Tag: poetry

The New Conversation – 16th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Now preoccupied where once just occupied
Satisfaction for a second is hardly satisfied
Amusing ourselves to death for what?
A triumph of the trivial is all that we’ve got

Contestants fall as they forget about moderation
Convinced that each click is a real conversation
Expert calculations fix the algorithm of fame
And every Tom, Jane and Harry happily does the same

Inspired by a blog post at Oxford Sour

To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.

W. Somerset Maugham

Today I’m grateful for:

Bruno messaging me and asking if I wanted some hummus that Nut has made. I’ll drop around tomorrow and pick some up. Haven’t had hummus in a long time.

The best thing about today was:

Enjoying my class with 1/6 where they were able to relax and have some fun for my last class of the week. It rounded out my week well and takes me nicely into the weekend.

I took this picture because I get to stay in Thailand for another year. Hooray!
Fatman report

Dib Dib Dib – 15th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

There’s a hard winter coming
Are you ready for the chill?
Stock up the cellars
Bring the herd down from the hill
Wrap yourself in the comforts
Of a trouble gladly shared
Tie the boats up to the shore
And hunker down prepared

I think I could stand anything, an suffering, only to be able to say and to repeat to myself every moment, ‘I exist.’

Dostoevsky

Today I’m grateful for:
Having the freedom, available space and time to be able to talk to students in my classes today in ones, twos and threes. It is entirely a better way for me to get a clearer idea of their abilities and also relieve their pressures around making mistakes. It’s not possible to do this all the time but I’m glad I decided to do it today.
The best thing about today was:
Just a general sense of well-being and contentment. Nothing stands out more than anything else.

I took this picture because it will remind me of the cheap delicious food at Oasis.

Scoliosis – 14th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

A sword to the spine, straight to the heart
Falling down, broken up and busted
Youth degeneration from the start
In a body that can’t be trusted

The disparity between the glittering world that people watch and the bleak world they inhabit creates a collective schizophrenia.

Chris Hedges

Today I’m grateful for:
The sun coming out a little bit so that I could do some washing. It’s been raining or cool and cloudy for the last ten days or so. I’m grateful it was today too as I only have one class in the morning and can come home early.
The best thing about today was:
Receiving some shirts and shorts from Monotone. So long as I don’t fatten up again and they don’t shrink in the wash then they should be fine. I’ll also buy some more pants next month. Glad that I can find this shop online as I like their style.

I took this picture because I will get this as a tattoo sometime. It is the Cardiacs chimes.

The Week That Was – 9th December 1979

The Warrior – 13th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Rich in dreams but poor in reality
Abundance has removed all the limits
Stepping outside all the comfort
Where days become hours become minutes

Soft, decadent, bored with what’s owned
Kept alive with constant shocks
The warrior plays the long game
And keeps the ship far from the rocks

Renew, and prepare for the peasant’s war
Retrench and practice key strengths
Recognise all enemies come from within
And what exactly is being fought against

Inspired (and borrowed) from Robert Greene
14th May 2024 – Submitted to FOWC with Fandango

I want to know you’re there, but I want to be alone.

Virginia Woolf

Today I’m grateful for:
Being reminded of the quality of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina whilst watching the old BBC TV series, marvelling at the old TV production style and the seeming absurdities of Russian aristocratic life. It reminds me of times of my youth when I would have cringed to see anything like this on tv and even now I don’t think I could enjoy it without having read the book first.
The best thing about today was:
Was waking up throughout the night to find Kim Chi in various places on the bed. I disturbed her a few times but she happily rearranged herself each time.

I took this picture because I was quite impressed by my student’s drawing skills. Her name is Apple.

Doing It Again – 12th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

We’re making the mistakes all over again
It seems that we’ll never learn
Forgetting that setting the world on fire
Means you’ll have to watch it burn

History won’t help if we soon forget
The lessons it helped us learn
Don’t be afraid to let the past go
When it’s someone else’s turn

6th Nov 2024 – Shared with Word of the Day Challenge – vote

Our moral thinking is much more like a politician searching for votes than a scientist searching for truth.

