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.

Wane

WANE

–verb (used without object)
1. to decrease in strength, intensity, etc.
2. to decline in power, importance, prosperity, etc.
3. to draw to a close; approach an end.
4. (of the moon) to decrease periodically in the extent of its illuminated portion after the full moon.
–noun
5. a gradual decrease or decline in strength, intensity, power, etc.
6. the drawing to a close of life, an era, a period, etc.
7. the waning of the moon.
8. a period of waning.
9. a defect in a plank or board characterized by bark or insufficient wood at a corner or along an edge, due to the curvature of the log.



I watch
Your breath
Wane

The world
Sus
pen
ded
For the shortest longest time.

Intersperse

INTERSPERSE

–verb (used with object)
1. to scatter here and there or place at intervals among other things.
2. to diversify with something placed or scattered at intervals.
























Dream interspersed with thoughts
A meadow scattered with wild flowers
Thought sprinkled with dreams

Clock

CLOCK

-noun
1. An instrument other than a watch for measuring or indicating time, especially a mechanical or electronic device having a numbered dial and moving hands or a digital display.
2. A time clock.
3. A source of regularly occurring pulses used to measure the passage of time, as in a computer.
4. Any of various devices that indicate measurement, such as a speedometer or a taximeter.
5. A biological clock.
6. Botany The downy flower head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.
7. An embroidered or woven decoration on the side of a stocking or sock
-verb tr.
1. To time, as with a stopwatch.
2. To register or record with a mechanical device.
-verb intr.
To record working hours with a time clock.






















Exploded clocks
Drifting on the winds
Clouds snowing in.

Moirologist

MOIROLOGIST

-noun
A hired mourner.






















A good part of the journalists' crowd
Hire themselves as moirologists
Although they usually prefer to sign themselves
With titles like “analyst” or “consultant” instead.

Gibbet

GIBBET

–noun
1.a gallows with a projecting arm at the top, from which the bodies of criminals were formerly hung in chains and left suspended after execution.
–verb (used with object)
2. to hang on a gibbet.
3. to put to death by hanging on a gibbet.
4. to hold up to public scorn.






















Roads have forks,
And so have gallows,
Bitter and taunting
For the poor gibbeting souls
Alternative paths flaunting vain illusions.
In front of their dying eyes.

Flux

FLUX

-noun
1. a flowing or flow.
2. the flowing in of the tide.
3. continuous change, passage, or movement.
4. Physics.
a. the rate of flow of fluid, particles, or energy.
b. a quantity expressing the strength of a field of force in a given area.
5. Chemistry, Metallurgy.
a. a substance used to refine metals by combining with impurities to form a molten mixture that can be readily removed.
b. a substance used to remove oxides from and prevent further oxidation of fused metal, as in soldering or hot-dip coating.
c. (in the refining of scrap or other metal) a salt or mixture of salts that combines with non-metallic impurities, causing them to float or coagulate.
6. Fusion
–verb (used with object)
7. to melt; make fluid.
8. to fuse by the use of flux.
9. Obsolete. to purge.
–verb (used without object)
10.to flow.




People come and go,
Following this or that or the other
Stopping with no obvious reason,
An erratic flux
Following moons of its own.

Poise

POISE

–noun
1. a state of balance or equilibrium, as from equality or equal distribution of weight; equipoise.
2. a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession.
3. steadiness; stability: intellectual poise.
4. suspense or wavering, as between rest and motion or two phases of motions.
5. the way of being poised, held, or carried.
6. the state or position of hovering.
–verb (used with object)
7. to adjust, hold, or carry in equilibrium; balance evenly.
8. to hold supported or raised, as in position for casting, using, etc.
9. to hold or carry in a particular manner
10.Obsolete. to weigh.
–verb (used without object)
11.to rest in equilibrium; be balanced.
12.to hover, as a bird in the air.




You may envy a cat’s poise
As long as you never trust it.

Atone

ATONE

-verb
To make reparation, compensation, or amends, for an offence or a crime one has committed.



Trying to atone for the rot
For the rot of the world beyond
Losing the battle everyday
Everyday decaying too.
Fading.

