Atrament

ATRAMENT

-noun

a liquid substance that is black in colour

Drowning sorrow
In exotic atrament
And a stiff upper lip

Nolition

NOLITION

-noun

the state of being unwilling

Lounging in the shade
Without even the will
To fight nolition
Dolce farniente 

Retable

RETABLE

-noun

an ornamental screen-like structure above and behind an altar, especially one used as a setting for a religious picture or carving

With urban walls
As sole retable
Art propagates
Along cracked stucco

Secant

SECANT

-noun

1. (of an angle) a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to that of the adjacent side; the reciprocal of cosine. Abbreviation: sec

2. a line that intersects a curve

Staring at lines
Hunting for decant
Deciphering circles

Programme

PROGRAMME

-noun

1. a written or printed list of the events, performers, etc., in a public performance

2. a performance or series of performances, often presented at a scheduled time, especially on radio or television

3. a specially arranged selection of things to be done

4. a plan, schedule, or procedure

5. a syllabus or curriculum

-verb

6. to design or schedule (something) as a programme

-noun, verb

7. (computing) a variant spelling of program

Looking at the programme
They salivate over the score
Waiting for encores

Program

PROGRAM

-noun

1. a sequence of coded instructions fed into a computer, enabling it to perform specified logical and arithmetical operations on data

-verb

2. (trans.) to feed a program into (a computer)

3. (trans.) to arrange (data) into a suitable form so that it can be processed by a computer

4. (intr.) to write a program

Cast in iron
The program soon ran out
Breaking down reality
Exploding in our face

Frabjous

FRABJOUS

-adj.

splendid; joyous

Ô frabjous days

Innocent glee

Of incipient holidays

Pan

PAN

-noun

1. a wide metal vessel used in cooking

2. Also called: panful . the amount such a vessel will hold

3. any of various similar vessels used especially in industry, as for boiling liquids

4. a dish used by prospectors, especially gold prospectors, for separating a valuable mineral from the gravel or earth containing it by washing and agitating

5. either of the two dish-like receptacles on a balance

6. Also called: lavatory pan British the bowl of a lavatory

7. (terrain)

a. a natural or artificial depression in the ground where salt can be obtained by the evaporation of brine

b. a natural depression containing water or mud

8. (Caribbean) the indented top from an oil drum used as the treble drum in a steel band

9. a small ice floe

10. a small cavity containing priming powder in the locks of old guns

11. a hard substratum of soil

-verb

12. (when trans., often followed by “off” or “out”) to wash (gravel) in a pan to separate particles of (valuable minerals) from it

13. (intransitive; often followed by “out”) (of gravel) to yield valuable minerals by this process

14. (trans.) (informal) to criticize harshly

-verb

1. to move (a film camera) or (of a film camera) to be moved so as to follow a moving object or obtain a panoramic effect

-noun

2. the act of panning

-noun

1. the leaf of the betel tree

2. a preparation of this leaf which is chewed, together with betel nuts and lime, in India and the East Indies

Catching gold from the sun

An old pan rusts on the wall

Morigerate

MORIGERATE

-adj.

1. also: morigerous . obedient; acquiescent

-verb

2. (intr.) to conform

Why try and tell him

To morigerate

When we all love

His madness?

Sinuose

SINUOSE

-adj.

sinuous

Sinuose waves

Hungry for boats

Cast in stone

Pomade

POMADE

-noun

1. a perfumed oil or ointment put on the hair, as to make it smooth and shiny

-verb

2. (trans.) to put pomade on

Old thrillers

Collecting dust

Killer pomade

On torn covers

Dubiety

DUBIETY

-noun

1. the state of being doubtful

2. a doubtful matter

Looking over the chasm

Dubiety casting cracks in stone

Faith left the stage a long time ago

Pursued by the bear of management

Swelter

SWELTER

-verb

1. (intr.) to suffer under oppressive heat, especially to sweat and feel faint

2. (trans.) archaic to exude (venom)

3. (trans.) rare to cause to suffer under oppressive heat

-noun

4. a sweltering condition

5. oppressive humid heat

Summer swelter means

Drastic measures

Compensating with grattachecca

Faugh

FAUGH

-exclamation

an exclamation of disgust, scorn, etc.

So this art, they say?

