Tag: Poets and Storytellers United

In Opposition – 27th November 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 6 Comments

Defined by dualities
A refusal to conform
There’s no moral dilemma
Opposition being born

What sacrifices are made
Challenging the status quo
Protest against injustice
Opposing the mainstream show

Countering counterculture
The margins are underground
Narrative struggles remain
Where opposition is found

The conflict of one’s desire
Families beggar belief
Carving out personal faith
Opposition brings relief

Shared with Poets and Storytellers United – opposite concepts

Ninth House – 27th October 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 33 Comments

Spark-lit dancers under crescent moon
On a hilly heather discotheque
The nighttime gathers the darkened gloom
In the ninth house, strong intuition
Vibrates in sync and to earth attune
A circle storm, a drummers dreaming
Through the night and to the wilds commune
Seen from afar on this pale blue speck
Mother Earth awaits the day’s costume

A 9-syllable Magic 9 shared with dVerse OLN #372 , Poets and Storytellers United – moon and Word of the Day Challenge – costume

The following is a letter from December 28th, 2023, delivered today from the past

Dear FutureMe,

You turn 57 today. This is it, the downhill straight hurtling towards the finish line. Finish with a flurry, why not?

Right now I’m sitting in House, this very familiar spot, looking out into the messy garden here. My body aches from chest and arm exercises but it feels good. Slowly making this machine the way it was supposed to be. A little late….but never too late.

It’s the 28th of December, the kids all had sports day yesterday and it was a blast. So much fun for everyone. Today is a combined Christmas/New Year party day and sure to be fun too. I’ll go back to school soon and stick around for a while before heading home for a five-day break. We talked about going to Chiang Mai which I’d really like to do but being short of cash means we’ll just be at home, spending New Year’s Eve at Mum and Dad’s.

I wonder what life will bring between now and when receiving this letter. I don’t have any definite plans but Amy is planning to go to Turkey and Europe sometime this year and maybe even a quick trip back to Australia.

I’d like to get back to other parts of South East Asia again to meet friends but also need some other motive, like a band tour to tag along with. I also only have April to take a break like that without getting penalised payment at work. Let’s see.

School has been great this year and the connection I feel with my students grows exponentially as I’m introduced to a new batch each year. I really hope I can stay here in this fulfilling role for a good while.

Do something nice for Amy today. And every day.

Let’s go!

What Wisdom – 29th September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 12 Comments

Nothing now will change the mind
Of what’s decided by mankind
For all the proofs and arguments made
The highest price is always paid

A spear for heads, a sword for hearts
In search of union, the pulled-aparts
Secrets buried for manipulation
Histories bound for exploitation

The past once written on papyrus page
Wisdom to be lent to a future age
New evidence brings into dispute
The wisest moral substitute

And one true path could be agreed
By humanity unburdened, freed
Yet as decided by mankind
Nothing now will change their mind

Submitted to No Theme Thursday (picture prompt) and Poets and Storytellers United – substitution – a meditation on the stupidity of mankind when presented with the tools for wisdom and peace.

A Reconciliation – 23rd September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 18 Comments

How to make something happen, how
To meet what’s left for me head-on
It’s a long road travelled upon
So what dreams of the future now?

I ran so fast to get ahead
After all the rushing around
I’ve found my feet stuck to the ground
How to make something happen, how

Can I learn from my past mistakes
Blindly followed the loudest voices
Crossroads offer too many choices
So what dreams of the future now?

How to make something happen, how
To reconcile the debris of all that’s gone?
So what dreams of the future now?

A reflection on getting older and wondering what might be next. I’m reasonably happy with my life and feel a little lack of ambition. This could be the folly of comfort but I’m tired too.
Shared with dVerse Poetry Form: Villonnet and Poets and Storytellers United – dreams and also for a course at AllPoetry.com
17th Dec 2024 – Published at Edge of Humanity

Black Hole 19 Again – 26th August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 9 Comments

Grim-grey, red-crusted eyes shuck open
A dim day where dirty sheets beckon to stay
A vice-like grip holds firm the thoughts
Let slip to stay trapped in false reports

Thick treacled repetition day by day
Unequalled headache, a pacifier
Deep inside, uncoughable gunk sits
Wait and hide for uncontrollable fits

Thick wet air sinks from dark dead sky
To hang there; infect pock-marked lungs
Ventilate oxygen relief, breathe deep to keep
Concentrate belief to dream continued sleep

Written about my struggles with the remnants of a recent second infection of Covid 19.

2nd Sep 2024 – Submitted to Poets and Storytellers United – letters to our body

Today I’m feeling:

Halfway good. I got up feeling ok and exercise was invigorating but once at school, I felt my energy quickly dwindle. I’m hoping for a good coffee kickstart.

(Later) As I went through the day, I felt pretty good though perhaps having the feeling that my tank was empty. My last classes with the grade 8s were fun if a little chaotic.

I was in a fairly positive mood when I got home but as soon as I got out of the car and into the humid air, I realised that I was running on fumes.

Straight to eat but that didn’t pick me up and I’m showered and ready for bed at 7.30 pm. I still have a lingering headache and cough. I got medicine yesterday for the cough, which seemed to be helping but today the phlegm has just risen up into my throat and made me croaky and squeaky, which had some students laughing at me.

Health:

Physical: 5
Mental: 7

Today I’m grateful for:

The lady at Banana who helped me with sorting a refund on the USB-C adaptor that I bought last week, which I didn’t end up needing. It may take a month to get back into my account but that’s fine.

The best thing about today was:

Many students hugging me. I’m not sure why they felt the need but there are a few girls who come and hug me. 

