Chit

CHIT

-noun
1.A statement of an amount owed for food and drink
2.a child or young person , especially a pert girl



Trapped in a bubble
A mere chit of a creature
Dancing through shadows

Bath beauty appearing courtesy of the LIFE archive.

Dearth

DEARTH

–noun
1. an inadequate supply; scarcity; lack.
2. scarcity and dearness of food; famine.




Dearth of sleep
Colouring reality
With bleeding tints

Incense

INCENSE

–noun
1. An aromatic gum or other substance producing a sweet odour when burned, used in religious ceremonies, to enhance a mood, etc.
2. The perfume or smoke arising from such a substance when burned.
3. Any pleasant perfume or fragrance.
4. Homage or adulation.
–verb (used with object)
5. To perfume with incense.
6. To burn incense for.
–verb (used without object)
7. To burn or offer incense.

–verb (used with object)
1. To inflame with wrath; make angry; enrage.




Intense incensed heat:
Roses’ scent crawls on the grass,
Unable to waft.

Despondent

DESPONDENT

–adj.
feeling or showing profound hopelessness, dejection, discouragement, or gloom






















Despondent,
Too many regrets
About unvisited shores
Winds gone stale under wings.

Abiology

ABIOLOGY

-noun
The study of inanimate things.



The robot specialized in abiology
But committed the very basic fault
To fall in love with its patient:
A delicious clock.

Buzz

BUZZ

–noun
1. a low, vibrating, humming sound, as of bees, machinery, or people talking.
2. a rumour or report.
3. Informal. a phone call.
4. Slang.
a. a feeling of intense enthusiasm, excitement, or exhilaration.
b. a feeling of slight intoxication.
–verb (used without object)
5. to make a low, vibrating, humming sound.
6. to speak or murmur with such a sound.
7. to be filled with the sound of buzzing or whispering.
8. to whisper; gossip.
9. to move busily from place to place.
10.Slang. to go; leave (usually followed by “off” or “along”).
–verb (used with object)
11.to make a buzzing sound with.
12.to tell or spread (a rumour, gossip, etc.) secretively.
13.to signal or summon with a buzzer.
14.Informal. to make a phone call to.
15.Aeronautics.
a. to fly a plane very low over: to buzz a field.
b. to signal or greet (someone) by flying a plane low and slowing the motor spasmodically.



Grumbling and rumbling
Frantic arms flaying about
You are annoying
Your words a buzz in my ear
Attention demanding fly.

Gainly

GAINLY

-adj.
Graceful; dexterous.






















Death can show a gainly leg in her dance macabre
Always a step ahead of her mortal partners

Furlough

FURLOUGH

–noun
1. Military. a vacation or leave of absence granted to an enlisted person.
2. a usually temporary lay-off from work.
3. a temporary leave of absence authorized for a prisoner from a prison.
–verb (used with object)
4. to grant a furlough to.
5. to lay (an employee or worker) off from work, usually temporarily.






















She took a furlough from sanity
Escaping to a world of her own
Where giant butterflies devoured her.

The dreamer appears courtesy of George Eastman House

Systole

SYSTOLE

-noun
The rhythmic contraction of the heart, especially of the ventricles, by which blood is driven through the aorta and pulmonary artery after each dilation or diastole.



A tune of systole
A breath robbing melody
Displaying it charms
In the move of your ankles
And the dance of tiny bells

Just

JUST

–adj.
1. guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness.
2. done or made according to principle; equitable; proper.
3. based on right; rightful; lawful.
4. in keeping with truth or fact; true; correct.
5. given or awarded rightly; deserved, as a sentence, punishment, or reward.
6. in accordance with standards or requirements; proper or right.
7. (esp. in Biblical use) righteous.
8. actual, real, or genuine.
–adv.
9. within a brief preceding time; but a moment before.
10. exactly or precisely.
11. by a narrow margin; barely.
12. only or merely.
13. actually; really; positively.























Mandate was given to the snails
To decide who were the righteous:
They found them all as perfect - or imperfect - as humans go
Some just more tasty than others.

Wend

WEND

verb tr., intr.
To travel along a route.



His wending along the rooftop proved a little hazardous.
But the owners were glad for his eating of the moss.

Bombinate

BOMBINATE

–verb (used without object)
to make a humming or buzzing noise.






















The garden seemed to be bombinating on account of the bumblebees taking their breakfast there.

Unfurl

UNFURL

–verb (used with object)
1. to spread or shake out from a furled state, as a sail or a flag; unfold.
–verb (used without object)
2. to become unfurled.



Green steam is rising
Tea leaves unfurl in conquest.
A storm sweeps the clouds.

Ghoul

GHOUL

-noun
1. One who delights in the revolting, morbid, or loathsome.
2. A grave robber.
3. An evil spirit or demon in Muslim folklore believed to plunder graves and feed on corpses.



In the dusk of her memory, she finds old skeletons, things she had buried deep and are now surfacing from their liquid grave; ghouls summoned by the last ray of light.

