Samara

SAMARA

-noun
a dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit with a wing-like extension to aid dispersal, as occurring in trees like ash, maple, etc.

Samara smiles

Awaiting their journey

In the arms of wind

Rebuke

REBUKE

-verb
1. (trans.) to scold or reprimand (someone)
-noun
2. a reprimand or scolding

Death comes in

With a rebuke

For not having lived

Life to the full

Malapropos

MALAPROPOS

-adj.
1. of an inappropriate or misapplied nature or kind
-adv.
2. in an inappropriate way or manner
-noun
3. something inopportune or inappropriate

This cross-species
Shy romance
Is often seen
As a malapropos

Numen

NUMEN

-noun
1. (more specifically in ancient Roman religion) a deity or spirit presiding over a thing or place
2. a guiding principle, force, or spirit

Waiting
The ruin’s numen
Gathers dust

Escargot

ESCARGOT

[ɛskarɡo]

-noun

(from the French) a variety of edible snail, often baked with melted butter and garlic

Italian escargots

An antique delicacy

Found in ruins

And tomato sauce

Hiss

HISS

-noun
1. a voiceless fricative sound like that of a prolonged s
2. such a sound uttered as an exclamation of derision, contempt, etc., in particular by an audience or crowd
3. (electronics) . receiver noise with a continuous spectrum, caused by thermal agitation, shot noise, etc.
-exclamation
4. an exclamation of derision or disapproval
-verb
5. (intr.) to produce or utter a hiss
6. (trans.) to express with a hiss, usually to indicate derision or anger
7. (trans.) to show derision or anger towards (a speaker, performer, etc.) by hissing

Pushing boundaries

I am served a hiss

From the feral tom

Resolute

RESOLUTE

-adj.
1. firm in purpose or belief; steadfast
2. characterized by resolution; determined

Resolute efforts

Has brought the basilica

Back to life

But not its worshippers

Grim

GRIM

-adj.
1. stern; resolute
2. harsh or formidable in manner or appearance
3. harshly ironic or sinister
4. cruel, severe, or ghastly
5. (archaic or poetic) . fierce
6. (informal) unpleasant; disagreeable

Nine years on

Grim ruins everywhere

And a ghost town

Demur

DEMUR

-verb (intr.)
1. to raise objections or show reluctance; object
2. (law) . to raise an objection by entering a demurrer
3. (archaic) to hesitate; delay
-noun
4. the act of demurring
5. an objection raised
6. (archaic) hesitation

Even history

Shies away from responsibility

Demurs and fades

Not wanting to be recalled

Offering mysteries

Pollard

POLLARD

-noun

1. an animal, such as a sheep or deer, that has either shed its horns or antlers or has had them removed

2. a tree that has had its top cut off to encourage the formation of a crown of branches

-verb

3. (trans.) to convert into a pollard; poll

Olive tree with

A poodle pollard

Trying to escape

Prune

PRUNE

-noun
1. a purplish-black partially dried fruit of any of several varieties of plum tree
2. (slang) (mainly British) a dull, uninteresting, or foolish person

-verb
1. to remove (dead or superfluous twigs, branches, etc.) from (a tree, shrub, etc.), by cutting them off
2. to remove (anything undesirable or superfluous) from (a text, etc.)

Dancing sumac

Pruned until they turned

And jumped

Shaking pompoms

Dehiscent

DEHISCENT
[dɪˈhɪsənt ]

-adj.
(of fruits, anthers, etc.) opening spontaneously to release seeds or pollen

Summer joy

Of dehiscent spreads

Releasing delights

In our mouths

Litter

LITTER

-noun
1. small refuse or waste materials carelessly dropped in public places
2. a disordered or untidy condition or a collection of objects in this condition
3. a group of offspring produced at one birth by a mammal such as a sow
4. a layer of partly decomposed leaves, twigs, etc., on the ground in a wood or forest
5. straw, hay, or similar material used as bedding, protection, etc., by animals or plants
6. a means of conveying people - in particular sick or wounded - consisting of a light bed or seat held between parallel sticks
-verb
7. to make (a place) untidy by strewing (refuse)
8. to scatter (objects, etc.) about or (of objects) to lie around or upon (anything) in an untidy fashion
9. (of pigs, cats, etc.) to give birth to (offspring)
10. (trans.) to provide (an animal or plant) with straw or hay for bedding, protection, etc.

Nostalgia to the days

When the feral pet colony

Was blessed with litters

Of joyous dynamic fluff

Shim

SHIM

-noun
1. a thin packing strip or washer often used with a number of similar washers or strips to adjust a clearance for gears, etc.
2. (physics) . a thin strip of magnetic material, such as soft iron, used to adjust a magnetic field

3. (mechanical engineering) a small object or piece of material used, for example, to create a little extra height or a little extra space.

-verb
4. (trans.) to modify a load, clearance, or magnetic field by the use of shims

In the cracks of

A little shim-induced distortion

New realities awaken

Ready to seep through

Invade our plane

Art by Gomez (from the Guido Reni District 2017 Black Decade exhibition) 

Octothorp

OCTOTHORP
[ˈɒktəˌθɔːp]

-noun
Symbol used in printing, in mathematics and, commonly, on a telephone keypad, consisting of two horizontal lines, one above the other, with two diagonal lines, one beside the other, through them. Also: hash

Distorting shadows

Playing with the concept

Of octothorps and stars

Dialling lines to the horizon

A search tag dissolving

Estrange

ESTRANGE

-verb (trans.)

