Tag: dVerse

Five Returns – 20th September 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 6 Comments

All ways
are returning
back to the comfy chair
with a coffee, cat and a book
to read

To read
of roads ahead—
following that one star
a glamour hiding frozen wastes
—return!

Return
to opposite—
the pendulum swings down
here is another hell waiting
—return!

Return
Hollywood shines—
the hills hide the horrors
Barbie demons with plastic smiles
—return!

Go then
towards morning
letting the sunshine in
I will remain at this compass
always.

Shared with dVerse MTB: Five Leavings From Home and inspired by my own movement of home around the world

A Pile Of Tuesdays – 3rd September 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 19 Comments 
This stone is a memory
    and memories are not truth.
I carry these stones in a box,
    dripping nostalgia all over my shoes.*

The box fills faster than I can make room,
    old rocks settle down below.
Some get stuck between my toes,
    as I limp toward another show.

It's already Tuesday again.
    I've got a pile of Tuesdays stashed away,
wearing themselves down to sand,
    rattling the box with every shake.

Running my finger along the edges
    for the last time—I'll know,
I'll divine them across the floor
    and see what remains.

Written for dVerse Poetics – stone
* – appropriated from Makenna Karas

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

First, A Hard Winter Training

Downtime is for preparation
Life is not made for part-timers
Half hearted makes a soft foundation
Easily destroyed by bad designers

Wishful – 28th August 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 11 Comments
Egon Schiele, Field of Flowers (1910)

Given a choice, I would rather have seeded elsewhere—
perhaps in a princess’s garden, where I might glimpse her face
but once a week. Swapping our perfumes, I would die to be
squeezed dry of my oils for her pleasure; but I will accept the
brushing of her fair fingers on my face.

Her groundsman, a man of few words, would tend to me while
his mind was elsewhere. Maybe he would whistle me a tune
to stimulate my stamen.

I could watch the horses leave on long journeys,
kicking up dust into my eyes, and await their triumphant return.

But I’m busy here fighting for the sunshine, tangled and bruised
amongst my neighbours. If I could just enjoy the wind or the soft
April showers, that would fall in July. 

The long shadows of the Magnolia are now an unwelcome canopy
at the golden hour, when I would enjoy my best growing,
wishing to stretch with wings.

Written for dVerse Tuesday Poetics

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

The Opulent Stoic

The laws of life let us live well
Luxury is surrounded by misery and stress
Enslavement to it is a witch’s spell
We can still be happy with having less

The Benefactor – 26th August 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 18 Comments 
In shadows, with coins and a crafted line,
     to make a people's grief align
with foreign maps, foreign plans,
     to break the chains with borrowed hands.

Suddenly, a protest grown—
     the grievance true, but the help a loan,
     where interests wish a stolen throne.

Written for dVerse Quadrille #354 – protest

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Seeking Out Shipwrecks

We never suffer the loss when neccesary
To let go of the things we hold dear
A life filled with your philosophy
Is all that we need to keep near

It’s Ars Poetica! – 22nd August 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 22 Comments 
I'm not so sure how to begin
but needing to find my place in
   poetdom!

Started writing—the muse's call
always knowing I am the small
   poetling!

Each day I scratched my thoughts on air
until my clumsy hand found there—
   poethood!

Words that would make my mother cry
a joke that lights the evening—my
   poetry!

Whatever the shapes or sounds or themes
I'm making worlds inside my dreams—
   poetise!

Written for dVerse MTB: Compounding the Stem

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

Evaluate the worth of your attention
Time is the only real thing you possess
Let the small stuff go without a mention
Let go of any unnecessary stress

Fading Away – 21st August 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 9 Comments

Once in a lifetime, just once
you will know not to be scared
of death, as he approaches in
the periphery. Calm before his duty,
he gently takes your hand and
whispers you away. All storms
begin to settle, your medals tarnish,
your children’s laughter fades
to a hum, as all your prizes begin
to disappear, with his promise
that this sorrow will be only once,
just once. Once in a lifetime.

Shared with dVerse Poetics – Once in a Lifetime

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Don’t Be Miserable In Advance

It’s rumours for the soul to be anxious
To be miserable in advance of misery
It’s a sort of longing that’s thankless
When right now is the place to be

Grim Days – 13th August 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 23 Comments 
For twenty-six English years
never experiencing weather
     —except those two weeks complaining about the heat
     and that year of snow, not having to go to school—
grim days, followed by more grim days.

To Australia to enjoy another twenty-plus years
of all the weathers in one day, every day
     —except snow, which only the rich could afford,
     skiing around Kosciuszko National Park—
good days, followed by even more good days.

Then Thailand, for who knows how long,
where the weather is upside down
     —winters are sunny and temperate,
     summers, wet, wild and grey—
taking me home again.

Written for dVerse Poetics weather prompt and inspired by the depression felt on grey days, even here in Thailand’s hot rainy season.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Take Charge And End Your Troubles

Did the things you fear come to pass?
The struggles came, but didn’t last
Take charge and understand prevention
End your troubles early with intention

I Had To… – 12th August 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 18 Comments 
Gap fill exercise:

JUMP

__________     just to get a refund.
__________    with only one side of the story.
__________    angry at their stupidity.
__________    once the refund was approved.
__________    to be part of the community.

Answers:

through hoops
to conclusions
down their throats
for joy
on the bandwagon

The teacher in me jumped out for this dVerse Quadrille prompt #353
A little bit of fun.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Make The Words Your Own

It’s all been done before
So practice what you preach
Your actions are worth more
Than what the philosophers teach

Totally Useless – 9th August 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 11 Comments

it’s not not fun
when it’s not happening to me
from non-diplomatic tweets
to expletive-laden threats
made for anyone to see.

he’s not totally useless
he can be used
as a terrible example—
the world’s most anticipated
obituary.

Written for dVerse MTB – negation. Lines 6,7 & 8, I believe, were made by someone here as a comment on another’s poem but I forgot who it was. It was too funny to let go and not use it.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Stick With Just The Facts

Your brain likes to add extra information
To complicate even the simplest acts
Growing assumption and then expectation
It’s better to stick with just the facts