Tolerance

TOLERANCE

​-noun
1. The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.
a. Leeway for variation from a standard.
b. The permissible deviation from a specified value of a structural dimension, often expressed as a percent.
c. Physiological resistance to a toxin.
d. Diminution in the physiological response to a drug that occurs after continued use, necessitating larger doses to produce a given response.
e. Acceptance of a tissue graft or transplant without immunological rejection.
f. Unresponsiveness to an antigen that normally produces an immunological reaction.
2. The capacity to endure hardship or pain.
3. Medicine
a. Physiological resistance to a toxin.
b. Diminution in the physiological response to a drug that occurs after continued use, necessitating larger doses to produce a given response.
c. Acceptance of a tissue graft or transplant without immunological rejection.
d. Unresponsiveness to an antigen that normally produces an immunological reaction.
e. Acceptance of a tissue graft or transplant without immunological rejection.
f. Unresponsiveness to an antigen that normally produces an immunological reaction.
4. The ability of an organism to resist or survive infection by a parasitic or pathogenic organism.




Weather more than time
Had abused the tolerance
For hardship and woes.
The diva mutilated
Into climatic zombie.

Contagious

CONTAGIOUS

–adj.
1. capable of being transmitted by bodily contact with an infected person or object.
2. carrying or spreading a contagious disease.
3. tending to spread from person to person.



We hesitate
To live in harmony
When conflict is so contagious.

Conclave

CONCLAVE

–noun
1. a private or secret meeting.
2. an assembly or gathering, esp. one that has special authority, power, or influence: a conclave of political leaders.
3. the assembly or meeting of the cardinals for the election of a pope.
4. the body of cardinals; the College of Cardinals.
5. the place in which the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church meet in private for the election of a pope.






















Nature’s bold conclave
Decided summer moves in.
Eyes smiling with sun.

Contumely

CONTUMELY

-noun
Rudeness whose roots are in arrogance; an arrogant remark or action.






















Here seen in action,
The contumely of times:
Ancient frayed glory.

Tremulous

TREMULOUS

-adj.
1 : marked by trembling or tremors : quivering
2 : timorous, timid



Tremulous bounty
Sowing tomorrow's wild oats.
Freckles on my nose.

Vie

VIE

–verb (used without object)
1. to strive in competition or rivalry with another; contend for superiority.
–verb (used with object)
2. Archaic. to put forward in competition or rivalry.
3. Obsolete. to stake in card playing



While reason and insanity vied for his mind,
Ghouls came out of the walls to eat his soul.

Beckon

BECKON

–verb
1. to signal, summon, or direct by a gesture of the head or hand.
2. to lure; entice.
–noun
3. a nod, gesture, etc., that signals, directs, summons, indicates agreement, or the like.



The well beckoned, promising hidden treasures.
At the bottom he found only mud and cold - very cold - water.
And that he had no way back up.

Counsel

COUNSEL

–noun
1. advice; opinion or instruction given in directing the judgment or conduct of another.
2. interchange of opinions as to future procedure; consultation; deliberation.
3. Law. (used with a singular or plural verb ) the advocate or advocates engaged in the direction of a cause in court; a legal adviser or counsellor
4. deliberate purpose; plan; design.
5. Theology. one of the advisory declarations of Christ, considered by some Christians as not universally binding but as given for aid in attaining moral perfection.
6. Archaic. a private or secret opinion or purpose.
7. Obsolete. wisdom; prudence.
–verb (used with object)
8. to give advice to; advise.
9. to urge the adoption of, as a course of action; recommend (a plan, policy, etc.).
–verb (used without object)
10.to give counsel or advice.
11.to get or take counsel or advice.




It's the stardust in our bones, calling out to the sky: Like children turning to their parents for counsel, we look for signs from the deep.

Westerlund picture taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory is used courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution

Fictile

FICTILE

-adj.
Capable of being moulded.























Fictile truths
Discarded, floating
Autumn love

Doolally

DOOLALLY

-adj.
Irrational, deranged, or insane.






















Doolally doodles
To keep fingers busy
To keep the mind numb.

Dazibao

DAZIBAO

–noun
(in China) a wall poster.



In my dreams
Dazibaos
Speak
Of lost voyage
Forgotten opportunities.

Flair

FLAIR

-noun
1. a natural talent, aptitude, or ability; bent; knack.
2. smartness of style, manner, etc..
3. keen perception or discernment.
4. Hunting. scent; sense of smell.






















Unusual domestic flair
And a taste for white lace
Creates fringe employment:
Ecclesiastic Cleaner.

Hypnopompic

HYPNOPOMPIC

–adj.
Psychology.
of or pertaining to the semi-conscious state prior to complete wakefulness.



Our post-prandial daze:
Mere hypnopompic effect.
All shadows transformed:
A lock into sharp arrows,
And the old door into sea.

