Illusion

ILLUSION

–noun
1. something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
2. the state or condition of being deceived; misapprehension.
3. an instance of being deceived.
4. Psychology. a perception, as of visual stimuli (optical illusion), that represents what is perceived in a way different from the way it is in reality.
5. a very thin, delicate tulle of silk or nylon having a cobwebbed appearance, for trimmings, veilings, and the like.
6. Obsolete. the act of deceiving; deception; delusion.
























You walked away in the background
Not seeing the illusion closing around you
Tearing at your reality
For the sake of a paradox.

Gargoyle

GARGOYLE

–noun
1. a grotesquely carved figure of a human or animal.
2. a spout, terminating in a grotesque representation of a human or animal figure with open mouth, projecting from the gutter of a building for throwing rain water clear of a building.























Behold the gargoyle choir
Howling at the moon.
Behold the madness
At work in the night.
A dream of stone gone bad.

Metamorphosis

METAMORPHOSIS

-noun
1. Biology. a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly. .
2. a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft.
3. any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.
4. a form resulting from any such change.
5. Pathology.
a. a type of alteration or degeneration in which tissues are changed: fatty metamorphosis of the liver.
b. the resultant form.
6. Botany. the structural or functional modification of a plant organ or structure during its development.




What does the butterfly remember
Of its crawling ways of old?
Does it ever recalls having merely been the shadow of a dream?

Angel

ANGEL

–noun
1. one of a class of spiritual beings; a celestial attendant of God. In medieval angelology, angels constituted the lowest of the nine celestial orders (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities or princedoms, archangels, and angels).
2. a conventional representation of such a being, in human form, with wings, usually in white robes.
3. a messenger, esp. of God.
4. a person who performs a mission of God or acts as if sent by God: an angel of mercy.
5. a person having qualities generally attributed to an angel, as beauty, purity, or kindliness.
6. a person whose actions and thoughts are consistently virtuous.
7. an attendant or guardian spirit.
8. a deceased person whose soul is regarded as having been accepted into heaven.
9. Informal. a person who provides financial backing for some undertaking, as a play or political campaign.
10.an English gold coin issued from 1470 to 1634, varying in value from 6s. 8d. to 10s. and bearing on its obverse a figure of the archangel Michael killing a dragon.
11.Slang. an image on a radar screen caused by a low-flying object, as a bird.
–verb (used with object)
12.Informal. to provide financial backing for.



Even angels die
Dissolving to bone and dust.
Winged sand swept away.

Cur

CUR

—noun
1. a mongrel dog, esp. a worthless or unfriendly one.
2. a mean, cowardly person.























“Come back you CUR!”
Even pushed into a corner
She would not accept defeat
Or – far worse – being ignored.

Bruxism

BRUXISM

-noun
The habitual, involuntary grinding or clenching of the teeth, usually during sleep, as from anger, tension, fear, or frustration.



When in anger she would feign sleep
The grinding of her teeth betrayed the notion
By its clashing absence.

Inconnu

INCONNU

-noun
1. A whitefish (Stenodus leucichthys) found in the arctic and subarctic. Also known as sheefish.
2. A stranger.























The inconnu lurking in the mirror
Is just a face you've seen before
And forgotten for lack of an interest.

Eulogy

EULOGY

noun
1. a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, esp. a set oration in honor of a deceased person.
2. high praise or commendation.




When I went to record your story,
the pages refused to accept the words, the fact that you might be dead.
Your eulogy is written in light.

Behave

BEHAVE

-verb (used without object)
1. to act in a particular way; conduct or comport oneself or itself.
2. to act properly.
3. to act or react under given circumstances.
–verb (used with object)
4. to conduct or comport (oneself) in a proper manner.






















She was told to behave.
“Already doing so!” was her claim (the cheeky monkey).
It turned out she was too.

Dulcet

DULCET

-adj.
Pleasingly sweet to the ear, soothingly musical, most closely associated with sounds, such as those of the dulcimer, a word based on the same root.























How I longed to hear
The dulcet beating of your heart
In the throes of love.