Faugh!

Just a pair

And mine are nicer!

Public gallery photo-montage on Photofunia 

Duff

DUFF

-noun

A thick flour pudding, often flavoured with currants, citron, etc., and boiled in a cloth bag

I couldn’t find

A suitable bag

So baked my duff

Instead and

Called it clafoutis

Fractious

FRACTIOUS

-adj.

1. irritable

2. unruly

Most of the time

Fast asleep

With a side of fractious

Play hour

Strife

STRIFE

-noun

1. angry or violent struggle; conflict

2. rivalry or contention, especially of a bitter kind

3. (Australian and New Zealand) trouble or discord of any kind

4. (archaic) striving

Some days

Keeping your head up

Is a real strife

Foul

FOUL

-adj.

1. offensive to the senses; revolting

2. offensive in odour; stinking

3. charged with or full of dirt or offensive matter; filthy

4. (of food) putrid; rotten

5. morally or spiritually offensive; wicked; vile

6. obscene; vulgar

7. not in accordance with accepted standards or established rules; unfair

8. (especially of weather) unpleasant or adverse

9. blocked or obstructed with dirt or foreign matter

10. entangled or impeded

11. (of the bottom of a vessel) covered with barnacles and other growth that slow forward motion

12. informal unsatisfactory or uninteresting; bad

13. archaic ugly

-noun

14. (sport) a violation of the rules

15. something foul

16. an entanglement or collision, especially in sailing or fishing

-verb

17. to make or become dirty or polluted

18. to become or cause to become entangled or snarled

19. (trans.) to disgrace or dishonour

20. to become or cause to become clogged or choked

21. (trans.) nautical (of underwater growth) to cling to (the bottom of a vessel) so as to slow its motion

22. (trans.) sport to commit a foul against (an opponent)

23. (trans.) baseball to hit (a ball) in an illegal manner

24. (intr.) sport to infringe the rules

25. (trans.) (of an animal, especially a dog) to defecate on

26. to collide with (a boat, etc.)

-adv.

27. in a foul or unfair manner

Foul love

Stolen space

Best love

Fugal

FUGAL

-adj.

of, relating to, or in the style of a fugue

What

Is

This fear

But a dream

A fugal moment

A breath instantly neglected

Quickly forgotten

For a scar

Burning

Our

Souls

Grip

GRIP

-noun

1. the act or an instance of grasping and holding firmly

2. Also called: handgrip . the strength or pressure of such a grasp, as in a handshake

3. the style or manner of grasping an object, such as a tennis racket

4. understanding, control, or mastery of a subject, problem, etc.

5. Also called: handgrip . a part by which an object is grasped; handle

6. Also called: handgrip . a travelling bag or holdall

7. any device that holds by friction, such as certain types of brake

8. a method of clasping or shaking hands used by members of secret societies to greet or identify one another

9. a spasm of pain

10. a worker in a camera crew or a stagehand who shifts sets and props, etc.

11. a small drainage channel cut above an excavation to conduct surface water away from the excavation

-verb

12. to take hold of firmly or tightly, as by a clutch

13. to hold the interest or attention of

-noun

1.(medicine) a variant spelling of grippe (influenza)

A couple of sugar cubes

As grips for love

Popularity with horses

Flamboyant

FLAMBOYANT

-adj.

1. elaborate or extravagant; florid; showy

2. rich or brilliant in colour; resplendent

3. exuberant or ostentatious

4. of, denoting, or relating to the French Gothic style of architecture characterized by flame-like tracery and elaborate carving

-noun

5. Also called: flamboyante . another name for royal poinciana

Hidden in a corner

A flamboyant fountain

Records a fastuous past

Meatball

MEATBALL

-noun

1. minced beef, shaped into a ball before cooking

2. (US and Canadian slang) a stupid or boring person

I still struggle

To consider meatballs

A delicacy and yet

I loved hunting

Subtle flavours in these

Spurn

SPURN

-verb

1. to reject (a person or thing) with contempt

2. (when intr., often followed by “against”) archaic to kick (at)

-noun

3. an instance of spurning

4. archaic a kick or thrust

When he returned home

He first spurned food

Then came back to life

And now steals in his friends’ bowl

Business as usual

Sublime

SUBLIME

-adj.

