Author: shaun tenzenmen
Australasian DIY music specialist and practising poet, amongst other things
Banality fills the room
This Charming Man – 18th July 2025
The charmer has good game,
a new room every night’
A silence can explain
when the words don’t feel right;
Maybe old and spicy,
a smile that seems sincere;
Pearly blues so icy,
direction sharp and clear;
The holder of the cup,
a life that overflows;
Forgets the runner-up,
the one that no one knows;
This charismatic man
was always bound to be;
Winning since life began,
is definitely not me.
Written for the GloPoWriMo Day 7 prompt:
write a self-portrait poem, in which you explain why you are not a particular piece of art (a symphony, a figurine, a ballet, a sonnet), use at least one outlandish comparison, and a strange (and maybe not actually real) fact.
I Can’t Stanza Pain – 17th July 2025
Shared with dVerse Quadrille #227 – turn
My enforcer,
my metre maid
took a turn for the verse.
Free and blank cheques,
with a ‘haiku later, alligator’
When Rabbie rises, I reach
for my sonnet sunscreen;
Massaging my iambic pent-up anger
with all my opposable puns,
I will limerick my wounds.
Swift Rumour – 16th July 2025
Fables are nursed by the rabble
Either whispered or screamed
Where the trusted most often dabble
And the truth is only dreamed
To dazzle the crowd and make them see
Their ruin is in their favour
Disguised behind a fleur-de-lis
The truth hidden by the saver
With unparalleled generosity
From inexhaustible fund
Contradicted consequently
The truth finds no refund
Under influence of corrupt counsel
Necessary are believers
To spread this twisted espousal
The truth beholden to deceivers
More than rumours everybody owns
In relief made to survive
Once buried under a heap of stones
The truth was late to arrive
Inspired and paraphrased by Jonathan Swift’s ‘The art of political lying’
Below is a little experiment that I did with AI. I input the Guardian article “World must be more wary than ever of China’s growing economic power” and asked AI to give me ALL the sentences that can be considered facts in the article.
The output was interesting:
Here are all the sentences that can be considered facts in the article, stripped of opinions, speculation, and value judgments:
- “According to data provider Macrobond and Beijing-based consultancy Gavekal Dragonomics, exports to the US were down by about $15bn (£11bn) in May, but up by half that figure to other countries that trade with the US.”
- “Exports to African countries have also risen sharply.”
- “Chinese officials are poised to strike deals to deepen economic cooperation with countries ranging from Brazil and South Africa to Australia and the UK.”
- “The latest addition to China’s growing list of conquests occurred last week when its premier, Li Qiang, and Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed a slew of cooperation agreements, including ones covering artificial intelligence (AI) and aerospace.”
- “Beijing supplies Russia with much of what it needs in wartime in return for cheap oil.”
- “Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, [is] ahead of a trip to three Chinese cities this weekend for talks about trade and investment.”
- “The UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, [is] considering injections of Chinese cash and knowhow to build new offshore windfarms.”
- “There has been a 10% depreciation in [China’s] currency against the dollar.”
- “China has cut-price digital infrastructure products.”
- “Government debts are escalating [globally].”
- “China is one of the few big investors outside the Middle East with significant financial firepower.”
- “Beijing sends tens of thousands of students to the UK.”
Key Exclusions (Opinions/Speculation):
Claims about China being a “malign actor,” “pariah,” or “undermining” others (subjective labels).
Predictions (e.g., “Trump’s cowardice makes war with Taiwan more likely”).
Moral judgments (e.g., “voracious appetite,” “stolen” IP).
Analogies (e.g., comparing China to Russia).
Prescriptive statements (e.g., “should block Chinese investment”).
Ambiguous Cases (Part Fact, Part Opinion):
“Digital information is harvested on a vast scale…” → Lacks specific sourcing.
“There are spies in every major university…” → Unverifiable generalisation.
I was curious about two of the twelve facts returned, too, and so asked a little more:
“Beijing supplies Russia with much of what it needs in wartime in return for cheap oil.” What can be inferred by “what it needs in wartime”?
Along with what CAN be inferred and what could PLAUSIBLY be inferred, I also got this:
What Cannot Be Inferred (Without Explicit Evidence):
Scale of Support (e.g., “decisive” vs. “marginal” impact on Russia’s war effort).
Specific Items (e.g., “weapons” or “ammunition” — unless the article cites sources).
China’s Intent (e.g., “China is pro-war” — this could be purely economic).
I also asked, What can be inferred from this sentence, “Beijing sends tens of thousands of students to the UK.”?
Again, along with some logical inferences, was this:
What Cannot Be Inferred (Without Further Evidence):
Motives (e.g., “China is spying” or “UK is dependent”).
Outcomes (e.g., “This weakens/strengthens ties”).
Student Intentions (e.g., “They will stay/return”).
This is a neutral observation; any further interpretation would require additional verified context.
And finally, I asked how many sentences there were in the article:
The original article you provided contains 35 sentences (based on standard punctuation, counting each clause ending with a period, question mark, or exclamation point as a separate sentence).
Breakdown:
Opinion/interpretation sentences (excluded): 23
Factual sentences (extracted): 12
OK, this is fair enough – it is an opinion piece. However, language and words have power and this is just one tiny speck of the consistent barrage of anti-China narratives in mainstream media. This is the real-life manufacturing consent for the forthcoming US-led war with China. That’s my opinion!
