Monday 31 October 2016

Stereotaxis

STEREOTAXIS

-noun
the movement of an organism in response to the stimulus of contact with a solid object


























Against the obstacle
Flesh turning to stereotaxis
To avoid being bruised

New shapes are born

Sunday 30 October 2016

Cake

CAKE

-noun
1. a baked food, usually in loaf or layer form, typically made from a mixture of flour, sugar, and eggs
2. a flat thin mass of bread, especially unleavened bread
3. a shaped mass of dough or other food of similar consistency
4. a mass, slab, or crust of a solidified or compressed substance, as of soap or ice
9. (informal) . the whole or total of something that is to be shared or divided
-verb
10. (trans.) to cover with a hard layer; encrust
11. to form or be formed into a hardened mass

























Defying definition
And concept of mere cake

Rose and raspberry Saint Honoré

Saturday 29 October 2016

Swack

SWACK

-noun
1. (Scottish) a hard blow
-adj.
2. (Scottish) flexible
-verb
3. (Scottish) (intr.) . to strike
4. (Scottish) (trans.) to brandish (a sword)

























Sleep dealt him
A mighty swack
And he fell
All swack and fluffy

At my side

Friday 28 October 2016

Rhombus

RHOMBUS

-noun
an oblique-angled parallelogram having four equal sides. Also called: rhomb (plural: rhombi - rhombuses)


















Mosaic roosting birds
Skewed by earthquakes
And haphazard restoration
Into awkward rhombi
Captured for relative eternity

Unable to feed but on dreams

Thursday 27 October 2016

Scrappy

SCRAPPY

-adj.
fragmentary; disjointed

-adj.
(informal) pugnacious

























On the roof of our dreams
Scrappy monsters
Stunned from flight

Roaring to the skies

Wednesday 26 October 2016

Punitive

PUNITIVE

-adj.
relating to, involving, or with the intention of inflicting punishment

























Here lay the remains
Of Scylla’s punitive assault
On Ulysses’ men
Cast in chimera and stone


Tuesday 25 October 2016

Palaver

PALAVER

-noun
1. tedious or time-consuming business, especially when of a formal nature
2. loud and confused talk and activity; hubbub
3. (often used humorously) a conference
4. rare talk intended to flatter or persuade
5. West Africa
a. an argument
b. trouble arising from an argument
-verb
6. (intr.) (often used humorously) to have a conference
7. (intr.) to talk loudly and confusedly
8. (trans.) to flatter or cajole

























Coming on to Halloween
Great palavers were held

Over costume choices

Monday 24 October 2016

Formula

FORMULA

-noun
1. an established form or set of words, as used in religious ceremonies, legal proceedings, etc.
2. (mathematics, physics a general relationship) , principle, or rule stated, often as an equation, in the form of symbols
3. (chemistry) . a representation of molecules, radicals, ions, etc., expressed in the symbols of the atoms of their constituent elements. 
4. a method, pattern, or rule for doing or producing something, often one proved to be successful
5.
a. a prescription for making up a medicine, baby's food, etc.
b. a substance prepared according to such a prescription
6. (motor racing) .  the specific category in which a particular type of car competes, judged according to engine size, weight, and fuel capacity

























Colours
Light and
A formula
Turning dreams

Into fog

Sunday 23 October 2016

Lean

LEAN

-verb
1. (followed by “against”, “on”, or “upon”) . to rest or cause to rest against a support
2. to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position
3. (intr.) (followed by “to” or “towards”) . to have or express a tendency or leaning
-noun
4. the condition of inclining from a vertical position

-adj.
1. (especially of a person or an animal) having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump
2. not bulky or full
3. (of meat) having little or no fat
4. not rich, abundant, or satisfying
5. (of a mixture of fuel and air) containing insufficient fuel and too much air
6. (of printer's type) having a thin appearance
7. (of a paint) containing relatively little oil
8. (of an ore) not having a high mineral content
9. (of concrete) made with a small amount of cement
-noun
10. the part of meat that contains little or no fat

























Leaning towards
Tenderized
Lean duck

Fat apricots

Saturday 22 October 2016

Flump

FLUMP

-noun
1. an onomatopoeic word used to describe a dull, thudding sound produced by flumping
-verb
2. to (cause to) fall heavily with a dull thudding noise


