Meretricious

MERETRICIOUS

-adj.
1. Gaudy, vulgarly showy but without real value.
2. Ostensibly plausible but false, as a meretricious argument, cleverly deceptive.






















He’d been called a meretricious pig before (although never by a witch).

Etesian

ETESIAN

-adj.
Occurring annually.




The etesian fair
Loaded punters with cheap thrills and expensively won toys
Unloading them of funds and bitter thoughts about the crisis.

Gest

GEST

noun
1: a tale of adventures ; especially : a romance in verse
2: adventure , exploit
Also spelled “geste”



The morality of the gest
Did not save the book from dry rot:
Mildewed heroes, tattered infants,
Noble literary zombies.

La Fille de Carilès is a story by Mme. Colomb (Ed. HACHETTE, 1875)

Pellucid

PELLUCID

-adj.
1. Admitting the maximum passage of light.
2. Clear; easy to understand.



Pellucid petals
Doing away with daylight.
Pollen driven tears.

Emit

EMIT

-verb
1 a : to throw or give off or out
b : to send out : eject
2 : utter























Unlikely puddles seemed to emit noxious notions like open doors to unseen universes or a few ghosts' dominion.

Gramineous

GRAMINEOUS

-adj.
Of or relating to grass.




Where the gramineous pest roams
Grass grows again and again
To be devoured once more.
For its sin?

Globule

GLOBULE

-noun
1 a little globe; a small particle of matter, of a spherical form.
2 (Biology) A minute spherical or rounded structure; as blood, lymph, and pus corpuscules, minute fungi, spores, etc.
3 A little pill or pellet used by homoeopaths.




We learnt to speak in globules
Defining how much we might say
By how much space we had to do so,
Never querying who
Was the author of our dialogues.

Anomie

ANOMIE

-noun (sociology)
A state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people.























What dreadful case of anomie
Had created this riot of ornaments,
This stampede of angels?

Hermetic

HERMETIC

-adj.
1. Airtight.
2. Not affected by outside influence.
3. Relating to the occult sciences, especially alchemy; magical.
4. Obscure or hard to understand.






















In her hermetic prison,
She did not age
Just Faded away.

Pickwickian

PICKWICKIAN

-adj.
1. Marked by generosity, naivete, or innocence.
2. Not intended to be taken in a literal sense.






















I found a love
For Pickwickian figurines
In a corner of my childhood.

Gnathonize

GNATHONIZE

-verb
To flatter.






















Unable to decide,
The mirror refused to gnathonize,
Uncertain as it was of its subject;

Frieze

FRIEZE

noun
1 : the part of an entablature between the architrave and the cornice
2 : a sculptured or richly ornamented band (as on a building or piece of furniture)
3 : a band, line, or series suggesting a frieze






















He'd added ornaments to his CV
Until it started to look like a frieze
Singing the gest of some hero.

Coda

CODA

noun
1.(music) A passage which brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation.
2.(linguistics) The optional final part of a syllable, placed after its nucleus, and usually composed of one or more consonants.
3.The conclusion of a statement.




As we brought our relationship to a coda,
Trying to make it harmonious despite our dissonances
We squabbled over CDs.

Acarpous

ACARPOUS

-adj.
Not producing fruit; sterile.



Despite the splendour,
The gold, ruffles and comfort
The night wasn't kind
Refusing solace of dreams,
Acarpous, arid and dark.

Bed picture courtesy of Detail-stock at DeviantArt.

Hypenemious

HYPENEMIOUS

-adj.
Full of wind.



It was a gloomy and hypenemious night,
and I had nothing more trenchant to do than staying home
with an old thesaurus.

Wreak

WREAK

–verb (used with object)
1. to inflict or execute (punishment, vengeance, etc.).
2. to carry out the promptings of (one's rage, ill humour, will, desire, etc.), as on a victim or object.
















I wreaked love upon the man
Who attempted to abscond
When I finally nailed him
In a corner of my bed
Things got a little messy
-Aren’t you glad you’re not cleaning?-
Nails did a mess of the sheets
And even more of his flesh.

Bed picture courtesy of meihua-stock at DeviantArt

Sennight

SENNIGHT

-noun
A week























I might hold a sennight
Without you, my love,
Or lose my soul to despair.