The List That Never Began – 15th July 2025
A list poem that starts this way
Because another form comes into play
Can be seen as difficult, for sure
Do read on, as I will explore
Every nuance of this list I write
Forming here in black and white
Going forward, we must begin
Here listing so many things akin
I’ll start, I will, I promise, soon
Just give me a minute to attune
Keen, I am to make this perfect
Like a real word architect
Maybe I need to start the list here?
No, not just yet, I fear
Only I, the holder of the pen
Provoking the inspiration when
Questions arise from further in
Ready to get deeper under the skin
Shall we start? I think we’re ready
To see the first line, strong and steady
Underneath, the list will form
Variations of this long brainstorm
Where’s the list? I hear you ask
Xenial towards this unusual task
You’re wondering if I can succeed
Zoned out, I forgot to proceed
And so it goes around again….
Written for the prompt, Write a List Poem using the Abecedarian form found here.
9th Jan 2026 – Shared with dVerse MTB: first to last letters
Closer – 14th July 2025
all that’s left to us is hanging here
as a shadowplay to be decoded
an isolation of the atmosphere
the novelty of these days eroded
as another new dawn fades away
the eternal insight is taking shape
a digital transmission on repeat play
divided from joy, we seek our escape
all that’s left to us is hanging here
divided from joy, we seek our escape
I recently listened to the No Dogs In Space podcast’s four-part series on the band Joy Division and though this poem is shared for the W3 prompt of ‘scape’, I couldn’t get away from the word ‘escape’. The first line popped into my head (in reference to lead singer Ian Curtis’ suicide) and then Joy Division song titles flowed forth to fill in much of the rest of the poem. The title is taken from the second and final Joy Division album of the same name and can be understood in either way, to be near something or the end of something.
Galimathias Musicum – 13th July 2025
He’s a loose liver, a great blusterer1
Building a life out of pieces gathered in secret.
Gradually becoming a disaster, his signature
He’s a man made of many departures.
At an all-you-can-eat festival of bad decisions
Only a maniac would slice cheese with a chainsaw
Cosplaying poverty, becoming marginally less useless
Words are only understood when you stop thinking about them2
We need to understand that we are already living with the monsters
Forming a complicated cake of dissolved civilisations
A concrete monument made out of nonsense
A fake perfume of cum scented compliments
1I read this line in a book, I think, but didn’t take note when I saved it for use later.
2This line is from a Substack article, which, again, I forgot to take note of
This hybrid cento came together after collecting a bunch of phrases (mostly linked in the poem) and then applying them to the GloPoWriMo Day 5 prompt: write a poem inspired by musical notation and words from a provided list (found at the link). I went with the following:
“gradually becoming a disaster”
Death metal symphony
nonsense, monument, concrete, departures
I was stuck for a title until I dug around a bit and found this from Mozart, the meaning of which is:
“Galimathias“: A pseudo-Latin term derived from French galimatias (meaning nonsense or gibberish).
“Musicum“: Latin for “musical.”
Together: Roughly translates to “Musical Nonsense” or “A Musical Hodgepodge.“
This seemed entirely appropriate.
And though the resulting Suno AI song is very straightforward and nothing like a hodgepodge, I think that it’s quite enjoyable. Please give it a listen below.
30th Jul 2025 – Shared with dVerse Poetics – Music, Play on
I Have No Art – 12th July 2025
Written (after the fact) for the GloPoWriMo Day 4 prompt: write your own poem about living with a piece of art.
Now, I have no art on my walls,
nothing at which to stare and contemplate
its meaning;
All the flashy screens beg attention
diverting my thoughts,
more mundane;
In simpler times, a painting was all.
Yet, over there, a student’s picture
– I requested her to paint my cats;
And glued to the wall, another friend’s
attempt at writing a comic about Chinese rock music.
Band stickers adorn the cupboards
and my favourite 30-year-old poster hangs tattily
above the rows and rows of CDs,
themselves, providing a wall of colourful design.
So, I guess there is art on my walls,
scattershot and thoughtless,
each little piece contributing to the library of my life;
a mirror without glass.
Definitions – 11th July 2025
I’m not a poet, but I write
to put these thoughts down on paper,
I’m no hero, but I will fight
for influence in this caper;
I’m not a real artist either
perhaps I’m swimming at the edge,
With faith but not a believer,
it’s only to myself I pledge;
Not really a teacher as such,
a student only when I please;
I say too little, say too much,
an expert without expertise;
I’m no writer, only writing
to fill up these empty pages;
No influence nor exciting,
no actor upon the stages;
I have no musical talents
always screeching into the void;
It’s an act I cannot balance,
never upset but just annoyed;
Am I a poet? You decide;
I don’t really care either way;
All too easily classified
I am or I’m not what you say.
Written for the GloPoWriMo Day 3 prompt: write a poem that obliquely explains why you are a poet and not some other kind of artist – or, if you think of yourself as more of a musician or painter (or school bus driver or scuba diver or expert on medieval Maltese banking) – explain why you are that and not something else!
I’m not so oblique though!
Stupidity Spreads – 10th July 2025
What lies at the end of philosophy?
Is the end of the rainbow ever found?
Where stupidity spreads just as easily
so all the wisdom is simply drowned.
Inspired by Existential Comics #593
1994ever 