Sunday 31 May 2015

Cider



CIDER

-noun
1. an alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of apples
2. an unfermented drink made from apple juice

























A good book
A bowl of cider
Little left for improvement

After a long walking day

Saturday 30 May 2015

Warren

WARREN

-noun
1. a series of interconnected underground tunnels in which rabbits live
2. a colony of rabbits
3. an overcrowded area or dwelling
4. (mainly British) an enclosed place where small game animals or birds are kept, especially for breeding, or a part of a river or lake enclosed by nets in which fish are kept
5. (English legal history) a franchise permitting one to keep animals, birds, or fish in this way

 























She looks over the warren
A jumble of cages and boxes
Making sure she gets cuddles

Before allowing entry 

Friday 29 May 2015

Ramshackle

RAMSHACKLE

-adj.
badly constructed or maintained; rickety, shaky, or derelict

























Rickety bunch
Ramshackle pile

And a mug on top!

Thursday 28 May 2015

Candescent

CANDESCENT

-adj.
(rare) glowing or starting to glow with heat

























To think a few weeks ago
Everything was candescent
A new straw hat needed
Now winter has struck again

And gloves are calling

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Overmorrow

OVERMORROW

-noun
(obsolete!) The day after or following tomorrow.


























Thank goodness overmorrow is Friday.

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Salubrious

SALUBRIOUS

-adj.
conducive or favourable to health; wholesome

























Humid
None too
Salubrious

Yet lush

Monday 25 May 2015

Mar

MAR

-verb
1. (trans.) to cause harm to; spoil or impair
-noun
2. a disfiguring mark; blemish



















Modern parasite
Electric cables crawl up the walls
Marring the scenery

Plastic ivy

Sunday 24 May 2015

Duxelles



DUXELLES

-noun
a mixture of finely diced mushrooms, shallots and parsley, or other herbs, used to flavour dishes  

























Future mushroom broth

Rendered in rough duxelles

Saturday 23 May 2015

Eleutheromania



ELEUTHEROMANIA

-noun
a manic yearning for freedom

























Claiming eleutheromania
As a basic feline right

Along with a side of minions

Friday 22 May 2015

Askance

ASKANCE

-adv.
1. with a side-glance : obliquely
2. with disapproval or distrust : scornfully



















All teeth out
Growling and looking askance
At innocent customers

Jealous roof

Thursday 21 May 2015

Scrim

SCRIM

-noun
an open-weave muslin or hessian fabric, used in upholstery, lining, building, and in the theatre to create the illusion of a solid wall or to suggest haziness, etc, according to the lighting














Spring has sprung
Liberating scrim-like vines
Onto the morning path
Burst of unassuming flowers

And the usual show-offs

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Samsara

SAMSARA

-noun
1. (Hinduism) the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth
2. (Buddhism) the transmigration or rebirth of a person

























Seeds for my cakes
Silk for my fingers
Colour for my soul
A symbol of death

Fragile samsara 

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Bluette

BLUETTE

-noun
a short, brilliant piece of music

























Night closed in
Passed by in a flash
A bluette undreamt of
Leaving me on the shore
Awake and grumpy
Aching for more



Monday 18 May 2015

Spondee

SPONDEE

-noun
1. (prosody) a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables (– –)

(Provenance: from Old French spondée, derived from Latin spondēus, in turn borrowed from Greek spondeios, originally from spondē a ritual libation; from the use of spondee in the music played during such ceremonies)

















Carving out words,
Looking for spondees
An elusive concept
For the non-native speaker

Sunday 17 May 2015

Strawberry



STRAWBERRY

-noun
1. any of various low-growing rosaceous plants of the genus Fragaria, such as F. vesca (wild strawberry) and F. ananassa (garden strawberry), which have white flowers and red edible fruits and spread by runners
2. the fruit of any of these plants, consisting of a sweet fleshy receptacle bearing small seedlike parts (the true fruits)
3. a purplish-red colour
























Do we truly love
Strawberries?
Or are they just
An excuse for cream?