Tag: WDYS

Shadows Hall – 15th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

Shared with Sadje’s What Do You See #327 picture prompt

Within a wall
where it shouldn’t be –

at the end
of the hall

What waits beyond its history –
a mystery
of the many wronged?

The morning light
casts shadows long,

that don’t feel right.

The arches set at brighter angles,
that entangles
where memories forget.

An architecture
of concealed trust –

unveiled conjecture;

A debate around congealed dust –

what’s found
beyond
this barricade?

Axis Mundi – 4th February 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment
pagoda

Shared with What Do You See #326 picture prompt

A reliquary, stone and timber,
void, earth, water, wind, and fire,
A shinbashira pendulum
that sways to quell the quake’s desire.

A cosmic axis, a connection
from human to the divine,
A transcendental protection
in sacred mandala’s design.

Hear the peaceful water’s fall,
the way cannot be denied,
Shadows span the temple tall
in the mountain countryside.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

On Being Invincible

Able to parry any blow
without flinching or reaction
Our reasoned choice will know
the best course of action

Mind Your Step – 7th May 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 45 Comments

in your head
in your mind

mind full of thought
mindful of thoughts

thoughts that make no sense
thoughts unexpected

unexpected and anxious
unexpected and rising

rising day after day
rising repeated

repeated becomes practised
repeated again and again

again it’s been learned
again this vicious circle

circle ever decreasing
circle takes the square

square it all up at the end
square off with yourself

yourself your significant other
yourself true to form

form from your comprehension
form from understanding

understanding what’s real
understanding your truth

truth from facts
truth beats the lies

lies were your past
lies that you remember

remember those dark days
remember searching, tentative

tentative feet forward
tentative outstretched hands

hands over fist
hands pulling taut

taut the tendon deep
taut to hold together

together you and yours
together finding the way

way down was then
way to go now found

found yourself a ribbon
found yourself a hold

hold on to the guardrails
hold on to the future

future never feared
future finds your step

step into the light
step out of the darkness

darkness
light

Shared with What Do You See #287 and inspired by this post by Nilofer Neubert using the Blitz form, which has this stack of rules:
Line 1 should be one short phrase or image (like “build a boat”)
Line 2 should be another short phrase or image using the same first word as the first word in Line 1 (something like “build a house”)
Lines 3 and 4 should be short phrases or images using the last word of Line 2 as their first words (so Line 3 might be “house for sale” and Line 4 might be “house for rent”)
Lines 5 and 6 should be short phrases or images using the last word of Line 4 as their first words, and so on until you’ve made it through 48 lines
Line 49 should be the last word of Line 48
Line 50 should be the last word of Line 47
The title of the poem should be three words long and follow this format: (first word of Line 3) (preposition or conjunction) (first word of line 47)
There should be no punctuation

8th Aug 2025 – Shared with Poets and Storytellers United #189

A Splendid Winter Wood – 5th December 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 12 Comments

It’s a splendid winter wood
– On a chilly December morning
– – The crunchy road straight
– – Towards the gnarly wooden gate
– Unhinged a snowy warning
Where splendid walls once stood

It’s a splendid moss a-growing
– To shade this dewy frost
– – Ray’s barely breaking through
– – Another turn remained true
– At a further year’s cost
Awaiting the splendid summer’s glowing

Shared with Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – splendid and WDYS #265 picture prompt

Canon – 20th November 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 13 Comments

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.

One More Time – 10th November 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 37 Comments

Amongst the beauty of everyday
Familiarity may breed contempt
Waking with enthusiasm to play
Becomes more difficult to attempt

Maybe it’s a concrete jungle
Or a paradise you are facing
Each day a success or bungle
The happy rats keep on racing

So here it is and here we are
Another mountain for us to climb
Our attitude got us this far
‘cross crystal waters, one more time

Written for Sadje’s What Do You See picture prompt (above) and Reena’s Xploration Challenge – everydayness.
3rd Sep 2025 – Submitted to dVerse Poetics Tuesday – life and lemons

Close To Home – 4th October 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 23 Comments

When the light pours out of me*
I will be there as your guide
A whisper from your guardian angel
To counter the devils at your side

Here is the lie of the land*
I’ll shield you from these rocky shores
Vigilant against the swelling tide
Forever knocking at your doors

When the light pours out of me
Together we shall roam
When the sunsets on the horizon
You are always close to home

Shared with WDYS #256 picture prompt and dVerse OLN #371
*paraphrased from Magazine.

Step Into The Light – 21st September 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 5 Comments
Image Credit: Danial Burka @ Unsplash

So tired of being in the dark and all alone

There’s still a mountain to climb
And will the promise there hold true?

Step into the light I keep telling myself…

Step into the light I keep telling myself…

Step into the light I keep telling myself…

Submitted to WDYS #254 (above picture prompt). The title and first line is from Archers of Loaf’s ‘Step Into The Light’ and constitute the whole of its lyric! I haven’t added much more but it represents the dark headspace I’ve found myself in recently.

My reply to this post about sitting on the fence and UK politics

I could admire Thatcher as a woman dealing with a man’s world, but as a politician I despised her.

It’s impossible to say how things would have gone if she was never elected but I see the decline of the UK starting with her.

I appreciate that things were on the decline before that but this was visible during my lifetime and one of the reasons I was glad to leave the UK in the 90’s.

“Is it so wrong to sit on the fence?” – I constantly consider this, perhaps a reflection of my own Englishness. People who don’t sit on the fence seem to have more charisma and confidence but I find the world far more grey.

I also consider that I shouldn’t express an opinion if I am not fully aware of the facts.