Under The Cover – 5th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen

Beyond the paragraphs and stanzas
Where stories start being told
Round campfires, on verandahs
Ideas – like origami – unfold

Within each sentence, there emerges
Lines flowing skywards from the soul
Where sunshine and saccharine diverges
To tally what the parts withhold

Under the phrase, where the weight lightens
Adjectives get detached from their nouns
Order is loosened; or disorder tightens
Dissected from their objects’ surrounds

Inside each word that’s to be announced
Where every breath becomes considered
Accents distort how it’s all pronounced
Not always intended as delivered

Beneath every syllable assessed
Meaning flickers in recognition
Beyond one thing that’s being expressed
The mastery of imprecision

Below the phoneme, perhaps that’s where to start
Where the true heart of the story lies
Put back together after being pulled apart
Ambivalence is where the author dies

Shared with W3 #205 – Beneath The Surface

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Trust, But Verify

Let me see who you are, where you are from
Let me put you to the test
Despite our experience, we may still be wrong
Verification is for the best

14 thoughts on “Under The Cover – 5th April 2026”

  6. I loved reading this, the thought processes I wanted to unravel and explore – I really liked ‘Accents distort how it’s all pronouncedNot always intended as delivered‘

    Once we press that publish button…. it’s in the voice of the reader…. 💞

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    1. Thanks Suzanne 🙏 This one came together while there was a whirlwind of chaos going on around me and while it was difficult to focus, somehow the poem seemed to benefit from distraction. Usually, I prefer to write somewhere quiet and without interruption but I’m wondering about this now!

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