Tuesday 30 November 2010

Rejectamenta

REJECTAMENTA

–plural noun
things or matter rejected as useless or worthless.






















Once
I threw rejecmenta at the clouds
Who stole the lot and fled
Now I look at the cup in my hand
And wonder how much
Of that
Is back in there.

Monday 29 November 2010

Zythepsary

ZYTHEPSARY

-noun
A brewery.























Lauding the zythepsaries
Of this world
Tipsy poppet then attempts
To celebrate
With a few drinking songs
By Carl Orff

Sunday 28 November 2010

Beek

BEEK

–verb (used with or without object). Scottish or North England
1. to bask or warm in the sunshine or before a fireplace, stove, or bonfire.
2. (of wood) to season by exposure to heat






















In my older age
Beeked by eons of sunshine
I purr in the glow
Choosing things to remember
Basking in the glow of love.

Saturday 27 November 2010

Incredulous

INCREDULOUS

–adj.
1. not credulous; disinclined or indisposed to believe; skeptical; disbelieving
2. indicating or showing unbelief























Starved kitty
Listens on
Incredulous
As we tell her
She is still
On a diet

Friday 26 November 2010

Syzygy

SYZYGY

–noun
1. Astronomy . an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet.
2. Classical Prosody . a group or combination of two feet, sometimes restricted to a combination of two feet of different kinds.
3. any two related things, either alike or opposite.



For a split moment we stand
A perfect syzygy of stupor
Then she screams
And I scream
And you flee
Leaving our world to explode
Under the weight of the unforgivable,
The error of coming home early.

Thursday 25 November 2010

Acme

ACME

–noun
the highest point; summit; peak






















You thought you'd hit your acme
When you seduced the highest note
But your voice broke
Unable to hold on to such treasure
And now you have to look on
As others toy with your coveted jewel

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Perite

PERITE

-adj.

Obsolete . skilled






















Perite hands
Made your coat
Wrapped with eternal fall
Cuddly with moss and humus
A cloak of fertility
And ever returning life.

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Boustrophedon

BOUSTROPHEDON

-noun
the writing of alternate lines in opposite directions (as from left to right and from right to left)



Our love story
Is written in boustrophedon
Its lines parallel
To avoid meeting

Monday 22 November 2010

Nigh

NIGH

–adv.
1. near in space, time, or relation.
2. nearly; almost; (often followed by "on" or "onto").
–adj.
3. near; approaching.
4. short or direct.
5.(of an animal or vehicle) being on the left side.
6.Archaic . parsimonious; stingy.
–preposition
7.near.
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
8.Archaic . to approach.



Humanity spent centuries calling out “the end is nigh”. When it did strike, nobody believed it was happening: Life went on.

Sunday 21 November 2010

Tyrotoxism

TYROTOXISM

-noun
Poisoning by cheese or any milk product.






















You say
I fear no tyrotoxism
In truth I do
It's just another luscious spice
To my addiction

Saturday 20 November 2010

Gamboge

GAMBOGE

-noun

1. A strong yellow colour.
2. A gum resin obtained from the sap of trees of the genus Garcinia, used as a yellow pigment and as a cathartic.























Warm heaters
Gamboge comfort
Willing minions
Tasty food
And yet…
Happiness is a fleeting creature.

Friday 19 November 2010

Rampage

RAMPAGE

–noun
1. violent or excited behaviour that is reckless, uncontrolled, or destructive.
2. a state of violent anger or agitation.
–verb (used without object)
3. to rush, move, or act furiously or violently






















Rampage in my kitchen
Or merely emphatic cooking?
The opinions diverge
Making a mess of the counter top,
Sprinkling flour and herbs,
Arranging a curve of crumbs,
Splattering sauce and water,
Colourful arrays on tiles.
This is not a kitchen, Baby!
This is art.

Thursday 18 November 2010

Inchoate

INCHOATE

–adj.

1. not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
2. just begun; incipient.
3. not organized; lacking order






















I see inchoate storms
Churning in your eyes
Looking for an escape
And worlds to disrupt.

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Mesonoxian

MESONOXIAN

-adj.
Pertaining to the hour of midnight.






















Look at her heart
Dark with mesonoxian light,
Poor frustrated moth.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Distaff

DISTAFF

-adj.
Of or relating to women.
-noun
1. A staff for holding flax, wool, etc. for spinning.
2. Women considered collectively.
3. A woman's work or domain.



Distaff task or not
I could not care less:
I demand peeled grapes
For the pain of hearing you whine.

Monday 15 November 2010

Peristrephic

PERISTREPHIC

-adj.
Turning around; rotatory; revolving























The little orange planet had been peristrephic
Before getting hit by the meteorite that destroyed its center of gravity.
Now it errs in a corner of the green galaxy, crying over its wounds.

Sunday 14 November 2010

Yaw

YAW

–verb (used without object)
1. to deviate temporarily from a straight course, as a ship.
2. (of an aircraft) to have a motion about its vertical axis.
3. (of a rocket or guided missile) to deviate from a stable flight attitude by oscillation of the longitudinal axis in the horizontal plane.
–verb (used with object)
4. to cause to yaw.
–noun
5. a movement of deviation from a direct course, as of a ship.
6. a motion of an aircraft about its vertical axis.
7. an angle, to the right or left, determined by the direction of motion of an aircraft or spacecraft and its vertical and longitudinal plane of symmetry.
8. (of a rocket or guided missile)
a. the act of yawing.
b. the angular displacement of the longitudinal axis due to yawing.

