Wednesday 31 August 2011

Cadent

CADENT

—adj
1. having cadence; rhythmic
2. archaic falling; descending























Tears shine in your eyes
Cadent pollen the culprit
Or a broken heart?


Tuesday 30 August 2011

Billet

BILLET

-verb tr., intr.
1. To lodge or to be quartered.
-noun
2. A civilian place (as a private home) where soldiers are lodged temporarily.
3. An official order directing someone to provide lodging for soldiers.
4. A short letter or a note.
5. A job appointment.
6. A chunk of wood, suitable for fuel.
7. A metal bar or ingot.



A billet
Just a few words
Scribbled on a small piece of blue cardboard
Cherished thereafter
Buried with her.

Monday 29 August 2011

Insolation

INSOLATION

-noun
1. the quantity of solar radiation falling upon a body or planet, especially per unit area
2. exposure to the sun's rays
3. medical . name for sunstroke























Nothing like a day out
Water gently lapping
To indulge into
Insolent insolation.

Sunday 28 August 2011

Dipsomaniac

DIPSOMANIAC

–noun
a person with an irresistible craving for alcoholic drink.























At time work can make
A dipsomaniac out of me.
My excuse
Well chosen drinks.
I am after all a gourmet.

Saturday 27 August 2011

Craw

CRAW

-noun
1. a less common word for crop
2. the stomach of an animal























"Feed the craw!" she cries
"I cannot feed on crow"

Friday 26 August 2011

Stylus

STYLUS

-noun
1. an instrument of metal, bone, or the like, used by the ancients for writing on waxed tablets, having one end pointed for incising the letters and the other end blunt for rubbing out writing and smoothing the tablet.
2. any of various pointed, pen-shaped instruments used in drawing, artwork, etc.
3. Computers . a pen-shaped device used on a display screen to input commands or handwritten text or drawings.
4. Audio .
a. Also called cutting stylus. a needle used for cutting grooves in making a disk recording to be played on a phonograph.
b. a needle for reproducing the sounds of a phonograph record.
5. any of various pointed wedges used to punch holes in paper or other material, as in writing braille.
6. any of various kinds of pens for tracing a line automatically, as on a recording seismograph or electrocardiograph.



Life has used it stylus
Cutting deep groves around your eyes
Your mouth
Yet you smile still
Your heart of stone as smooth
As the day it was first sculpted

Thursday 25 August 2011

Nervure

NERVURE

-noun
1. entomol . any of the stiff chitinous rods that form the supporting framework of an insect's wing; vein
2. botany . any of the veins or ribs of a leaf























In the nervures on your skin
In the spots appearing as well
I can read your age
And feel blessed that
You are still alive.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Bemuse


BEMUSE

–verb (used with object)
to bewilder or confuse (someone).
























Dancing skeletons
Bemuse visitors unaware of
Memento Mori.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Caparison

CAPARISON

–noun
1. a decorative covering for a horse or for the tack or harness of a horse; trappings.
2. rich and sumptuous clothing or equipment.























Caparison of scales
Failed to protect and save
Corset is needed.

Monday 22 August 2011

Pithy

PITHY

–adj.
1. brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigour, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible
2. of, like, or abounding in pith.























Storms blooming in a dark sky
Drawing electric laces in the night
August is the pithiest month

Sunday 21 August 2011

Hircine

HIRCINE

-adj.
1. Of or relating to a goat.
2. Having a strong odour.
3. Lustful; lewd.



Hircine delights on toast
Baked pine nuts and honey.

Saturday 20 August 2011

Lark

LARK

–noun
1. any of numerous, chiefly Old world oscine birds, of the family Alaudidae, characterized by an unusually long, straight hind claw, especially the skylark, Alauda arvensis.
2. any of various similar birds of other families, as the meadowlark and titlark.

–noun
1. a merry, carefree adventure; frolic; escapade.
2. innocent or good-natured mischief; a prank.
3. something extremely easy to accomplish, succeed in, or to obtain.
–verb (used without object)
4. to have fun; frolic; romp.
5. to behave mischievously; play pranks.
6. Fox Hunting . (of a rider) to take jumps unnecessarily























Kittens and children alike
Have much delight for a lark
Mischief and low flying birds

Friday 19 August 2011

Serif

SERIF

–noun

Printing . a smaller line used to finish off a main stroke of a letter, as at the top and bottom of M.
Also, especially British ceriph.

























