Hourglass – 16th April 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen

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

12 thoughts on “Hourglass – 16th April 2026”

  2. I love how you combined the prompts, Shaun, the direct address that involves the reader, and the smashed hourglass – why was it smashed? These lines are lovely, which I think are a poem on their own:

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

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  3. Shaun, I think the broken hourglass image really anchors the poem. it gives the poem a clear sense of time and loss. I like the recurring question as well. It creates a going feel of searching through the poem. I would have like more sand “language” to carry through the later images. Some of the memory lines feel more generalised, where tying them back to the texture and movement of sand could make the whole poem feel more unified. The reason I say that is I’ve walked more than a few sand dunes in my time. As I read and re-read the poem, I found myself overlaying the broken hourglass with a visual image of sand spilling from it, complete with tracks, sifting, dunes, settling, sifting. Slightly different word choices would bring the whole poem together with that initial hourglass image.

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    1. Thanks for the feedback Dennis. I can see what you are saying and in fact was almost going to leave the poem at just the first line and stanza as they really said everything I wanted. I’m not one for overdoing metaphors usually but you’re right that something could have tied it all together a little better. 👍

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  5. Great poem! I liked these lines in paeticular “Our hearts no longer full
    yet still far from empty”

    I intrepret that as meaning it never really goes totally away…
    Unique perspective on the prompt 🩵

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  6. ohhh i so loved seeing/hearing your story of gone love…. it was beautifully romantic and flowed so well with wonderful depth…. i found myself lingering at the end of each line contemplating the your vision…

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