–noun
Pathology . one of the lesions of yaws, an infectious, non-venereal tropical disease, primarily of children, characterized by raspberry-like eruptions of the skin and caused by a spirochete, Treponema Pertenue, that is closely related to the agent of syphilis.






















Wrapped around my beer
I wonder
Is it the world yawing
Or is it me?

Saturday 13 November 2010

Wisp

WISP

–noun
1. a handful or small bundle of straw, hay, or the like.
2. any thin tuft, lock, mass, etc.
3. a thin puff or streak, as of smoke; slender trace.
4. a person or thing that is small, delicate, or barely discernible
5. a whisk broom.
6. Chiefly British Dialect .
a. a pad or twist of straw, as used to rub down a horse.
b. a twisted bit of straw used as a torch.
7. a will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus.
–verb (used with object)
8. to twist into a wisp.






















Grooming herself
She frees her fur of
Unsightly wisps
And the like

Friday 12 November 2010

Adversion

ADVERSION

-noun
A turning towards; attention.



Looking closely
Into the leaf's eyes
I could note adversion
And a dose of cunning

Thursday 11 November 2010

Churn

CHURN

–noun
1. a container or machine in which cream or milk is agitated to make butter.
2. any of various containers or machines similar in shape or action to a butter churn, as a device for mixing beverages.
3. British . a large milk can.
4. an act of churning stocks by a stockbroker.
–verb (used with object)
5. to agitate in order to make into butter.
6. to make (butter) by the agitation of cream.
7. to shake or agitate with violence or continued motion.
8. (of a stockbroker) to trade (a customer's securities) excessively in order to earn more in commissions.
–verb (used without object)
9. to operate a churn.
10. to move or shake in agitation, as a liquid or any loose matter.
11. (of a stockbroker) to engage in the practice of churning.



Churning clouds
Making snow flakes
For dessert.

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Plaintive

PLAINTIVE

–adj.
expressing sorrow or melancholy; mournful



With a plaintive sigh
She sinks her nails into skin
For shared misery

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Hale

HALE

–adj.

free from disease or infirmity; robust; vigorous

–verb (used with object)
1. to compel (someone) to go
2. to haul; pull.



With nets and buoys
I hale dreams from the deep
Tangled with sea weeds
And worries.

Monday 8 November 2010

Xanthochroid

XANTHOCHROID

— adj
of, relating to, or designating races having light-coloured hair and a pale complexion























Xanthochroid ghosts
Looking out from statues' eyes
Scared of life and sun.

(This one is dedicated to Emily, with love)

Sunday 7 November 2010

Teem

TEEM

–verb (used without object)

1. to abound or swarm; be prolific or fertile (usually followed by "with").
2. Obsolete . to be or become pregnant; bring forth young.
–verb (used with object)
3. Obsolete . to produce (offspring).

–verb (used with or without object)
to empty or pour out; discharge.






















Teeming with thyme
And rosemary
Crisp roast potatoes
Prey on my mind.

Saturday 6 November 2010

Cozen

COZEN

-verb trans.

To trick or deceive.



Don't let them cozen you:
Those fluffy heads are full of mischief.

Friday 5 November 2010

Peck

PECK

–noun
1. a dry measure of 8 quarts; the fourth part of a bushel, equal to 537.6 cubic inches (8.81 litres).
2. a container for measuring this quantity. Abbreviation: pk, pk.
3. a considerable quantity

–verb (used with object)
1. to strike or indent with the beak, as a bird does, or with some pointed instrument, especially with quick, repeated movements.
2. to make (a hole, puncture, etc.) by such strokes; pierce.
3. to take (food) bit by bit, with or as with the beak.
–verb (used without object)
4. to make strokes with the beak or a pointed instrument.
–noun
5. a quick stroke, as in pecking.
6. a hole or mark made by or as by pecking.
7. a quick, almost impersonal kiss.
8. (in timber) incipient decay from fungi, occurring in isolated spots.
9. pecks. Also, peckings. Slang . food.






















He’d peck a peck
A whole world even
If you’d let him
One grain at a time.

In the mean time
He’ll wake you up
Its pecking call
Demanding breakfast.

Eat or be eaten
Is his anguished credo
Reality is elsewhere:
Eat, therefore be eaten.


The background picture is copyright of Willow of Willow Manor, who has put it forth as a writing prompt.
Join the writing fun at Magpie Tales.

Thursday 4 November 2010

Sinopia

SINOPIA

-noun
1. A reddish-brown color or pigment.
2. A preliminary drawing for a fresco.






















Sinopia horn
Harbinger of glorious fall.
Blush on dancing leaves.

Wednesday 3 November 2010

Jaded

JADED

–adj.
1. dulled or satiated by overindulgence
2. worn out or wearied, as by overwork or overuse.
3. dissipated



Heard on the internet:
"I must say you guys are a pretty jaded crowd:
I wrote earlier about bringing a cadaver home for better pictures and you people did not bat a twit!"

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Panoptic

PANOPTIC

–adj.
1. permitting the viewing of all parts or elements.
2. considering all parts or elements; all inclusive



Clouds
Far above
For panoptic enjoyment
Of Earth's travails
Water vapour
Sun.

Monday 1 November 2010

Nympholepsy

NYMPHOLEPSY

-noun
1. A frenzy of emotion, as for something unattainable.
2. An ecstasy supposed by the ancients to be inspired by nymphs.






















Forget about nympholepsy:
This month we need a frenzy of words
Unleash the muse!


It is NaNoWriMo time!