The shots come from the cheap seats
unfiltered by positioning;
honest motives hold on to their receipts
so you'd better get to listening.
Inspired by a David Elikwu newsletter.
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Tag: David Elikwu
The Philosopher King
Hollow Objectives – 2nd July 2026
With infinite entertainments
And food delivered to the door
In climate-controlled environments
We couldn’t wish for anything more
But all with meaning begins to fade
We writhe with agony under the weight
Of an existential crisis made
As we focus on our internal state
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
On Duty and Circumstance
Amongst opportunities and obligations
So many questions will arise
Duty is found on solid foundations
So circumstance is never a surprise
The Hunt Is Over – 1st July 2026
The hunt was for survival
The food was merely fuel
Now captive dancing monkeys
Has weakened the gene pool
Eating as performance
Is this a paradise on earth?
Slovenly and fattened up
For all of nature’s worth
Welcome to Universe 25
Coming to a city near you
Down into the behavioural sink
As all animals are wont to do
Inspired by another David Elikwu newsletter, this time about overabundance, how captive tigers are overfed by tourists and no longer hunt and the Universe 25 experiment, where rats in paradise ended up killing each other.
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Do Your Job
Whatever anyone does or says
I must show my true colours
Every action, part of a system
Shared by the many others
Are You Alive? – 26th June 2026
A brutal plunge into ice
A pounding at your ribs
Are you still alive?
Excruciatingly difficult words
Resolve the years of tension
Now you’re alive
The terror of the stages
You’ll still sleep tonight
You know you’re alive
Concentrated suffering
Is the strength of Spartans
Tomorrow you’ll be dead
Double up on credit cards
Comfortably stuck in bed?
You’re already dead
Inspired by another newsletter from David Elikwu
The Accident Of Time – 9th February 2026
Trapped in a perpetuum mobile
of present moment stimulation,
not thinking about how to feel
outside of the ‘now’ situation.
Keep the babies quietly scrolling,
rehearsing their spectrum patterns;
boredom counter by constant extolling
of the anxiety that happens.
Swipe away any diagnosis,
all attentions have been diverted;
never quiet enough to notice
that society has been perverted.
Inspired by a David Elikwu newsletter discussing Paul Virilio’s ideas about dromology and how everyone is being diagnosed with ADHD now.
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
You Don’t Have To Have An Opinion
There are whispers never heard,
mistakes that were never seen.
Must we always add our word?
Just imagine it had never been.
The Kindling – 27th January 2026
The conversation you didn’t have
inconsequential in isolation.
Just another one for the road
or as a quiet consolation.
The small resentments came
after contributions, half-hearted.
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
was the kindling where it started.
Inspired by another David Elikwu article from The Knowledge newsletter.
The Daily Stoic poem:
The Three Areas Of Training
Our judgment affects our desires
Desires affect our deeds
And a clear composure inspires
The energy to meet our needs
True Power – 14th August 2025
Armed with anger, we come to believe
that our wounded dignity is protected;
lock ourselves in to keep the monsters out,
all we see are targets to be rejected;
The demon whispers on our shoulders,
“Where is justice?” “Where is your peace?”
But anger never delivers on its promise,
a fast cash deal, a momentary release;
When wounded, why hold onto the pain,
unable to accept the simplest solution?
Your life is too valuable to sacrifice
at the altar of retribution;
True power lies in the ability to let go,
to walk away from a pointless fight;
outside is a world of possibilities
before the coffin lid slams shut tight.
Another paraphrased poem inspired by David Elikwu’s newsletter at The Knowledge.
Shared with dVerse Poetics Tuesday – power
Cathedrals – 6th August 2025
There are cathedrals everywhere,
for those with the eyes to see;*
between appearance and purpose
is the practice of how to be;
Beauty is not made of magic,
it’s a functional affair,
for those with eyes to see
there are cathedrals everywhere.
*quoted from David Elikwu
Life Is Jazz – 9th July 2025
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.
Double Check Your Harness Before Climbing – 10th April 2025
Finish
Making mistakes
It’s ergodicity –
Just one catastrophic event
And done!
A cinquain for Momoetry April Poet Month challenge based on a newsletter from David Elikwu at the knowledge.io
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