1. of high moral, aesthetic, intellectual, or spiritual value; noble; exalted

2. inspiring deep veneration, awe, or uplifting emotion because of its beauty, nobility, grandeur, or immensity

3. unparalleled; supreme

4. poetic of proud bearing or aspect

5. archaic raised up

-noun

6. something that is sublime

7. the ultimate degree or perfect example

-verb

8. (trans.) to make higher or purer

9. to change or cause to change directly from a solid to a vapour or gas without first melting

10. to undergo or cause to undergo this process followed by a reverse change directly from a vapour to a solid

Summer is here

Subliming our dreams

Into clouds

Cogent

COGENT

-adj.

compelling belief or assent; forcefully convincing

This terrified bunny

Suffers from the cogent fear that

I might see him if he moves

Rapid

RAPID

-adj.

1. (of an action or movement) performed or occurring during a short interval of time; quick

2. characterized by high speed

3. acting or moving quickly; fast

Ours is a lazy journey

Far from the world

Of rapid public transport

Punctuated by stops

And pictures along the way

Bustle

BUSTLE

-verb

1. (when intr., often followed by “about”) to hurry or cause to hurry with a great show of energy or activity

-noun

2. energetic and noisy activity

-noun

a cushion or a metal or whalebone framework worn by women in the late 19th century at the back below the waist in order to expand the skirt

Around the fountain

A bustle of sphinxes

Plays around with skulls and roses

Massive

MASSIVE

-adj.

1. (of objects) large in mass; bulky, heavy, and usually solid

2. impressive or imposing in quality, degree, or scope

3. relatively intensive or large; considerable

4. (pathology) affecting a large area of the body

5. (geology)

a. (of igneous rocks) having no stratification, cleavage, etc.; homogeneous

b. (of sedimentary rocks) arranged in thick poorly defined strata

6. (mineralogy) without obvious crystalline structure

-noun

7. (slang) a group of friends or associates; gang

In another dimension

Massive shells do not birth goddesses

But eat them alive for power

Sponge

SPONGE

-noun

1. any multicellular typically marine animal of the phylum Porifera, usually occurring in complex sessile colonies in which the porous body is supported by a fibrous, calcareous, or siliceous skeletal framework

2. a piece of the light porous highly absorbent elastic skeleton of certain sponges, used in bathing, cleaning, etc.

3. any of a number of light porous elastic materials resembling a sponge

4. another word for sponger, i.e. a person who lives off other people by continually taking advantage of their generosity; parasite or scrounger

5. informal a person who indulges in heavy drinking

6. leavened dough, especially before kneading

7. short for sponge cake

8. Also called: sponge pudding . (British) a light steamed or baked pudding, spongy in texture, made with various flavourings or fruit

9. porous metal produced by electrolysis or by reducing a metal compound without fusion or sintering and capable of absorbing large quantities of gas

10. a rub with a sponge

-verb

11. (trans.; often followed by “off” or “down”) to clean (something) by wiping or rubbing with a damp or wet sponge

12. (trans.; usually followed by “off”, “away”, “out”, etc.) to remove (marks, etc.) by rubbing with a damp or wet sponge or cloth

13. (when trans., often followed by “up”) to absorb (liquids, especially when spilt) in the manner of a sponge

14. (trans.; often followed by “off”) to get (something) from (someone) by presuming on his generosity

15. (intr.; often followed by “off” or “on”) to obtain one's subsistence, welfare, etc., unjustifiably (from)

16. (intr.) to go collecting sponges

More and more

Edible sponges

Appear on plates

Good, fun,

And intriguing

Docible

DOCIBLE

-adj.

(obsolete) susceptible to teaching or training; easily tamed

He didn’t have to be

Docible though he learned

When to come home

For meals or cuddles

Yet decided to leave

To die in peace

Triad

TRIAD

-noun

1. a group of three; trio

2. (chemistry) an atom, element, group, or ion that has a valency of three

3. (music) a three-note chord consisting of a note and the third and fifth above it

4. an aphoristic literary form used in medieval Welsh and Irish literature

5. the US strategic nuclear force, consisting of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers

-noun (capitalised)

1. any of several Chinese secret societies, especially one involved in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking

A triad of lines

Plus the passing of seasons

Syllables counting