Bridge

BRIDGE

–noun
1. a structure spanning and providing passage over a river, chasm, road, or the like.
2. a connecting, transitional, or intermediate route or phase between two adjacent elements, activities, conditions, or the like: Working at the hospital was a bridge between medical school and private practice.
3. Nautical.
a. a raised transverse platform from which a power vessel is navigated: often includes a pilot house and a chart house.
b. any of various other raised platforms from which the navigation or docking of a vessel is supervised.
c. a bridge house or bridge superstructure.
d. a raised walkway running fore-and-aft.
4. Anatomy. the ridge or upper line of the nose.
5. Dentistry. an artificial replacement, fixed or removable, of a missing tooth or teeth, supported by natural teeth or roots adjacent to the space.
6. Music.
a. a thin, fixed wedge or support raising the strings of a musical instrument above the sounding board.
b. a transitional, modulatory passage connecting sections of a composition or movement.
c. (in jazz and popular music) the contrasting third group of eight bars in a thirty-two-bar chorus; channel; release.
7. Also, bridge passage. a passage in a literary work or a scene in a play serving as a movement between two other passages or scenes of greater importance.
8. Ophthalmology. the part of a pair of eyeglasses that joins the two lenses and rests on the bridge or sides of the nose.
9. Also called bridge circuit. Electricity. a two-branch network, including a measuring device, as a galvanometer, in which the unknown resistance, capacitance, inductance, or impedance of one component can be measured by balancing the voltage in each branch and computing the unknown value from the known values of the other components.
10.Railroads. a gantry over a track or tracks for supporting waterspouts, signals, etc.
11.Building Trades. a scaffold built over a sidewalk alongside a construction or demolition site to protect pedestrians and motor traffic from falling materials.
12.Metallurgy.
a. a ridge or wall-like projection of fire brick or the like, at each end of the hearth in a metallurgical furnace.
b. any layer of partially fused or densely compacted material preventing the proper gravitational movement of molten material, as in a blast furnace or cupola, or the proper compacting of metal powder in a mold.
13.(in a twist drill) the conoid area between the flutes at the drilling end.
14.Billiards, Pool.
a. the arch formed by the hand and fingers to support and guide the striking end of a cue.
b. a notched piece of wood with a long handle, used to support the striking end of the cue when the hand cannot do so comfortably; rest.
15.transitional music, commentary, dialogue, or the like, between two parts of a radio or television program.
16.Theater.
a. a gallery or platform that can be raised or lowered over a stage and is used by technicians, stagehands, etc., for painting scenery (paint bridge), arranging and supporting lights (light bridge), or the like.
b. British. a part of the floor of a stage that can be raised or lowered.
17.Horology. a partial plate, supported at both ends, holding bearings on the side opposite the dial.
18.Chemistry. a valence bond illustrating the connection of two parts of a molecule.
19.a support or prop, usually timber, for the roof of a mine, cave, etc.
20.any arch or rooflike figure formed by acrobats, dancers, etc., as by joining and raising hands.
–verb (used with object)
21.to make a bridge or passage over; span
22.to join by or as if by a bridge: a fallen tree bridging the two porches.
23.to make (a way) by a bridge.
–verb (used without object)
24.Foundry. (of molten metal) to form layers or areas heterogeneous either in material or in degree of hardness.
–adjective
25.(esp. of clothing) less expensive than a manufacturer's most expensive products.
—Idiom
26.burn one's bridges (behind one), to eliminate all possibilities of retreat; make one's decision irrevocable




Bridge reaching across,
Rickety Meccano toy.
Mist ribbons float by.

Junket

JUNKET

–noun
1. a sweet, custard-like food of flavoured milk curdled with rennet.
2. a pleasure excursion, as a picnic or outing.
3. a trip, as by an official or legislative committee, paid out of public funds and ostensibly to obtain information.
–verb (used without object)
4. to go on a junket.
–verb (used with object)
5. to entertain; feast; regale.
























The junket had puzzled them all
The syrup rich but foreign to their taste
Only the bees knew.

Shelter

SHELTER

–noun
1. something beneath, behind, or within which a person, animal, or thing is protected from storms, missiles, adverse conditions, etc.; refuge.
2. the protection or refuge afforded by such a thing.
3. protection from blame, incrimination, etc.
4. a dwelling place or home considered as a refuge from the elements.
5. a building serving as a temporary refuge or residence for homeless persons, abandoned animals, etc.
6. Finance. tax shelter.
–verb (used with object)
7. to be a shelter for; afford shelter to.
8. to provide with a shelter; place under cover.
9. to protect, as by shelter; take under one's protection.
10.Finance. to invest (money) in a tax shelter.
–verb (used without object)
11.to take shelter; find a refuge.
12.Finance. to invest money in a tax shelter.






















Grasping for shelter
A little sun bestowed gold.
Wind paralysis.

