Author: shaun tenzenmen

Australasian DIY music specialist and practising poet, amongst other things

Space Invaders – 8th May 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Give us a great galactic invader
Intent on total human destruction
Forget past indiscretions and focus
Efforts toward united instruction
Now imagine there was no invader
But we treat each other with that in mind
Remove hunger, poverty, crime and corruption
Everything that has made us unkind
Is it just too much to wish for?
Something that we can never achieve
Put our faith in the love of each other
The one truth that we need to believe

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.

Robert Frost

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be able to offer help to people by picking them up with our car.

Old Enough – 6th May 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

It’s a real-life Frogger for you, youngster
The family needs some fish for dinner
A responsible life is your true reward
These are the makings of a winner
This is not an alternate reality
It’s the world in which to survive
Where trust and love trump all fear
Where one learns how to be alive

Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet.

Aristotle

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that the bananas I bought haven’t gone off and I’ve been able to eat them all. I’m banana-ed out.

The Week That Was – 24th June 1979

Axe It – 5th May 2022

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Dear friends, let me hit you with my left fist
Otherwise, I’ll be forced to hit you with the right
These two faces are chasing the same things
And they’ve already rigged the fight
There’s a third choice never presented
It’s always hidden from view
To take an axe and lop off those fists
Remove the threats that bind you

People who are constantly doing things to make you sick or poor or homeless or dead are conventionally known as ‘enemies’.

Ian Walsh

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to Rich Levine and his music collection that I learned a lot from all those years ago. Reminded of this as I’m listening to Three Mile Pilot.

It Pays – 4th May 2022

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Working hard or hardly working
Was the joke in the office those days
Though the environment is not conducive
It is the one that pays
Laughing aloud ‘How’s the serenity?’
A camaraderie in many ways
Though the environment is not conducive
It is the one that pays

Everything is a symbol, even the most piercing pain. We are dreamers who shout in our sleep. We do not know whether the things afflicting us are the secret beginning of our ulterior happiness or not.

Léon Bloy

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that this week is fairly relaxed at school so I can take the time to take Cap to the vet today.

Visited Last Night – 3rd May 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

You were in my dream
But I don’t know who you are
So perfect to hold

Your black and white top
Hugs tight to your chest and waist
Hold this forever

Composite angel
Of everything I wanted
Gone with eyes opened

Touched me deep inside
The girl with no face or name
Visit me again

Nobody ever figures out what life is about, and it doesn’t matter.

Richard Feynman

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for the lady who made my salad last night. It was nice of her to prepare a second bowl for me.

The Week That Was – 17th June 1979

Not Today – 2nd May 2022

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The smiling reaper taps his fingers
Returning the smile is all you can do
Rise from your slumber shouting ‘Not today!’
Send down death, back to the blue
Bounce out of bed, your time is short
Thousands today will be sent away
Take the chances offered to you
You’ve got the gift of another day

It is extremely dangerous, very possibly even disastrous, to assume that because people are in positions of responsibility, they are therefore behaving responsibly.

David McCullough, from The Jonestown Flood

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be back at school and to get back into a new routine.

Daggers – 1st May 2022

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Be kind to the beggar
Never offer insults to the poor
Their circumstances now
May not be forever more

Kindnesses are soon forgotten
An insult will often remain
Digging daggers at the heart
Playing a waiting game

15th Mar 2024 – Submitted to RDP Friday

It takes great talent and skill to conceal one’s talent and skill.

François De La Rochefoucauld

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to Nong Briyao for bringing yummy mangoes from Udon Thani for me.

Final Absence – 30th April 2022

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How to live is about how to die
Looking through this lens of a mountain
Any amount of life is enough
Let’s make do with its meaning
Dusting off the childhood discoveries
The horizon’s shimmer slows us down
The trees and the tides restless
Colours that are no longer heard
Time collapsed, reappears or not
These are the stranger things
An empty glass sits on the table
Radiating a crystal eternity
The night turns to different shades
So savour its infinite richness
The fires are burning from the inside
Bodies black and grey, becoming ash

inspired by Maria Popova writing about Stel Adnan’s ‘Shifting the Silence’

Many situations in life are similar to going on a hike: the view changes once you start walking. You don’t need all the answers right now. New paths will reveal themselves if you have the courage to get started.

James Clear

Two More Questions – 29th April 2022

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Where has all the thinking got us?
All the questions are just too tough
For every answer, two more questions
I guess we just haven’t thought enough
For every answer, two more questions
I guess we just haven’t thought – enough!

Getting upset is like continuing the bad dream while you’re awake.

Ryan Holiday

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be able to find solutions to minor domestic issues, water pipes broken, taps not working, needing new garden equipment etc.