Jonathan Heidt, The Righteous Mind

Today I’m grateful for:
Amy’s mum and dad coming over in the morning with jump leads so that I could start my car and get to work before my first class. Also to Fui for supplying a new battery with a minor discount.
The best thing about today was:
Being with my lovely annoying students again. I love them all in their own ways.

I took this picture because Tangmo is a lovely smelly droopy-eyed dopey dog who loves to come and visit to get strokes and biscuits.

Get Used To It – 11th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Get used to it, it’s not going to change
Settle on down til it’s no longer strange
Culture shock, not worth fighting against
It’s upsetting but not worth taking offence
Getting used to it, going along for the ride
Hiding in the open is the best place to hide
Running away or kicking against the pricks
Means never teaching this old dog new tricks

Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Today I’m grateful for:
Receiving some comfortable new sandals that at least attempt to give me some arch support.
The best thing about today was:
Walking home from Utopia in the light drizzle. It was just the right rain not to get too wet and to keep the temperature down. The air felt supremely fresh and reinvigorating. I really enjoyed the walk.

I took this picture because the clouds amongst the mountains looked amazing and reminded me of windswept moors of England.

On It – 10th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

You gotta be on it to be in it
You gotta lose sometimes to win it
To be on it – at the top of your game
Winging it is just not the same

As long as I’m alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.

Muhammad Ali

Today I’m grateful for:
The perfect temperature. I haven’t had aircon on all day and spent some time outside in the hammock before the rain came then doing some pot plant reorganising.
The best thing about today was:
A general sense of calm and enjoying the slow speed of the day. I lazed and I also got things done. Everything was important and everything could have waited. Time slowed down.

I took this picture because it stood out to me as a simple and meaningful piece of art. I found it on Facebook and don’t know who the artist is.

The Pudding – 9th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

It’s said one reaps what they sow
And you’ve been poisoned by the fruit
Of the promised land you know
As the soil has infected the root
You wrestled for control by force
Claimed that you’d known best
The proof is in the pudding of course
Feeding a state of unrest
The future is not written in stone
But mistakes must be owned and reversed
Otherwise, you’ll end up alone
And seen as forever being cursed

Even if you think you are stuck between two impossible choices, there’s always a third way. You just have to look for it.

Marcus Sedgwick

Today I’m grateful for:
Being able to come home early and enjoy my time here.
The best thing about today was:
Spending two hours playing guitar. It was fun.

I took this picture because I was enjoying reading time in the hammock this morning when I was supposed to have been at school.

The Week That Was – 2nd December 1979

Pick Up – 8th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Stay with me, but only come when I call
Knowing you’re there is enough consolation
My pain is mine, not to share at all
I work things out in my own isolation
A quiet word whispered at the right time
I’ll ask for your help when required
When I’m alone all the time is mine
I’ll call when I feel uninspired

No matter how isolated you are and how lonely you feel, if you do your work truly and conscientiously, unknown friends will come and seek you.

C.G. Jung, Letters Vol II

Today I’m grateful for:
The salad man being at the market today as I really wanted to eat salad!
The best thing about today was:
Getting absorbed into reading more of Gormenghast. I couldn’t stop.

I took this picture because just a couple of minutes before this the sun was shining and I’d not long gotten home from a quick bike ride to get food. The wind had blown open the screen doors and blown rain in and even the garage floor had gotten wet. With a flash of lightning close by that zapped me whilst I played guitar and a second later, a huge peal of thunder and the wind was gone and the rain soon after.

What’s Missing? – 7th September 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

You’re only seeing the red pill
Or maybe just the green
Oblivious to the fact
The green pill left unseen

When the choice is one or two
Always search for three
Sometimes you’ll find four or five
If you look long enough to see

16th Nov 2024 – Shared with the Word of the Day Challenge – missing

Now is no time to think of what you do not have.

Ernest Hemingway

Today I’m grateful for:
The chef in the kitchen in the shop next door to Utopia, who remembered that I wanted food without meat and made delicious fried rice with chilli that had me sweating so hard I needed a shower when I got home.
The best thing about today was:
Having fun with all the kids who were cooking as part of their scout week. They were very playful and happy.

I took this picture because this unfinished building always fascinates me. I guess it was going to be a hotel. It is located next to the river and is an easy drive into town. I fanaticise about turning it into a punk house for world travellers and having shows there.