All Creations – 3rd May 2026

May 3, 2026May 3, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 27 Comments

the turtle does not
tell of things he does not know
– only what he’s lived –

the wolf remains strong
lower than all that sustains
– the pack remains strong –

the eagle carries
the heart of all the worlds
– sharing his teachings –

the bear looks on life
with the strength to face her fears
– protecting her young –

the beaver’s vision
a natural gift within
– the way it is done –

the raven, correct
understanding how to walk
– together, in life –

here, the buffalo
maintains the balance and needs
of all creations

Shared with dVerse Poetics – The Seven Grandfather Teachings
I might come back to this prompt as I’m not that happy with this write.
Indigenous Art by Michelle Stoney (except the raven, adapted by Ernie)

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Show, Not Tell, What You Know

You ate the words but failed to digest
Is your philosophy just a fancy quote?
Actions are the better way to invest
Your time towards what you would promote

Can You Dig It? – 2nd May 2026

May 2, 2026May 3, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 25 Comments

Indigenous seeds refuse the plough
The dignity of labour takes a while
He digs a well from there to now
She digests history with a patient smile

A digitised map of looted art
She digs a moat of metaphor and stone
From indigent weeds, kingdoms start
Indignant empires overthrown

Written for dVerse Quadrille #246 – dig

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Be The Person You Want To Be

First, you must take the time to think
About what’s most important to you
Then take action and do the work
To guide yourself to what’s true

Evolution Of A Myth – 25th April 2026

April 25, 2026April 30, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 11 Comments

Written for dVerse OLN #406 – Pegasus and the Muses – a mythical story that I was not very familiar with until today and doing some research. Some of the contradictions in the myth raised the questions in the second stanza and had me contemplating how stories evolve over time.

Pegasus, already a devoted companion,
a gift to the Muses as proof
of favour from goddess Athena,
struck the ground with his hoof.

But what were the Muses musing
before the Hippocrene was created?
Just singing, dancing and bathing,
as the daughters of Pierus awaited?

The challenge laid down, divine,
Mount Helicon rose to the skies.
The nymphs declared the Muses won
and the Pierides turned to magpies.

Downcast Eyes – 24th April 2026

April 24, 2026April 25, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 12 Comments

Another woman with downcast eyes
Hands folded like origami cranes
How may she cast off her old disguise?

‘Too much’ or ‘not enough’ – no surprise
“How these things should be,” he gently feigns
Another woman with downcast eyes

She builds a fortress of compromise
Forever dragging along her chains
How may she cast off her old disguise?

Surrounded by her filial spies
Unwelcome in so many domains
Another woman with downcast eyes

In darkened corners, her silent cries
Her will to survive all that remains
How may she cast off her old disguise?

In this world, always denied the prize
That the patriarchy ascertains
Another woman with downcast eyes
How may she cast off her old disguise?

Written for GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 23:
Try your hand today at your own take on a villanelle, and have the poem end on a question.
and for dVerse Poetics – Exploring the art of Gerard Sekoto
Inspired by a Substack conversation with Sunra Rainz

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

A Productive Use For Contempt

Look closely – everything is absurd
See things for what they really are
Hold contempt for the things you’ve heard
Because all that glitters is bizarre

Hourglass – 16th April 2026

April 16, 2026April 16, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 26 Comments

Where did you go?

You were still there
as I tried to get each
grain of sand back
inside the hourglass
I’d smashed.

Our hearts no longer full
yet still far from empty.
When shared with another
did you disappear?
I can still feel you here.

Where did you go,
shuffling away so slowly?
I still see your trails
on every new horizon
I’ve chased.

Memories morphed
deeper within
the longer valleys between us,
old sun making shadows
of that time.

Where did you go?
My love.

Written for dVerse Poetics: Where does love go? and GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 15:
Write a poem that muses on love, but isn’t a traditional love poem in the sense of expressing love between romantic partners.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Observe Cause And Effect

Learn to identify the thoughts
and behaviours that are destructive
Cause and effect are sorts
where patterns are observed constructive

Interpolation – 9th April 2026

April 9, 2026April 11, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 20 Comments

The word cracks once,
“Ceasefire!”
A fish bone lodges in a gasping throat
but below, the fuses sputter: more wire, more fire,
the relentless drums of war’s dark choir.

“Ceasefire!”
– a child’s chalk-drawn heart,
fading on a smoke-choked boulevard.
The sniper reloads to the lullaby’s lie,
innocence fades, and children die.

