The Amateur – 10th September 2026

In a perpetual state of curiosity,
I am the lover—the amator,
consumed by the pursuit,
never arriving as the station’s master.

Reshaped by the objects of affection—
endlessly revealing itself
with fresh eyes.

To be possessed by a god.

I am the midwife of ideas,
so come sit with me
and be courted every day.

Shared with dVerse: Poetics Tuesday – teachers

Information from DeepSeek that helped form this poem:
1. Amateur: From the Latin amator (lover). Originally, an amateur wasn’t a beginner; it was someone who did something for the love of it, rather than for mastery. A teacher who is still learning while teaching is an amateur in the truest sense, driven by a love of the subject and of the students.
2. A master has already arrived at their destination; they know the material, they deliver it, they clock out.
3.  In Roman love poetry, the amator is constantly changed, humbled, and reshaped by the object of their affection. The subject endlessly reveals itself, and the student’s fresh eyes make the teacher see the subject anew.
4. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek enthousiasmos, which means”to be possessed by a god”.
5. ‘I am the midwife of ideas’ is from Socrates.


Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Preparing On A Sunny Day

As soldiers practice in peacetime
In happy days build your defences
Without a comparison to define
All your previous indulgences

Broadcasting – 15th August 2026

Are you smarter tonight than when you woke?
What was lost or gained through the words you spoke?
Animals don’t dwell in doubt, so eat yourself fitter!
Today you’re the receiver, tomorrow – the transmitter.


Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

The Supreme Court Of Your Mind

True and steadfast judgement
Follows from consistency
You become the sum of your actions
Choose wisely what to be

The Dreaming – 8th November 2025

A tension requirement
– critical thought
*on the way to final closure
of an attitude of consumption*

Attention requirement
– easily bought
never dived into total exposure
making brief, formatted assumption

A speedy seduction
– knowledge acquisition
stored in a cloud, elsewhere
retrievable on certain demand

Judgement reduction
– from pole position
muscles unflexed, wither and tear
Uncontrolled and confused command

Quietly automated
– subliminally pacified
without sound, sight and thought
memory no longer has any meaning

Sleepy and sedated
– unhappily satisfied
With nothing to learn, nothing to be taught
stay plugged into The Dreaming

Inspired and *quoted from this article at Philosophy Now about AI and studying.

For The Love Of Gods – 4th October 2025

Eros

Passionate desire

A longing fire

Philia
Loyalty, trust

Respect: a must


Storge
Familiar foundations

Comfortable bonded relations


Agape
Grace unconditional

Compassion by principle

Ludus
Playful flirtation

Light dance relation


Pragma
Invested practicality

Commitment and compatibility

Philautia
Understanding self-care
Balanced and fair



Mania
Tormented obsession
Jealous dependent possession

Shared with W3 prompt #179:
Write 5 separate Hay(na)ku poems, each about a different aspect of love, including but not limited to:
Romantic love, familial love, self-love, unrequited love, enduring/timeless love.
Each poem should stand alone but together create a layered meditation on love.


After reading through others’ entries for this prompt, I was inspired to give it another try, particularly after learning more about the Greek Gods of love. Above is the new entry, below the original (titled Curriculum).

~~~

initiation
matures, understanding
flourishing above beasts

~~~

comforted
unconditional inspiration
release and return

~~~

within
mind open
education, experience, esteem

~~~

unanswered
time expands
changes one’s perspective

~~~

beyond
last orders
through all seasons

~~~

Canon – 20th November 2024

I have the words within my pages
My knowledge forms your future texts
Amassed wisdom sung from many sages
Collected comforts to which all connects

This power I pass for you to share
The lessons lived easily explain
To conquer chaos and choose to care
To shrink in size or grow to gain

Your personal action accumulates
Eyes sparkle like dancing diamonds
Mixing the messes of made mistakes
Form the future from many islands

Shared with What Do You See #263 and submitted to an AllPoetry assignment about alliteration.


Today I’m feeling:

OK, once I got going. I slept pretty well and my alarm was a bit of a shock. Exercise and a cold shower jazzed me up all right and once at school, it was fun to back around the students, which gave me some positive vibes.

It was a pretty easy day with one grade 12 class (who were more rowdy than usual but still did my work) and a quick grade 10 class that was excellent. I really like that class, but there are 47 of them, and it’s difficult to take time with some individuals that need help more than others.

Health:

Physical: 7
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

Deciding to go to Oasis to pick up some dinner. I think I haven’t been there for more than six months now and the food is as delicious as ever.

The best thing about today was:

Being so happy and relaxed after my last class that I was still chatting with students around the school an hour later.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

Something I learned today?

I figured out what I was trying to remember yesterday! It was when I was in the bathroom, drying myself off after a shower. Just recently, I noticed that my right nipple is lower than my left! Maybe it’s always been like this – I’m not sure.

Anyway, I was wondering if it might be connected to the pain I have in my right shoulder. Maybe some muscles in there are not quite working properly.

I have a desire for symmetry!

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I made Baipad and Q get up and walk this morning – just for a couple of minutes. I talked to Q but he couldn’t understand any English but Baipad translated everything quickly and easily. I told her that she should think about getting into translation work.

Later, in my grade 12 class, Men told me that he does translation for mobile games. Maybe a good contact for Baipad for the future.

When crazy Sarah steals my phone!

No Refunds – 20th September 2024

Bread and water are all that’s served
At the Epicurean diner
300 dollars for the wisdom observed
But no wine for the whiner!

Inspired (possibly ripped off) by Existential Comics 552


Today I’m feeling:

Dizzy and tired still, though a little better mentally.

I think I’m understanding a little more about why I’m feeling the way I am mentally.

My routine involves teaching and writing and those both keep me in the now. Whenever I’m not doing those things, I have been updating my blog or watching things relevant to my past ie. nostalgic.

Due to the flooding and school being closed, my routine has been upended and I haven’t been doing things that have kept me rooted in the now and way too much thinking about the past.

This has got me contemplating too much about things outside my control. Perhaps it was sitting for hours (in the now) at the hospital yesterday that has brought all this into focus.

So, now aware of this, I can think about how to improve my thoughts and situation.

I slept ok until some point in the night I had indigestion and then remembered that I had drunk two bottles of soda water in the evening, something I know will get my guts rumbling when I’m lying down to sleep. I’m a slow learner.

Health:

Physical: 6
Mental: 6

Today I’m grateful for:

To the student in the shop who read the staff with my shopping list (see below).

The best thing about today was:

Sydney beating Port to make another grand final. I managed to listen on the radio, which is certainly not exciting at all and really difficult to follow but at least I was able to keep up with the game.

I’ll watch the mini-match tomorrow and enjoy that.

I’ll probably listen to the Geelong/Brisbane game too and hope that they belt the shit out of each other to make it tougher next week for whoever is the winner.

Something I learned today?

Amy asked me to pick some stuff up at the auntie’s store at Fah Tai market and sent me a list written in Thai. When I showed it to the boy working at the shop, he apologised and told me that he couldn’t read. I guess he just gets by ok on speaking.