, a life a fool pays

swear by syntax
this fate of paragraph

for my world pays
better never feeling the things

first is
blood kisses, my lady, flowers
death approves wholly

parenthesis

Shared with dVerse Quadrille #241 – flowers. A poem formed only using words from e.e. cummings ‘since feeling is first’.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Hero Or Nero?

The king attends to honour and health
While the tyrant overindulges their wealth
Can you counter the many temptations
That gather to trouble your foundations?