Tag: Mae Khong

Pining – 3rd May 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 7 Comments

When I was yours and you were mine
A lunatic love filled our eyes
Now you’re hidden in the fog of time
Smoke rises to fill the skies

Through the mist, I grasp at straws
There’s no silver lining
When you were mine and I was yours
This hazy moon no longer shining

Submitted to Moonwashed Weekly Prompt

Today I’m feeling:

Great, after accidentally enjoying an extra hour of sleep. Exercise felt a little easier and I’m even doing a little Thai writing practice in-between sets. A three-coffee Utopia morning sets me up for the rest of the day.

Today I’m grateful for:

The two fish that fed us, the fishermen that caught them, the chefs that prepared them and Nut for collecting them.  Thank you fish, I know I am a hypocrite to take your lives for mine.

The best thing about today was:

Sudden inspiration whilst reading other poetry and prompts that ended up with me writing more words that I’m proud of.

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

I had to wait a long time this afternoon as Amy was enjoying drinking with Nut and I was not having a good time at all despite the good food.

The atmosphere was off as Nut and Bruno bickered with each other, sometimes seeming nasty to me and infecting Amy to take some shots at me too.

I was happy to leave her there and pick her up later but she wanted me to wait.

Finally, she felt sick and wanted to leave though she has a second wind now and screaming loudly singing along to her favourite songs and dancing in the living room, whilst I’ve come to the bedroom to write this.

She also just came and gave me a hug and thanked me for being a good husband (perhaps for putting up with her drunken mood swings or letting her get on with being Amy).

Something I learned today?

Despite Monday the 6th being a national holiday we are meant to be at school.  This prompted me to send messages to Kru Tang and Kru Mai that I would be on leave that day and also on the 20th.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

Amy was in a bad mood because we had forgotten to bring the beer to take to Nut and Bruno’s for lunch.  As I wasn’t drinking I didn’t think anything about the bag sitting on the dining room table as I went out to open the gate to prepare to leave.

When Amy realised later that we didn’t have the bag with us she blamed me for forgetting it or at least for not thinking to help her with it.

Honestly, it wasn’t even that big of a deal to me as we stopped at a shop and bought more beer but Amy couldn’t let it go and her car door slamming carried over to me and I took on her bad mood.

Did you do something difficult or challenging today?

This afternoon was a challenge, not just because of what was happening but also how I was thinking about it.  I wondered if we are still compatible, still love each other or want to be together?  What would happen if we decided not to stay together any longer.

I recognise, now that it is later, that these are just the negative thought patterns that I can easily conjure but are not clear reality.  Thoughts that float on down the river.

Thailand to the left, Laos to the right.  Mae Khong.

The Ferns – 1st May 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 11 Comments

Fast approaches the fire
Flourish on the ferns
Unholy smokes
Tinder lit touchpaper
Quickly burns
Quietly chokes

The growing distant haze
Across mountain tops
In the line of fire
Cross valley hops
Night skies ablaze
Ash rain falls
Consumed, stops
New ferns grown again

Submitted to dVerse – Quadrille – blaze, Ragtag Daily Prompt – approach and FOWC – flourish.

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good again. 

An early start today as we go through the 100-day ritual for Grandmum at the temple. Amy’s mum is stressed and stressing everyone else with preparations. 

I can ignore the words as I don’t understand them, though I can pick up the feeling from Amy’s facial expressions. She is trying to cope with humour though I think that she will be happy when the day is over.

Today I’m grateful for:

The family-connected monk who took care of all the rituals that needed to be done for the events today.  I only knew that we were going to Chiang Saen to put Grandmum’s bones into the MaeKhong but I didn’t know that he was also part of it, and so I was a little surprised to see him getting out of a car there.  It did, however, put me at some ease for some reason.

The best thing about today was:

Whilst watering and looking around the garden I found a little black and white cat curled up in our garage.  He was chatty and friendly though we’d never met before.

He looked in reasonable health and I picked him up and put him on the wall and he went off somewhere after that. Hopefully he is not in need of a home.

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

At the temple everything was out of my control so as usual I just went with the flow.  That’s the best way to handle it.

Something I learned today?

Whilst in the boat on the river we could see lots of things going on on the Laos side and where some of the river bed was exposed some shade was set up and kids were playing and swimming to cool down.

The boat driver told us that the shade was actually set up because they were excavating more as they had recently found 200 Buddha statues there.

I was a little sceptical as all we could see was folks enjoying the water whilst a hidden humongous PA was pumping out Songkran-style Luk Krung that was clearly heard and enjoyed on the Thai side of the river too.

Also, today is the end of the fire ban. We’re now expecting the air quality to get even worse and there’s no sign of rain yet.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

I drove Amy and myself to the temple and let myself be bossed around as usual, though things were so typically unorganised that if I sat still for long enough then whatever I had been asked to do had been forgotten or someone else had already done it.

I then drove the family to Chiang Saen and helped a little with taking photos and stopping aunties from tumbling on the uneven steps down to the boat.

Did you do something difficult or challenging today?

Being outside was a challenge today as it was over 40 degrees in the sun and there were occasions when it wasn’t possible to stay in the shade, though thankfully not for long.

The whole day was a bit of challenge but as I mentioned, going with the flow was the best option to getting through it.

I took this picture because this was the final farewell for Grandmum, into the Mae Khong.