There are days
Where all the energy he has

Is deployed in a flump

Friday 21 October 2016

Tender

TENDER

-adj.
1. easily broken, cut, or crushed; soft; not tough
2. easily damaged; vulnerable or sensitive
3. having or expressing warm and affectionate feelings
4. kind, merciful, or sympathetic
5. arousing warm feelings; touching
6. gentle and delicate
7. requiring care in handling; ticklish
8. painful or sore
9. sensitive to moral or spiritual feelings
10. (postpositive; followed by “of”) . careful or protective
11. (of a sailing vessel) easily keeled over by a wind; crank.
-verb
12. (trans.) rare
a. to make tender
b. to treat tenderly

-verb
1. (trans.) to give, present, or offer
2. (intr.) (followed by “for”) . to make a formal offer or estimate for (a job or contract)
3. (trans.) law to offer (money or goods) in settlement of a debt or claim
-noun
4. the act or an instance of tendering; offer
5. business a formal offer to supply specified goods or services at a stated cost or rate
6. something, especially money, used as an official medium of payment



















Not sure what the locals tender for

But tenderness doesn’t seem to apply

Thursday 20 October 2016

Poll

POLL

-noun
1. the casting, recording, or counting of votes in an election; a voting
2. the result or quantity of such a voting
3. Also called: opinion poll
a. a canvassing of a representative sample of a large group of people on some question in order to determine the general opinion of the group
b. the results or record of such a canvassing
4. any counting or enumeration
5. short for poll tax
6. a list or enumeration of people, especially for taxation or voting purposes
7. the striking face of a hammer
8. the occipital or back part of the head of an animal
-verb (mainly trans.)
9. to receive (a vote or quantity of votes)
10. to receive, take, or record the votes of
11. to canvass (a person, group, area, etc.) as part of a survey of opinion
12. mainly US to take the vote, verdict, opinion, etc., individually of each member (of a jury, conference, etc.)
13. (sometimes intr.) to cast (a vote) in an election
14. computing (in data transmission when several terminals share communications channels) to check each channel rapidly to establish which are free, or to call for data from each terminal in turn
15. to clip or shear
16. to remove or cut short the horns of (cattle)

























The polled cat
Doesn’t care

About elections

Wednesday 19 October 2016

Knell

KNELL

-noun
1. the sound of a bell rung to announce a death or a funeral
2. something that precipitates or indicates death or destruction
-verb
3. (intr.) to ring a knell
4. (trans.) to proclaim or announce by or as if by a tolling bell

























Here wind keens
And a knell tolls
For the departed


Tuesday 18 October 2016

Impute

IMPUTE

-verb (trans.)
1. to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable, especially a criminal offence) to a person
2. to attribute to a source or cause
3. business to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown





















In this case of seduction
Laurel is imputed
Though the cook won

By hiding the leaves in sauce

Monday 17 October 2016

Bleat

BLEAT

-verb
1. (intr.) (of a sheep, goat, or calf) . to utter its characteristic plaintive cry
2. (intr.) to speak with any similar sound
3. to whine; whimper
-noun
4. the characteristic cry of sheep, goats, and young calves
5. any sound similar to this
6. a weak complaint or whine













Rain across badly sealed windows
Bleating wind faltering
Under the weight of desert sand

Sunday 16 October 2016

Ewer

EWER

-noun
a large jug or pitcher with a wide mouth










Leave it out
Hope sand does not
Come to call when
Ewer feel up with rain

Saturday 15 October 2016

Sickly

SICKLY

-adj.
1. disposed to frequent ailments; not healthy; weak
2. of, relating to, or caused by sickness
3. (of a smell, taste, etc.) causing revulsion or nausea
4. (of light or colour) faint or feeble
5. mawkish; insipid
-adv.
6. in a sick or sickly manner

























Another sickly kitty
Refusing to eat
Trying to escape home

Or perhaps life

Friday 14 October 2016

Evergreen

EVERGREEN

-adj.
1. (of certain trees and shrubs) bearing foliage throughout the year; continually shedding and replacing leaves.
2. remaining fresh and vital
-noun
3. an evergreen tree or shrub

