1. (usually passive; often followed by “from”) to separate and live apart from (someone)

2. (usually passive; often followed by “from”) to antagonize or lose the affection of (someone previously friendly); alienate

She flees

From an estranged husband

Alien children and pets

Unsure where reality is

Or what it is

Lough

LOUGH

-noun

1.  an Irish word for lake

2. a long narrow bay or arm of the sea in Ireland

Nature invaded

Violated and abandoned

Loughs regain terrain

Soon trees will be back

Furze

FURZE

-noun

any evergreen shrub of the leguminous genus Ulex, in particular the European species U. europeaus, which has yellow flowers and thick green spines instead of leaves. Also called gorse or whin

A bright flame

Furze in the rain

Flour

FLOUR

-noun
1. a powder, which may be either fine or coarse, prepared by sifting and grinding the meal of a grass, more than often wheat
2. any finely powdered substance
-verb
3. (trans.) to make (grain) into flour
4. (trans.) to dredge or sprinkle (food or cooking utensils) with flour
5. (of mercury) to break into fine particles on the surface of a metal rather than amalgamating, or to produce such an effect on (a metal) because of impurities.

The future

Encrypted in flour patterns

Speaks of annihilation

Crumbs and white laps

Tail

TAIL

-noun
1. the region of the vertebrate body that is posterior to or above the anus and contains an elongation of the vertebral column, in particular forming a flexible movable appendage
2. anything resembling such an appendage in form or position; the bottom, lowest, or rear part
3. the last part or parts
4. the rear part of an aircraft including the fin, tail-plane, and control surfaces; empennage
5. (astronomy) . the luminous stream of gas and dust particles, up to 200 million kilometres long, driven from the head of a comet, when close to the sun, under the effect of the solar wind and light pressure
6. the rear portion of a bomb, rocket, missile, etc., usually fitted with guiding or stabilizing vanes
7. a line of people or things
8. a long braid or tress of hair
9. (angling) . the lowest fly on a wet-fly cast. Also called: tailfly
10. a final short line in a stanza
11. (informal) a person employed to follow and spy upon another or others
12. an informal word for buttocks
13. (vulgar, slang)
a. the female genitals
b. (offensive) a woman considered sexually
14. (printing)
a. the margin at the foot of a page
b. the bottom edge of a book
15. the lower end of a pool or part of a stream
16. (informal) the course or track of a fleeing person or animal
-verb
17. to form or cause to form the tail
18. to remove the tail of (an animal); dock
19. (trans.) to remove the stalk of
20. (trans.) to connect (objects, ideas, etc.) together by or as if by the tail
21. (trans.) (informal) to follow stealthily
22. (trans.) (Australian) to tend (cattle) on foot
23. (intr.) (of a vessel) to assume a specified position, as when at a mooring
24. to build the end of (a brick, joist, etc.) into a wall or (of a brick, etc.) to have one end built into a wall

-noun
1. (property law) . the limitation of an estate or interest to a person and the heirs of his or her body
-adj.
2. (immediately postpositive) (of an estate or interest) limited in this way

She demurs

Unwilling to commit herself

She has been hurt before

So folds her tail

Ever so gently

Around her paws.

The way we cross arms

To signal reluctance

Precious

PRECIOUS

-adj.
1. beloved; dear; cherished
2. very costly or valuable
3. held in high esteem, in particular in the context of moral or spiritual matters
4. very fastidious or affected, as in speech, manners, etc.
5. (informal) . worthless
-adv.
6. (informal) (intensifier)

The glory of

Precious sleep

Dressed in silks

Dreaming of lemon

And seed rich cakes

Rickle

RICKLE

-noun
1. (Scottish) an unsteady or shaky structure, in particular a dilapidated building
2. (Scottish) a loose or disorganized heap

In the abstraction

A rickle-world

So symptomatic

It rings true

Cambium

CAMBIUM
[ˈkæmbɪəm ]

-noun
(Botany) . a meristem that increases the girth of stems and roots by producing additional xylem and phloem

Our love

Pure cambium

As we become woody

With age 

Marcescent

MARCESCENT

[mɑːˈsɛsənt ]

-adj.

(of the parts of certain plants) remaining attached to the plant when withered

So many layers

Marcescent history

Weeds’playground

Rustle

RUSTLE

-verb
1. to make or cause to make a low crisp whispering or rubbing sound, as of dry leaves or paper
2. to move with such a sound
-noun
3. such a sound or sounds

-verb
1. (mainly US and Canadian) to steal (cattle, horses, etc.)
2. (US and Canadian) (informal) . to move swiftly and energetically

A brewing storm
Rustles golden buds
Shedding their sweet scent
In the air

Delectable

DELECTABLE

-adj.
highly enjoyable, (often: pleasing to the taste); delightful

A few

Delectable treats

To grace the weekend

Moggy

MOGGY

-noun
(British) a slang name for cat.

Blues

For lost moggies

Lost in thoughts

Of blue

Versed

VERSED

-adj.
(postpositive; followed by “in”) thoroughly knowledgeable (about), acquainted (with), or skilled (in)

She frowns and shakes

Her mind baulking at excess

Though she is well versed in introspection

Her instinct tells her to flee

The physical realm

Homiletics

HOMILETICS

-noun

(functioning as singular) the art of preaching or writing sermons

Francesca discovered that

An expertise in homilectics

Isn’t always a good thing

Trucage

TRUCAGE

-noun
art forgery

Image processing

Always on the boundaries of trucage

Playing with past shadows

Encroach

ENCROACH

-verb (intr.)

1. (often followed by “on” or “upon”) . to intrude gradually, stealthily, or insidiously upon the rights, property, etc., of another

2. to advance beyond the usual or proper limits

Cheeky love

Ready to encroach upon one’s privacy

And peace of mind