Tag: dVerse

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 ~ 15 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

The Big ‘Oh!’s – 31st July 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 14 Comments 
Decades rush towards
an ever distant double-o.
Crossing off the milestones
one by one
we find less to celebrate.

And when lids finally close,
eyes open to a new world
with a big 'Oh!'
"That's what it all meant."

Destined to write poetry forever
next to Wilfred, Walt and William,
like old friends.

Written for dVerse – Launch and these thoughts came to me after reading Henry Rousseau’s tombstone epitaph, written by poet Guillaume Apollinaire:
“We salute you Gentle Rousseau you can hear us
Delaunay, his wife, Monsieur Queval and myself
Let our luggage pass duty free through the gates of heaven
We will bring you brushes, paints and canvas
That you may spend your sacred leisure in the
light and truth of painting
As you once did my portrait facing the stars, lion and the gypsy”

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Your Career Is Not A Life Sentence

Your work does not make you immune
From the end arriving soon

Just A Prayer – 30th July 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 24 Comments

We filled our children full of hope—
What else were we supposed to do?
We taught them that to care is to cope
With the evils we’ll put them through.

Make it faith, or just a prayer—
Because what’s left when love’s not there?

Written for dVerse Quadrille #252 – care

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Stoic Joy

Real joy is a serious thing
More than just a simple cheer
Joy is a deep state of being
Inspiration for those you hold dear

Mistreated Reminders – 24th July 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 13 Comments 
These I have loved amongst many others.

That green-handled oval hand mirror,
     dusty, with paint that would peel and crack.
Held just right, it allowed me to squeeze
     those difficult to get pimples on my back.

The old dirty Lino floating under the rugs
     collecting snot balls and hair in the corners
Those rugs made a comfort of the floor,
     on which I danced like my favourite performers.

The old dirty bed clothes where everyone sat
     would become the warmth that each night needed.
The glass in the window, sagging with age,
     so often slammed shut and mistreated.

These little nostalgias are a cold comfort,
     prickly reminders of all that was
I don’t want to hold on to them anymore.
     All these have been my loves.

Written for dVerse Poetics: The Great Lover. I like to reminisce and be nostalgic but it is becoming a reminder of feelings that will not be repeated. While I spend most of my time analysing my own past to understand who I am, I’m also conscious that the little time left to us is being wasted in the process too. This poem could have gone on a lot longer (and maybe one day it will). I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but it brings to mind the Big Black lyric, ‘I know what a liar I am, I should know me by now.’

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Somewhere Someone’s Dying

Thoughts and prayers count for nothing
Bad news is everywhere, every single day
Mindless sympathy doesn’t help those suffering
Deeds count more than just to say