The Ritual – 24th November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

A blessed pilgrimage
with a hint of purpose;

The glory of the moon
still hanging;

Footpaths
wet with drizzle;

People sniffling,
gambling on a bus that may not come;

Streetlights fade,
worms start to worry;

But the barista is already there,
running through their own ritual.

Inspired by the first couple of lines from this totally unconnected Substack post by Joe Nichols (but it is a fun read on a different topic).

A Minor Role – 23rd November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 33 Comments

There’s a dead mosquito on my dashboard,
on her back, legs pointing up in the air;
Perhaps overfed, on my blood engorged;
I’m not sure how long she’s been lying there.

I’ve never been one for cleaning my cars;
something that my wife cannot comprehend.
A minor role to play in my memoirs;
I don’t know her history, only her end.

Would it be so weird to give her a name,
something infused with deeper meaning?
Well, no matter, there’s nothing to explain;
she’ll be gone once my wife does the cleaning.

Shared with W3 #186 – an unimportant thing. This is an ongoing true story.

Empty AI – 22nd November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 5 Comments

A is for the Ache inside my vacant chest,
the hollow, yet weighty uninvited guest;

B is for the Bridges that I burned too fast,
their embers scattered to a forgotten past;

C is for the Clock upon the wall,
whose ticking measures nothing much at all;

D is for the Doorway where we say goodbye,
and the emptiness gathers to multiply;

E is for Ennui….

The idea inspired by this Existential Comic (#602) and given a hand by AI (hence the title).

So, This Is The Free Country – 21st November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 14 Comments

Shared with dVerse Poetics – ‘So This Is…’

Prathet Thai (ประเทศไทย) literally ‘free nation’
Phra Athit (พระอาทิตย์) The Celestial Emperor.
Mae Khong (แม่ของ) River known as the Mekong in the West.
Mae Posop (แม่โพสพ) The Rice Goddess
The Naga (พญานาค) The Great Serpent
Mae Suay Dawan (แม่สวยดาวัน) The sun seeking reflection.
Nang Ron (นางร้อน) Invisible but felt everywhere.
Krungthep (กรุงเทพ) Bangkok
Phee WaeLa (ผีเวลา) The embodiment of lazy afternoons

Phra Athit, celestial emperor,
leads his royal procession each day
across the shimmering sky.
Breathing life into the rice paddies,
his golden robes gild temple roofs
and commands the reverence of the Mae Khong.

The hardy must endure his midday glare
until a truce is brokered
with Mae Posop and the Naga,
and so the seasons share the throne.

Mae Suay Dawan brushes pastel dawn
over the Andaman Sea
jewels of dew at her feet,
a gown woven from the first warm hush of morning.
Her quiet radiance outshines
the golden trumpet trees.

Nang Ron, lazy and playful trickster,
throws a heavy, humid blanket
over the melting asphalt of Krungthep.
Mirages rise like whispered promises of cool,
eyelids sag with heat;
she lulls us gently toward our hammocks.

The chef grills the city in a giant wok,
the rent is paid in sweat.

Phee Waela draws out the drones
of the cicadas
melting away afternoons.
The breath of the slumbering dragon,
an endless exhale.

Cat Flyer – 20th November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 7 Comments
Reba Spike on Unsplash.

Who coaxed the cat to the sky?
Watched it fly away like that
Spectators wonder just why
Some rat did that to a cat

And now, how to coax it down?
As it floats around so free
So absurd that it could drown
Chasing birds out to the sea

Maybe meow a message
Learn how to coax a human
To shoot down this odd carriage
From reknown to solution!

Shared with dVerse Q236 (but not a quadrille) – coax and Melissa’s FFFC #347 image prompt above.

Time Well Spent – 19th November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 23 Comments

Above the roaring chaos of the rooms
The petty squabbles of emotional fools
Moulding little munchkins while running on fumes
Stuck in a system broken; made to be rules

Making peace amongst the many positions
Knowing little more than the best use of tools
Embracing the insistent inquisitions
Every teacher’s a student that schools

I found a job that I truly love, where I can put my whole self into it.
Shared with dVerse OLN #396 and this didn’t get many eyes and also conveniently meets the What’s Going On prompt this week too.

Let The Story Finish Itself – 18th November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 6 Comments

The neighbours gasped as the horse bolted.
What terrible luck! It could mean doom!
The farmer was patient as time unfolded.
Sure enough, a pack of horses returned soon.

More bad luck befell the farmer’s son
Who broke his leg falling from the mare.
The farmer felt there was little to be done.
The neighbours wondered why he didn’t care.

When war broke out, the conscriptors came.
The neighbours knew their kids might end up dead.
The farmer’s son was considered too lame.
‘Let the story finish itself’ is all he said.

Shared with Poetic Bloomings #568 – Nuanced Nuisance.
A poetic take on this Taoist fable:
An old farmer lived near the frontier with his son and a single horse. One morning, they woke to find the horse had broken through the fence and run away.
The neighbours gathered, shaking their heads sympathetically. “How terrible!” they said. “You’ve lost your only horse. What bad luck!”
The farmer listened quietly, then shrugged. “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
A week later, the horse returned—but not alone. It had joined a herd of wild horses and led them all back to the farm. Suddenly, the farmer owned a dozen magnificent animals.
The same neighbours returned, their eyes bright with admiration. “How wonderful!” they exclaimed. “You’re rich now! What incredible fortune!”
Again, the farmer listened calmly. “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
The next month, while trying to tame one of the wild horses, the farmer’s son was thrown violently and broke his leg. He would walk with a limp for the rest of his life.
Back came the neighbours, their faces creased with concern. “How awful!” they cried. “Your poor son! What a terrible thing to happen!”
The farmer tended his son’s wound and replied as before: “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
The following spring, war broke out. Military officers swept through the village, conscripting every able-bodied young man for the army. When they came to the farmer’s house and saw his limping son, they passed him by.
The neighbours, whose own sons had been taken to fight in a distant war, returned once more. “How fortunate!” they said, their voices mixed with envy and relief. “Your son gets to stay home because of his injury. What a blessing in disguise!”
The old farmer looked across his fields where his son worked contentedly among the horses, and smiled his familiar smile.
“Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Lovely List – 17th November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 12 Comments
  • The first coffee of the day
  • Watching our kittens play
  • Whiskey on a winter’s night
  • Holding someone special tight
  • Memories triggered by song
  • Feeling right where you belong
  • Watching all the children grow
  • Teaching all of what you know
  • A great poem that you wrote
  • Inspiration from a quote
  • Causing a new friend to smile
  • Contemplating for a while
  • Watching the river flow by
  • Migrations across the sky
  • A forest walk in the rain
  • Waking up again, again

Shared with Poets and Storytellers United #203 – love/hate

Every Dog – 16th November 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 20 Comments

Shared with dVerse MTB: The Roundel
*’The USA has met its enemy and it is the USA’ was taken from a Substack article I was reading but forgot to note the link.

The USA has met its enemy
and it is the USA, every day.
No one wants to play with the USA.

The truth is there for everyone to see.
All that’s left are the dreams of yesterday.
The USA has met its enemy
and it is the USA, every day.

They’ve been beaten at their own game, you see,
there’s none left outside for them to betray,
and so the empire is fading away.
The USA has met its enemy
and it is the USA, every day.
No one wants to play with the USA.