“Ceasefire!”
says the treaty ink,
still wet, and bleeding into the desert sand.
The general’s watch ticks, a relentless drone,
overrun, smashed upon the bloodied stone.

“Ceasefire!”
a mother’s whisper,
stitched into a flak-vest’s hollow glow.
The drone’s low hum, a discordant hymn,
targeted through the night’s darkened brim.

“Ceasefire!”
carves the chaplain’s tongue,
while the armoury turns its key.
Counting shells like rosaries, again,
the earth remembers its red, relentless stain.

On the evening news once more,
“Ceasefire!”
a graphic, three seconds, soon buried in mirth.
The bomb dreams of a birthday’s cheer,
while peace remains distant and fragile here.

But let the untouched voices rise,
through the static and blustering press.
Not for victory,
but the peace we desire,
– “Ceasefire.”

Shared with dVerse Poetics – imperative and GloPoWriMo 2026 Day 8:
use a simple phrase repeatedly, and then make statements that invert or contradict that phrase.
Current events made this too easy!

Today’s Daily Stoic poem

Test Your Impressions

A harsh impression is all you are
And not at all what you appear to be
I’ll not entertain you so far
If not in my control – you mean nothing to me

April 6th And Other Illusions – 7th April 2026

April 7, 2026April 10, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 8 Comments

We’re all weird,
and it’s a weird world,
held together
by shoestrings and bubblegum.

What did I dream last night
when I was awake?
I know that I was there
and those things happened,
but try explaining that
to my psychiatrist.

The farmer burns his fields
and the wind blows my way.
I want to get high on helium
and bloody his face.

What did I dream last night
when I was awake?
A dog in a mask
chasing a cat with leukaemia…
Wait!
That actually did happen.

There was another April 6th 2026
but it wasn’t a Groundhog Day.
No parallel universe,
just another April 6th 2026.

What did I dream last night
when I was awake?
I wanted to sleep badly,
but I was facing resistance
from the soggy pillow
and my crooked neck.

69 kph through a red light,
getting frisky on a motorbike.
I told her don’t grow up too quickly,
but she was busy taking selfies.

What did I dream last night
when I was awake?
There’s a fine line between
what is real and what is acceptable.
All this happened,
more or less.

Shared with GloPoWriMo 2026 – Day 6:
try writing with a breezy, conversational tone, while including at least one thing that could only happen in a dream.

Also written for Punam’s dVerse prompt from a couple of months ago, utilising the first line of a book as the last line of a poem: “All this happened, more or less.” Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

All of this happened and all of it was dreamt.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Expect To Change Your Opinions

Honour what you don’t know
You are not so smart and wise
Everyone has the room to grow
Arrogance is where opinion cries

First Fool’s Thaw – 2nd April 2026

April 2, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 27 Comments

Here it comes again –
the quiet stirrings of spring.
A single wasp wakes.
But then the winds shift once more,
cold snap returns a shiver.

Shared with dVerse Poetics – false spring and GloPoWriMo – tanka

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Be Wary Of What You Let In

The bustle of madness seeps into any crack
Of the bubbles that we build
The uninvited must always get pushed back
With the knowledge we have instilled

Love Of Language – 22nd March 2026

March 22, 2026March 25, 2026 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 16 Comments

A name acrostic (start and end) shared with dVerse MTB

kalima – Arabic for word
gharāmī – Arabic for my passion/deep love
qalb – Arabic for heart
Al-Rabitah al-Qalamiyya – Arabic name for The Pen League

Kalima comes to life with learning
Haskell, patron to his gharāmī
Almustapha, The Prophet, his qalb
Literary love, spirit, The Forerunner
Immigrant Al-Rabitah al-Qalamiyya
Lebanon, still home – sweet Lebanon

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

The Sign Of True Education

Once the paper has been earned
To show all what was learned
Amounts to little if not understood
And reflected on for the greater good

the turtle does not tell of things he does not know– only what he’s lived –

the wolf remains stronglower than all that sustains– the pack remains strong –

the eagle carriesthe heart of all the worlds– sharing his teachings –

the bear looks on lifewith the strength to face her fears– protecting her young –

the beaver’s visiona natural gift within– the way it is done –

the raven, correctunderstanding how to walk– together, in life –

here, the buffalomaintains the balance and needsof all creations

Show, Not Tell, What You KnowYou ate the words but failed to digestIs your philosophy just a fancy quote?Actions are the better way to investYour time towards what you would promote