The serif
Plays the caliph
By inserting its mark upon all.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Accord

ACCORD

-verb (used without object)
1. to be in agreement or harmony; agree.
-verb (used with object)
2. to make agree or correspond; adapt.
3. to grant; bestow: to accord due praise.
4. Archaic . to settle; reconcile.
-noun
5. proper relationship or proportion; harmony.
6. a harmonious union of sounds, colours, etc.
7. consent or concurrence of opinions or wills; agreement.
8. an international agreement; settlement of questions outstanding among nations.



Our
Sky
Cares not
For accord
Forced harmonies
Showing peace to adversity.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Stem

STEM

–noun
1. the ascending axis of a plant, whether above or below ground, which ordinarily grows in an opposite direction to the root or descending axis.
2. the stalk that supports a leaf, flower, or fruit.
3. the main body of that portion of a tree, shrub, or other plant which is above ground; trunk; stalk.
4. a cut flower.
5. a petiole; peduncle; pedicel.
6. a stalk of bananas.
7. something resembling or suggesting a leaf or flower stalk.
8. a long, slender part: the stem of a tobacco pipe.
9. the slender, vertical part of a goblet, wineglass, etc., between the bowl and the base.
10.Informal. a drinking glass having a stem.
11.the handle of a spoon.
12.a projection from the rim of a watch, having on its end a knob for winding the watch.
13.the circular rod in some locks about which the key fits and rotates.
14.the rod or spindle by which a valve is operated from outside.
15.the stock or line of descent of a family; ancestry or pedigree.
16.Grammar. the underlying form, often consisting of a root plus an affix, to which the inflectional endings of a word are added, as tend-, the stem in Latin tendere “to stretch,” the root of which is ten-.
17.Music. the vertical line forming part of a note.
18.the main or relatively thick stroke of a letter in printing.
–verb (used with object)
19.to remove the stem from (a leaf, fruit, etc.)
–verb (used without object)
20.to arise or originate

–verb (used with object)
1. to stop, check, or restrain.
2. to dam up; stop the flow of (a stream, river, or the like).
3. to tamp, plug, or make tight, as a hole or joint.
4. Skiing. to manoeuvre (a ski or skis) in executing a stem.
5. to stanch (bleeding).
–verb (used without object)
6. Skiing. to execute a stem.
–noun
7. Skiing. the act or instance of a skier pushing the heel of one or both skis outward so that the heels are far apart, as in making certain turns or slowing down.

–verb (used with object)
1. to make headway against (a tide, current, gale, etc.).
2. to make progress against (any opposition).

–noun
Nautical.
1. (at the bow of a vessel) an upright into which the side timbers or plates are jointed.
2. the forward part of a vessel (often opposed to stern).

–verb (used with object)
to arrange the loading of (a merchant vessel) within a specified time.




I had to stem my enthusiasm in calligraphy
And thin out the stems from my prose
Now I tiptoe around fragile stalks, tender words
Ungrounded, all tendrils reaching at the sky.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Corpulent

CORPULENT

–adj.
large or bulky of body; portly; stout; fat.























I thought the cats would have loved
To have him home to play with
But he was too corpulent
And possibly likes kitties for snacks.

Monday 15 August 2011

Eloign

ELOIGN

–verb (used with object)
to remove to a distance, especially to take beyond the jurisdiction of a law court.























Eloign thee, my mind,
My long cherished sanity
In this mad world
You are but a hindrance
A relic of past wisdom.

Sunday 14 August 2011

Pileus

PILEUS

-noun
1. Mycology . the horizontal portion of a mushroom, bearing gills, tubes, etc., on its underside; a cap.
2. Zoology .
a. the umbrella or bell of a jellyfish.
b. Also called pileum; the top of the head of a bird, from the base of the bill to the nape.
3. Also called cap cloud, scarf cloud. Meteorology . a small, thin cloud just above or attached to a growing cumulus cloud























Tasty pileus
A promise of sumptuous pasta
Summer boon.

Saturday 13 August 2011

Hanker

HANKER
–verb (used without object)
to have a restless or incessant longing (often followed by "after", "for", or an infinitive).



She hankers for food
A little more crunchies
A few yeast pills at least
Her months on the streets
Having conditioned her
To expect the worst
A curtail of goods.

