Kaleidoscope – 22nd July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 15 Comments

Nothing is ever as good as it seems; float on a sigh,
all my imaginings and their themes float on a sigh;

Alone amongst friends and too busy to wait,
running nowhere and watching my schemes float on a sigh;

With a prod and a push, a light shone on me
where the angelic rainbow streams float on a sigh;

Splitting the prism, wandering in the wavelengths,
watching as your white-winged sunbeams float on a sigh;

So realise it forever, Shaun, you are now one lucky guy,
together we’ll build a world where our dreams float on a sigh.

Written for the GloPoWriMo Day 8 prompt:
write a ghazal that takes the form of a love song.

8th Aug 2025 – Shared with W3 #171

Senseless – 21st July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 13 Comments

At first, it was my taste buds failing
A slow decline over a decade or so
Along with all the aches and ailing
I was glad this was the first to go

Soon followed by the loss of smell
Where previously I’d been like a dog
Pretty soon I was unable to tell
The difference between flower and bog

Then one day the eyes started aching
And a darkness began to take hold
No difference between sleep and waking
Faculties failing uncontrolled

I was happy to still have my ears
Until they too started to fade
Hearing no music, my biggest of fears
But I guess that’s just how I was made

Finally, I lost my sense of touch
No way to tell what I could feel
It’s all become way too much
Even my emotions no longer seem real

So, without any of my senses
Why does this body persist?
No more past, present and future tenses
How can I know that I even exist?

Cancel Culture Conclusion Confirmation Bias – 20th July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

A unicorn of universal truth

For every action, an equal and opposite reaction

Let’s put the assertion through its paces

Form: Bloated Haiku (10-15-10 syllables)
Rules: Subject must be cultural and philosophical

I totally made this up. Am I a creator?

Oh, this poem was inspired (and paraphrased) by this post on Substack by Jim Richardson. The poem is not particularly connected to the content as the paraphrasing is drawn from the first paragraph. I just liked these words and thoughts together.

This Charming Man – 18th July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

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.

Swift Rumour – 16th July 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

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:

  1. “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.”
  2. “Exports to African countries have also risen sharply.”
  3. “Chinese officials are poised to strike deals to deepen economic cooperation with countries ranging from Brazil and South Africa to Australia and the UK.”
  4. “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.”
  5. “Beijing supplies Russia with much of what it needs in wartime in return for cheap oil.”
  6. “Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, [is] ahead of a trip to three Chinese cities this weekend for talks about trade and investment.”
  7. “The UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, [is] considering injections of Chinese cash and knowhow to build new offshore windfarms.”
  8. “There has been a 10% depreciation in [China’s] currency against the dollar.”
  9. “China has cut-price digital infrastructure products.”
  10. “Government debts are escalating [globally].”
  11. “China is one of the few big investors outside the Middle East with significant financial firepower.”
  12. “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

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 22 Comments

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

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

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.