Author: shaun tenzenmen

Australasian DIY music specialist and practising poet, amongst other things

Life Is Jazz – 9th July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 10 Comments

Written for the GloPoWriMo Day 2 prompt: Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,” and something that seems out of place in time. Inspired by a piece of writing by David Elikwu.

Hey, Mister Saxomaphone,

hoot me a honk, and so right the wrong;

All the broken melodies,

reinvented

will create my song.



As perfect as a dirty corner

wherein lies the history of this room,

swept away by all your basses;

Mister Saxomaphone meet Thunderbroom!

A dizzy release of tension

but miles made me a kind of blue,

with a loosened grip of the sticks

the dischord births the cool.


A novelty of noise, your random riffs

brought my jazz to life, formed this punk

Mister Saxomaphone, I made my own song

from the power of your funk.

A New Declaration – 4th July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Fifty secessions recommended
for restoration of human rights;
Enslavement to be suspended,
and fifty second-amendment rewrites;

The cowboy boots too small,
the experiment always failing;
There’s freedom for none at all
when the fascists are prevailing;

The right to food not guaranteed
make felons form for looting;
The chaos increasing with speed,
shuttering doors after each shooting;

A tremendous, wonderful thing to see;
a rise and fall so fast;
Selling off the foundations for free,
there’s no way it could ever last;

So fifty secessions needed;
those with virtue, step into the light;
Once the divisions have succeeded,
a second chance to get it right.

Inspired by my own comment on this post at stopdraggingthepanda.

Watching Storms – 3rd July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

Sons, be men and get yourselves laid,
chase easy girls and compare your scores;
it’s the game for generations played;
the winner receives the most applause.



Girl, keep your legs shut, quiet as a mouse;
male privilege will never extend to you;
I never want a whore in my house;
someone else’s daughter would have to do.

Inspired by this article at Tumultuous True Stories by Lindsay Byron

Never Alone – 2nd July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

When news is not information now,
full of alarm and entertainment;
Politics is no longer governance
but just a circus full of distractions;

A world where feeling good
beats what actually is good.

So the product goes unrecognised,
the deceit is ever more efficient;
The mirror only reflects the beautiful;
No craft, no taste, no art, no passion;

Learned to feel good
without learning what is good.

Optimised for consumption,
the comforts counter discovery;
Hacked brains dopamined to diversion;
never alone with a phone in your home.

Perfect End – 1st July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

A wasted day waiting for perfection.

Staring at the mountains
green and dusty around the edges;

The sun’s rising
obscured by damp and grey defences;

Little illumination
penetrates to bring forth joys;

Has the day already been decided?


Staring at the snow white sheet
waiting for the words;

Imagination lost in the ebb
just beyond the groping enquiries;

Little inspiration
steps out of the dark entrances

looking for a flawless scaffold.


Staring at the flowers
fighting through the weeds,

Stunted by the fading foundations,
nests of decay;

Little seedlings
sent to their surrender

waiting for early birds to start their work.


Staring at the western peaks
green and dusty still,

The sun setting
in a glory elsewhere;

Little perfection
broke through to bring forth joys;

The day went as decided.