Staring At The Sea – 18th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen
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

7 thoughts on “Staring At The Sea – 18th February 2026”

  1. Shaun I love this piece of ‘slow living’ poetry. It captures that rare stillness in a world that demands constant movement. It also feels complete because it follows the arc of a day. Starting with ‘shifting into sunrise’ and ending with ‘shifting into sunset’ suggests it isn’t just a fleeting moment, but a chosen lifestyle 🙌

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    1. Thanks Ange 🙏

      I didn’t think about it until afterwards but the way the shadow falls represents a half way point, perhaps the shift between day and night too. The walkers are both moving in opposite directions while the ‘still’ remains contented.

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    1. Thanks Yvette 🙏 I found the foreground too obvious and not too inspiring (at least until someone mentioned the shadow, that I had totally missed!) and so looked for something else, imagining the painting was real and the real was imagined.

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