Indigenous seeds refuse the ploughThe dignity of labour takes a whileHe digs a well from there to nowShe digests history with a patient smileA digitised map of looted artShe digs a moat of metaphor and stoneFrom indigent weeds, kingdoms startIndignant empires overthrown

Be The Person You Want To BeFirst, you must take the time to thinkAbout what’s most important to youThen take action and do the workTo guide yourself to what’s true

A Productive Use For ContemptLook closely – everything is absurdSee things for what they really areHold contempt for the things you’ve heardBecause all that glitters is bizarre

Observe Cause And EffectLearn to identify the thoughts and behaviours that are destructiveCause and effect are sorts where patterns are observed constructive

Test Your ImpressionsA harsh impression is all you areAnd not at all what you appear to beI’ll not entertain you so farIf not in my control – you mean nothing to me

Expect To Change Your OpinionsHonour what you don’t knowYou are not so smart and wiseEveryone has the room to growArrogance is where opinion cries

Here it comes again –the quiet stirrings of spring.A single wasp wakes.But then the winds shift once more,cold snap returns a shiver.

Be Wary Of What You Let InThe bustle of madness seeps into any crackOf the bubbles that we buildThe uninvited must always get pushed backWith the knowledge we have instilled

Kalima comes to life with learningHaskell, patron to his gharāmīAlmustapha, The Prophet, his qalbLiterary love, spirit, The ForerunnerImmigrant Al-Rabitah al-QalamiyyaLebanon, still home – sweet Lebanon

The Sign Of True EducationOnce the paper has been earnedTo show all what was learnedAmounts to little if not understoodAnd reflected on for the greater good

Impossible Without Your ConsentWhen the circumstances seem to crushThrow them out as poor assumptionsWhen the outside is painted with a frustrating brushThe inside must not consent to these disruptions

the turtle does not
tell of things he does not know
– only what he’s lived –

the wolf remains strong
lower than all that sustains
– the pack remains strong –

the eagle carries
the heart of all the worlds
– sharing his teachings –

the bear looks on life
with the strength to face her fears
– protecting her young –

the beaver’s vision
a natural gift within
– the way it is done –

the raven, correct
understanding how to walk
– together, in life –

here, the buffalo
maintains the balance and needs
of all creations

Show, Not Tell, What You Know

You ate the words but failed to digest
Is your philosophy just a fancy quote?
Actions are the better way to invest
Your time towards what you would promote

Indigenous seeds refuse the plough
The dignity of labour takes a while
He digs a well from there to now
She digests history with a patient smile

A digitised map of looted art
She digs a moat of metaphor and stone
From indigent weeds, kingdoms start
Indignant empires overthrown

Be The Person You Want To Be

First, you must take the time to think
About what’s most important to you
Then take action and do the work
To guide yourself to what’s true

A Productive Use For Contempt

Look closely – everything is absurd
See things for what they really are
Hold contempt for the things you’ve heard
Because all that glitters is bizarre

Observe Cause And Effect

Learn to identify the thoughts
and behaviours that are destructive
Cause and effect are sorts
where patterns are observed constructive

Test Your Impressions

A harsh impression is all you are
And not at all what you appear to be
I’ll not entertain you so far
If not in my control – you mean nothing to me

Expect To Change Your Opinions

Honour what you don’t know
You are not so smart and wise
Everyone has the room to grow
Arrogance is where opinion cries

Here it comes again –
the quiet stirrings of spring.
A single wasp wakes.
But then the winds shift once more,
cold snap returns a shiver.

Be Wary Of What You Let In

The bustle of madness seeps into any crack
Of the bubbles that we build
The uninvited must always get pushed back
With the knowledge we have instilled

Kalima comes to life with learning
Haskell, patron to his gharāmī
Almustapha, The Prophet, his qalb
Literary love, spirit, The Forerunner
Immigrant Al-Rabitah al-Qalamiyya
Lebanon, still home – sweet Lebanon

The Sign Of True Education

Once the paper has been earned
To show all what was learned
Amounts to little if not understood
And reflected on for the greater good

Impossible Without Your Consent

When the circumstances seem to crush
Throw them out as poor assumptions
When the outside is painted with a frustrating brush
The inside must not consent to these disruptions