It isn’t a sexual thing in any way, as most of them are openly gay. It feels like a comfort for them and some form of affection that they are not receiving at home.

I’m sure I will likely get in trouble at some point, as Thai adults also seem to see the worst in any form of affection and David was warned about it recently, too.

Something I learned today?

Pavel Durov, the owner of Telegram, a generally uncensored social media messaging platform, has been arrested in France and may face charges leading to up to 20 years in prison.

I took this picture because Nomsen and Namsai insisted, as they were making TikTok videos. They had completed their work and were at least fairly quiet for most of the class.

Don’t Poke A Sleeping Cat – 8th August 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 10 Comments

Behind the smiles, sharpened fangs
The soft face belies a strength
When considered less than human
She will go to any length
To give you a pause for reflection
A reconsideration of your role
Don’t imagine her at your level
With the humanity you stole
For her, it’s just another fight
One she’s fought so often
The rage never dissipates
And she’s careful not to soften

Written after seeing a particularly strong performance by a front woman for a band (SpeechOdd) and their song ‘More Than Decoration’.

Submitted to Poets and Storytellers United and somewhat connected to the prompt “Love your neighbour as yourself”

Today I’m feeling:

Exhausted.  I think that I slept deeply but only in small bursts, so that I woke up well before my alarm and realised that I needed way more rest and so I reset my alarm and decided not to go to school today.  I’m glad I did.

My alarm woke me up again at 7.30 and I sent messages to Kru Mai and sent some work for my morning class to complete and send to me.  Then it was back to sleep.

Around what I thought was maybe 10 am, I thought about maybe getting up but then checking my phone, I found that it was already 2pm!  I got up quickly, though still groggy and dozy.  I got on my laptop and sent work to my afternoon class that was due to start in 30 minutes.

After that, I almost fell asleep again watching videos and at around 5 pm, Amy made me fish congee with ginger, which made me feel much better, though I’m about to get back into bed again now at 8.30.

I think I’ll be ok to go to school tomorrow but the morning will tell for sure.

Today I’m grateful for:

The delivery guy who dropped off the record covers from Malaysia, though, didn’t contact me until later to pay the customs fee.  I don’t know what he would’ve done if I hadn’t paid him but I knew this was coming and happy to do the right thing despite how fucking annoying paying these fees are.

I can’t imagine anyone in the West trusting people like that.

The best thing about today was:

Catching up my exhausted body.  Have done little else today.

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

Naturally, sending my students work to do whilst I’m not in class causes more work for me – especially with the students who don’t bother to do anything and I have to chase them up.

Justin Time – 31st July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

He just, just, just couldn’t get it together
Metaphor not needed, no ray of sunshine
Petering out, always under the weather
He’ll be here when he’s ready, he’s Justin Time

Jimmy the door so that us fools can rush in
Do not harry him, his heart is so sublime
So mark my words, when he’s ready to begin
He’ll be here when he’s ready, he’s Justin Time

Submitted to the AllPoetry’s Expressing Yourself course; write a two-stanza poem using metaphor and Poets and Storytellers United Friday Writings #137: At the Last Minute. Inspired by an old school friend called Justin who inevitably got called Justin Time whenever he was late for something. An added bonus of a boy’s name used in each line too.

Today I’m feeling:

Sleepy with sore eyes.  Slept badly, with Tigger waking everyone up at 3 am for some unknown reason, perhaps complaining about the rain.  Reset my alarm to get an extra 30 minutes of rest and skipped exercise.

It’s another grey day to dull my aching eyes and even the kids are less enthusiastic today, amplifying the dark, depressing atmosphere.  Though kids will no doubt not be able to help themselves from being kids.  Will the adults, this adult, be able to be an adult today?

Today I’m grateful for:

Nong Spain carrying half of the workbooks for me up to the classroom this afternoon.

The best thing about today was:

Doing a little catching up with my four free hours. I got another lesson finished plus more ideas along with some reading and writing. No one thing particularly outstanding today.

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

Nong Praew came over to me to help her in the morning class and I guided her to the correct answers. Weirdly, I can feel my Thai improving as I’ve been helping her as she generally only speaks Thai to me unless I ask her to read.

As I was helping her, we used her phone to look up things and I noticed that she had been searching for ‘die, dead, death’ in Google, which she quickly tried to hide. She brushed it off when I asked her about it. She had also told me that she forgot to take her meds in the morning.

Anyway, after she had finished the classwork, she wanted to play but ended up annoying me enough that I left to the cafe to keep working.

In the afternoon class, she was a little concerned that she couldn’t charge her phone and would run out of battery before being able to call her mom to pick her up.

Without being able to charge her phone, a few minutes later, she became teary and I tried to calm her. I looked at her phone and she still had 8% battery left so it didn’t seem like a big deal. In her fragile state though, she couldn’t see it like that.

We did a difficult spelling test and she got deeply involved in that and then I finished up the class and she disappeared quickly.

I messaged her later about why she reacted so strongly to not having her phone charged and she said that she had to walk home. She only lives a couple of blocks from school but it was raining a little.  

I wasn’t sure whether to believe this but Kru Jern had mentioned to me that her parents indulge her in everything. In this context, her behaviour makes more sense.

Whilst I will indulge her in learning, I’ll make sure that she knows where are the boundaries.

Something I learned today?

Israel has managed to fire rockets and kill targets in other countries with remarkable precision yet somehow cannot do the same in Gaza, bombing the shit out of everything and anyone. 

This clearly shows their intentions. Things are starting to kick off and I can’t see it de-escalating soon.