Friday 12 August 2011

Relish

RELISH

–noun
1. liking or enjoyment of the taste of something.
2. pleasurable appreciation of anything; liking.
3. Cookery .
a. something savoury or appetizing added to a meal, as pickles or olives.
b. a sweet pickle made of various vegetables, usually chopped or minced.
c. an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre.
4. a pleasing or appetizing flavour.
5. a pleasing or enjoyable quality.
6. a taste or flavour.
7. a smack, trace, or touch of something.
–verb (used with object)
8. to take pleasure in; like; enjoy.
9. to make pleasing to the taste.
10. to like the taste of.
–verb (used without object)
11. to have taste or flavour.
12. to be agreeable.























Relish mirrors, I do not
But the trees love them enough
They expand the space they’re given
To me they are just a prison.

Thursday 11 August 2011

Glossolalia

GLOSSOLALIA

–noun
incomprehensible speech in an imaginary language, sometimes occurring in a trance state, an episode of religious ecstasy, or schizophrenia.























Natures speaks to me
Images and signs everywhere
A glossolalia for me to decipher.
That cloud:
It wants me to eat cake

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Snarl

SNARL

–verb (used without object)

1. to growl threateningly or viciously, especially with a raised upper lip to bare the teeth, as a dog.
2. to speak in a surly or threatening manner suggestive of a dog's snarl.
–verb (used with object)
3. to say by snarling
–noun
4. the act of snarling.
5. a snarling sound or utterance.


–noun
1. a tangle, as of thread, hair, or wire.
2. a complicated or confused condition or matter.
3. a knot in wood.
–verb (used with object)
4. to bring into a tangled condition, as thread or hair.
5. to render complicated or confused.
6. to raise or emboss, as parts of a thin metal vessel, by hammering on a tool (snarling iron) held against the inner surface of the vessel.
–verb (used without object)
7. to become tangled; get into a tangle.























Sorting out snarls
Is snarl inducing

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Voulu

VOULU

-adj.
Contrived; forced.























I am innocent,
Swears the lizard,
Natures compels me
And my maw does what it must
Voulu demise a trifle

The dragon fly isn’t impressed.

Monday 8 August 2011

Thigmotropism

THIGMOTROPISM

–noun
Biology . oriented growth of an organism in response to mechanical contact, as a plant tendril coiling around a string support.



Fragile grips
Thigmotropism at work
Glad for support.

Sunday 7 August 2011

Tat

TAT

—verb
to make (something) by tatting (the act or process of making a kind of knotted lace of cotton or linen thread with a shuttle).

—noun
1. tatty articles or a tatty condition
2. tasteless articles
3. a tangled mass























Mock ribbons
A tat of thin omelets
Passing for tripe

Saturday 6 August 2011

Melismatic

MELISMATIC

–noun
Music . an ornamental phrase of several notes sung to one syllable of text, as in plainsong or blues singing.























She launches
Into melismatic pleas
At the slightest hint of
Food

Friday 5 August 2011

Tain

TAIN

–noun
1. a thin tin plate.
2. tin foil for the backs of mirrors.























Some days
I feel covered in tain
Or lead
Toxic and/thus unseen
Denied
Your look pierces through me
Right through
While searching for yourself
A void

Thursday 4 August 2011

Helter skelter

HELTER SKELTER

–adv.

1. in headlong and disorderly haste.
2. in a haphazard manner; without regard for order.
–adj.
3. carelessly hurried; confused.
4. disorderly; haphazard
–noun
5. tumultuous disorder; confusion.























We live
Helter skelter
Through vague attempts
At order
Futile.

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Origami

ORIGAMI

–noun
1. the traditional Japanese art or technique of folding paper into a variety of decorative or representational forms, as of animals or flowers.
2. an object made by origami.























This universe
An origami of planes
Fading in a closet


Background image from the Chandra satellite appears courtesy of The Smithsonion Institute

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Mar

MAR

–verb (used with object)
1. to damage or spoil to a certain extent; render less perfect, attractive, useful, etc.; impair or spoil.
2. to disfigure, deface, or scar























Marred fountains
Eyes gouged and painted
Water still flows

Monday 1 August 2011

Wicker

WICKER

–noun
1. a slender, pliant twig; osier; withe.
2. plaited or woven twigs or osiers as the material of baskets, chairs, etc.; wickerwork.
3. something made of wickerwork, as a basket.
–adj.
4. consisting or made of wicker.
5. covered with wicker



Inherent wicker
Embedded deep inside the palm
Nature’s structural support.