Fissure

FISSURE

noun
1. A long narrow opening; a crack or cleft.
2. The process of splitting or separating; division.
3. A separation into subgroups or factions; a schism.
4. Anatomy A normal groove or furrow, as in the liver or brain, that divides an organ into lobes or parts.
5. Medicine A break in the skin, usually where it joins a mucous membrane, producing a cracklike sore or ulcer.
verb
To form a crack or cleft or cause a crack or cleft in.




Staring at the capture that isn't anymore
Seeing the picture all over again
It was yesterday and his face was a full vase of white blooms
It will be tomorrow and a fissure is showing its teeth.

Tether

TETHER

noun
1 a) A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding an animal in place, allowing a short radius in which it can move about.
b) A similar ropelike restraint used as a safety measure, especially for young children and astronauts.
2. A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding one, especially an animal, in place, allowing a short radius in which one can move about.
3. The extent or limit of one's resources, abilities, or endurance.
verb
To fasten or restrict with or as if with a tether.






I held your love floating about
Balloon tethered to my chest, to my soul
Before release.

I watch you floating away,
Free
Dead

Until next time.

Inveigh

INVEIGH

verb
To protest or complain



To inveigh in vain
Even in a song or dance.
Dust twirling in light.

Anymore

ANYMORE

-adv.
1. Any longer; at the present
2. From now on






















Staring at the picture that isn't hanging on the wall anymore,
At the smile in the missing eyes, looking over my shoulder.
There are roses in those disappeared lips, framed in golden wood,
And dust on the wall where the ghost has been.

Snowdrop

SNOWDROP

–noun
any of several early-blooming bulbous plants belonging to the genus Galanthus, of the amaryllis family, native to Eurasia, esp. G. nivalis, having drooping white flowers with green markings. Also spelled snow drop or snow-drop.























Wind playing the harp
On a spider's web.
Snow drops chime.

Junk

JUNK

noun
1. Discarded material, such as glass, rags, paper, or metal, some of which may be reused in some form.
2. Informal
a. Articles that are worn-out or fit to be discarded.
b. Cheap or shoddy material.
c. Something meaningless, fatuous, or unbelievable.
3. Slang - Heroin.
4. Hard salt beef for consumption on board a ship.
-adj.
1. Cheap, shoddy, or worthless.
2. Having a superficial appeal or utility, but lacking substance.



Most people called it junk
But he had the soul of a poet
Collecting discarded love
Along the way.

A more worldly man might have dubbed himself an artist.

Boulder

BOULDER

–noun
a detached and rounded or worn rock, esp. a large one.



I will come to you for solace
River boulder that has forgotten about its tears having been dried in the sun.

Always

ALWAYS

–adv.
1. every time; on every occasion; without exception.
2. all the time; continuously; uninterruptedly.
3. Forever.
4. in any event; at any time; if necessary






















Utopian notion
To soothe away our worst fears
Rain falls down. Always.

Pallid

PALLID

-adj.
1. pale; faint or deficient in color; wan.
2. lacking in vitality or interest






















Sun caught by its mane
Trapped onto pallid branches.
Foggy curtain drawn.

Bubble

BUBBLE

noun
1. A thin, usually spherical or hemispherical film of liquid filled with air or gas.
2. A globular body of air or gas formed within a liquid: air bubbles rising to the surface.
3. A pocket formed in a solid by air or gas that is trapped, as during cooling or hardening.
4. a. The act or process of forming bubbles.
b. A sound made by or as if by the forming and bursting of bubbles.
5. Something insubstantial, groundless, or ephemeral, especially:
a. A fantastic or impracticable idea or belief; an illusion.
b. A speculative scheme that comes to nothing.
6. Something light or effervescent.
7. A usually transparent glass or plastic dome.
8. A protective, often isolating envelope or cover.



Blowing
Bubbles
In the dark
I stumble for purchase
Iridescent
Beauty
Lost
To all but the owls.
Yet
It never stopped me.

Bubble picture extracted from LIFE archive.

Dwindle

DWINDLE

verb
To gradually decrease, shrink, or become less.
























Where reality dwindled into water
Dreams broke the surface
Foetid bubbles soon suppressed
A stench of history gone sour.

Impressionist

IMPRESSIONIST

–noun
1. a person who follows or adheres to the theories, methods, and practices of impressionism, esp. in the fields of painting, music, or literature.
2. an entertainer who does impressions.
–adj.
3. (usually initial capital letter) Fine Arts. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Impressionism: Impressionist paintings; Impressionist artists.






