Burn

BURN

–verb (used without object)
1. to undergo rapid combustion or consume fuel in such a way as to give off heat, gases, and, usually, light; be on fire.
2. (of a fireplace, furnace, etc.) to contain a fire.
3. to feel heat or a physiologically similar sensation; feel pain from or as if from a fire.
4. to give off light or to glow brightly.
5. to give off heat or be hot.
6. to produce pain or a stinging sensation similar to that of fire; cause to smart.
7. Games. to be extremely close to finding a concealed object or guessing an answer.
8. to feel extreme anger.
9. to feel strong emotion or passion.
10.Chemistry.
a.to undergo combustion, either fast or slow; oxidize.
b.to undergo fission or fusion.
11.to become charred or overcooked by heat.
12.to receive a sunburn.
13.to be damned.
14.Slang. to die in an electric chair.
15.to be engraved by or as if by burning.
–verb (used with object)
16.to cause to undergo combustion or be consumed partly or wholly by fire.
17.to use as fuel or as a source of light.
18.to cause to feel the sensation of heat.
19.to overcook or char.
20.to sunburn.
21.to injure, endanger, or damage with or as if with fire
22.to execute by burning.
23.to subject to fire or treat with heat as a process of manufacturing.
24.to produce with or as if with fire.
25.to cause sharp pain or a stinging sensation.
26.to consume rapidly, esp. to squander.
27.Slang. to suffer losses or be disillusioned in business or social relationships.
28.Slang. to cheat or rob.
29.to record data on (a CD or DVD).
30.Chemistry. to cause to undergo combustion; oxidize.
31.to damage through excessive friction, as in grinding or machining; scorch.
32.Metallurgy. to oxidize (a steel ingot), as with a flame.
33.British. to scald (a wine, esp. sherry) in an iron container over a fire.
34.Cards. to put (a played or rejected card) face up at the bottom of the pack.
35.Slang. to disclose the identity of (an undercover agent, law officer, etc.) e.
–noun
36.a burned place or area: a burn where fire had ripped through the forest.
37.Pathology. An injury usually caused by heat but also by abnormal cold, chemicals, poison gas, electricity, or lightning, and characterized by a painful reddening and swelling of the epidermis (first-degree burn), damage extending into the dermis, usually with blistering (second-degree burn), or destruction of the epidermis and dermis extending into the deeper tissue with loss of pain receptors (third-degree burn).
38.the firing of a rocket engine.
39.the process or an instance of burning or baking, as in brick-making.
40.a forest or brush fire.
41.Slang. a swindle.





















They say Love can burn,
Do not surf high on those clouds:
Love does burn your flesh
-In truth Love will eat souls too-
Venus sings the blues for you.


Picture of Venus courtesy of ESA/VIRTIS/INAF-IASF/Obs. de Paris-LESIA

This post is dedicated to the elves at Qikipedia who came out with the fact that the clouds on Venus were made of sulphuric acid (twitter for 3rd April), thus sparking something in the dark corners of my mind.

Darkness

DARKNESS

–noun
1. the state or quality of being dark.
2. absence or deficiency of light.
3. wickedness or evil.
4. obscurity; concealment.
5. lack of knowledge or enlightenment.
6. lack of sight; blindness.






















Darkness does not hold monsters,
These only live in our minds.
Darkness only cradles darkness
Born from our unwillingness to face the light.

(with thanks to Andrea for inspiring this one)

Succour

SUCCOUR

–noun
1. help; relief; aid; assistance.
2. a person or thing that gives help, relief, aid, etc.
–verb (used with object)
3. to help or relieve.






















Day dreaming was a succour
Until the flowers mutated to creatures from the deep.

Lovely dreamer is unidentified (as well as the author of his portrait).

Belie

BELIE

-verb
1 fail to give a true idea of.
2 show to be untrue or unjustified.






















The pixie cut lent her an impish look
That she did not care to belie.

Prick-me-dainty

PRICK-ME-DAINTY

-noun
A dandy
-adj.
Excessively finicky in dress, language and behaviour.



Cats always stroke me as a bunch of prick-me-dainties, a wholly fastidious crowd, looking at us, tin-openers, down their nose while languidly licking a paw.