Ready for harvesting

Edible jade nesting in evergreen

Thursday 13 October 2016

Synesthesia

SYNESTHESIA

-noun
1. (Physiology) . sensation felt in one part of the body when another part is stimulated
2. (Psychology) . a process in which one type of stimulus produces a secondary, subjective sensation, as when some colour evokes a specific smell

























Mist on my skin
Calls images in decayed brown
A scent of smoke

Synesthesia

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Saccade

SACCADE

-noun
1. the movement of the eye when it makes a sudden change of fixation, as in reading
2. a sudden check given to a horse


















Tears flow
Salt stains
Empty eyes
Without saccade
Gritted teeth

Emerging mildew

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Property

PROPERTY

-noun
1. something of value, either tangible, such as land, or intangible, such as patents, copyrights, etc.
2. law the right to possess, use, and dispose of anything
3. possessions collectively or the fact of owning possessions of value
4. a piece of land or real estate, especially used for agricultural purposes
5. (mainly Australian) . a ranch or station, especially a small one
6. a quality, attribute, or distinctive feature of anything, especially a characteristic attribute such as the density or strength of a material
7. (logic) (obsolete) .  another name for proprium
8. any movable object used on the set of a stage play or film. Usually shortened to: prop

























Waiting for be picked
Edible property

With a future in wine industry

Monday 10 October 2016

Propagate

PROPAGATE

-verb
1. (biology) . to reproduce or cause to reproduce; breed
2. (trans.) horticulture to produce (plants) by layering, grafting, cuttings, etc.
3. (trans.) to promulgate; disseminate
4. (physics) . to move through, cause to move through, or transmit, especially in the form of a wave
5. (trans.) to transmit (characteristics) from one generation to the next
























Old rhizomes
Campaigning to be propagated
Rather than made tea

Sunday 9 October 2016

Crackling

CRACKLING

-noun

the crisp browned skin of roast pork
























Against sadness
Cracklings and wine
Sweet and salty
Edible tears

Saturday 8 October 2016

Fray

FRAY

-noun
1. a noisy quarrel
2. a fight or brawl
3. an archaic word for fright
-verb
4. (trans.) (archaic) . to frighten

-verb
1. to wear or cause to wear away into tatters or loose threads, especially at an edge or end
2. to make or become strained or irritated
3. to rub or chafe (another object) or (of two objects) to rub against one another
-noun
4. a frayed place, as in cloth

























Too many frays
Have frayed the stray

And his home

Friday 7 October 2016

Parsimonious

PARSIMONIOUS

-adj.
exhibiting or marked by parsimony; extreme care or reluctance in spending; frugality; niggardliness


















Day breaks
Parsimonious light shaken over the land

Crumbs of luminosity over mist

Thursday 6 October 2016

Lavish

LAVISH

-adj.
1. prolific, abundant, or profuse
2. generous; unstinting; liberal
3. extravagant; prodigal; wasteful
-verb
4. (trans.) to give, expend, or apply abundantly, generously, or in profusion

























Again the wall
Lavish expense
Of photography props

Tempting fate

Wednesday 5 October 2016

Profuse

PROFUSE

-adj.
1. plentiful, copious, or abundant
2. (often followed by “in”) . free or generous in the giving (of)

























Although autumn is already here
Warm weather means profuse water
Still has to be sprayed over fields

And newly ploughed terrains

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Recline

RECLINE

-verb
to rest or cause to rest in a leaning position

























If
You
Manage
Close your eyes
Imagine the clouds
Reclining upon cushy hills
As soft winds pass by
And dried grass
Tickles
Your

Back

Monday 3 October 2016

Betide

BETIDE

-verb
to happen or happen to; befall



















Not too  sure
About what betides
Or how, let alone why.

Could this be a murder?

Sunday 2 October 2016

Copious

COPIOUS

-adj.
1. abundant; extensive in quantity
2. having or providing an abundant supply
3. full of words, ideas, etc.; profuse

























Preparing a feast
Copious amount of fried food
Made up of anchovies
Apples and sage leaves


Saturday 1 October 2016

Abulia

ABULIA

-noun

(psychiatry) . a pathological inability to take decisions

























He wavers
Not so much plagued by abulia
Than conflicting temptations
And tourists sandwiches