Crown

CROWN

–noun
1. any of various types of headgear worn by a monarch as a symbol of sovereignty, often made of precious metal and ornamented with valuable gems.
2. a similar ornamental headgear worn by a person designated king or queen in a pageant, contest, etc.
3. an ornamental wreath or circlet for the head, conferred by the ancients as a mark of victory, athletic or military distinction, etc.
4. the distinction that comes from a great achievement.
5. the power or dominion of a sovereign.
6. (often initial capital letter) the sovereign as head of the state, or the supreme governing power of a state under a monarchical government.
7. any crown-like emblem or design, as in a heraldic crest.
8. the top or highest part of anything, as of a hat or a mountain.
9. the top of the head.
10.Dentistry.
a. the part of a tooth that is covered by enamel.
b. an artificial substitute, as of gold or porcelain, for the crown of a tooth.
11.the highest point of any construction of convex section or outline, as an arch, vault, deck, or road.
12.the highest or most nearly perfect state of anything.
13.an exalting or chief attribute.
14.the acme or supreme source of honor, excellence, beauty, etc.
15.something having the form of a crown, as the corona of a flower.
16.Botany.
a. the leaves and living branches of a tree.
b. the point at which the root of a seed plant joins the stem.
c. a circle of appendages on the throat of the corolla; corona.
17.the crest, as of a bird.
18.Architecture.
a. a termination of a tower consisting of a lantern like steeple supported entirely by a number of flying buttresses.
b. any ornamental termination of a tower or turret.
19.Also called button. Horology. a knurled knob for winding a watch.
20.any of various coins bearing the figure of a crown or crowned head.
21.a former silver coin of the United Kingdom, equal to five shillings: retained in circulation equal to 25 new pence after decimalization in 1971.
22.the monetary unit of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden: a krona or krone.
23.the koruna of Czechoslovakia.
24.a crimped metal bottle cap.
25.crown glass.
26.Cookery. crown roast.
27.Also called bezel, top. Jewelry. the part of a cut gem above the girdle.
28.a drill bit consisting of a metal matrix holding diamond chips.
29.Also called head. Nautical. the part of an anchor at which the arms join the shank.
30.Machinery.
a. a slight convexity given to a pulley supporting a flat belt in order to centre the belt.
b. a slight convexity given to the outer faces of the teeth of two gears so that they mesh toward their centres rather than at the ends.
31.a size of printing paper, 15 × 20 in. (38 × 51 cm).
32.Nautical, Machinery.
33.Knots. a knot made by interweaving the strands at the end of a rope, often made as the beginning of a back splice or as the first stage in tying a more elaborate knot.
34.a crown-piece.
–verb (used with object)
35.to invest with a regal crown, or with regal dignity and power.
36.to place a crown or garland upon the head of.
37.to honour or reward; invest with honour, dignity, etc.
38.to be at the top or highest part of.
39.to complete worthily; bring to a successful or triumphant conclusion.
40.Informal. to hit on the top of the head.
41.to give to (a construction) an upper surface of convex section or outline.
42.to cap (a tooth) with a false crown.
43.Checkers. to change (a checker) into a king after having safely reached the last row.
44.Knots. to form a crown on (the end of a rope).
–verb (used without object)
45.Medicine/Medical. (of a baby in childbirth) to reach a stage in delivery where the largest diameter of the foetal head is emerging from the pelvic outlet.






















With little green crowns on top their ruddy heads,
Strawberries felt fit for a king's or a queen's treat.

Cohere

COHERE

-verb intr.
To be united; to work or hold together.






















His eye held the power to cohere
When rationality fled.

Anabasis

ANABASIS

noun
A movement upward or forward, as a military advance or the advance of disease in the body; the antonym of "retreat."



The demons stroke an anabasis
Over his soul
The possession eventually
Altering his appearance too.

Scour

SCOUR

–verb (used with object)
1. to remove dirt, grease, etc., from or to cleanse or polish by hard rubbing, as with a rough or abrasive material.
2. to remove (dirt, grease, etc.) from something by hard rubbing.
3. to clear or dig out (a channel, drain, etc.) as by the force of water, by removing debris, etc.
4. to purge thoroughly, as an animal.
5. to clear or rid of what is undesirable.
6. to remove by or as if by cleansing; get rid of.
7. to clean or rid of debris, impurities, etc., by or as if by washing, as cotton or wool.
8. Metallurgy. (of the contents of a blast furnace) to rub against and corrode (the refractory lining).
–verb (used without object)
9. to rub a surface in order to cleanse or polish it.
10.to remove dirt, grease, etc.
11.to become clean and shiny.
12.to be capable of being cleaned by rubbing.
13.(of a plough, cultivator, etc.) to pass through the ground without soil clinging to the blade.
14.(of a plough, shovel, etc.) to become polished from use.
–noun
15.the act of scouring.
16.the place scoured.
17.an apparatus or material used in scouring.
18.the erosive force of moving water, as in a river or sea.
19.Usually “scours” (used with a singular or plural verb ) - Veterinary Pathology: Diarrhoea in horses and cattle caused by intestinal infection.























Rain laced with sand
Scours the world of its life.
Deep spring cleaning.