Rain painted scene
In water colour pouring
Impressionist day.

Skin

SKIN

–noun
1. the external covering or integument of an animal body, esp. when soft and flexible.
2. such an integument stripped from the body of an animal, esp. a small animal; pelt.
3. the tanned or treated pelt or hide of an animal, esp. when used in apparel and accessories; leather (usually used in combination).
4. any integument covering, casing, outer coating, or surface layer, as an investing membrane, the rind or peel of fruit, or a film on liquid: a skin of thin ice; the aluminium skin of an aeroplane.
5. Jewellery.
a. the outermost layer of a pearl.
b. the outermost layer of a diamond as found: often different in colour and refraction from the inner part of the stone.
6. Nautical.
a. the shell or ceiling of a hull.
b. the outer, exposed part of a furled sail.
7. Metallurgy. an outer layer of a metal piece having characteristics differing from those of the interior.
8. a container made of animal skin, used for holding liquids, esp. wine.
9. Rocketry. the outer surface of a missile or rocket.
–verb
10.to strip or deprive of skin; flay; peel; husk.
11 to remove or strip off (any covering, outer coating, surface layer, etc.).
12.to scrape or rub a small piece of skin from (one's hand, leg, etc.), as in falling or sliding against something.
13.to urge on, drive, or whip (a draft animal, as a mule or ox).
14.to climb or jump.
15.to cover with or as if with skin.
16.Cards. to slide cards one at a time off the top of (the pack) in dealing.
–adj.
17.
a. Slang. showing or featuring nude persons, often in a sexually explicit way.
b. presenting films, stage shows, exhibitions, etc., that feature nude persons, esp. in a sexually explicit way: a Times Square skin house.




First there was your skin
Shinning and iridescent with the heat of love
Cracking the varnish gloss thrown across my life.
Then the soul within that I drank
A darker wine.

Meander

MEANDER

verb
1 : to follow a winding or intricate course
2 : to wander aimlessly or casually without urgent destination : ramble



Both he and the river meandered
Their thoughts on a line of dunes
Desert appealing to their dry sense of humour.

Newel

NEWEL

noun
A central pillar around which a staircase spirals.
A sturdy pillar at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs, supporting the handrail.



You were the newel
Around which I circled
Mindful of my prey,
Very little of the rest,
Never noting how much I sunk
In your or everyone else's esteem
So lost was I
In my vortex of obsession.


Walt Kuhn appears courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.

Pell-mell

PELL-MELL

-adv.
In a confused, jumbled, or reckless manner.
-adj.
Confused, disorderly, or indiscriminate.




In the pell-mell of her life
She was confused about much
Not least the state of her heart
Which looked very much
Like an overstuffed drawer.

Mist

MIST

–noun
1. a cloudlike aggregation of minute globules of water suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface, reducing visibility to a lesser degree than fog.
2. a cloud of particles resembling this.
3. something that dims, obscures, or blurs: the mist of ignorance.
4. a haze before the eyes that dims the vision.
5. a suspension of a liquid in a gas.
6. a drink of liquor served over cracked ice.
7. a fine spray produced by a vaporizer to add moisture to the air for breathing.
–verb (used without object)
8. to become misty.
9. to rain in very fine drops; drizzle (usually used impersonally with it as subject):.
–verb (used with object)
10.to make misty.
11.to spray (plants) with a finely diffused jet of water, as a means of replacing lost moisture.



I love mist
And the mysteries it reveals
A peekaboo scene of lies and truth
Mere moisture dispersed by the smallest ray of sun.

New

NEW

–adj.
1. of recent origin, production, purchase, etc.; having but lately come or been brought into being.
2. of a kind now existing or appearing for the first time; novel.
3. having but lately or but now come into knowledge.
4. unfamiliar or strange (often fol. by to).
5. having but lately come to a place, position, status, etc.
6. unaccustomed (usually fol. by to).
7. coming or occurring afresh; further; additional.
8. fresh or unused.
9. (of physical or moral qualities) different and better.
10.other than the former or the old.
11.being the later or latest of two or more things of the same kind.
12.(initial capital letter) (of a language) in its latest known period, esp. as a living language at the present time.
–adverb
13.recently or lately (usually used in combination).
14.freshly; anew or afresh (often used in combination).
–noun
15.something that is new; a new object, quality, condition, etc.




New wakening
In the dead of winter.
A pink magnolia.

Happy New Year!