Asseverate

ASSEVERATE

-verb tr.
To affirm solemnly.



The old warehouse walls
Asseverate time passing,
The counting of days.

Poke

POKE

–verb (used with object)
1. to prod or push, especially with something narrow or pointed, as a finger, elbow, stick, etc.
2. to make (a hole, one's way, etc.) by or as by prodding or pushing.
3. to thrust or push.
4. to force, drive, or stir by or as by pushing or thrusting.
5. to thrust obtrusively.
–verb (used without object)
6. to make a pushing or thrusting movement with the finger, a stick, etc.
7. to extend or project (often followed by "out").
8. to thrust oneself obtrusively.
9. to search curiously; pry (often followed by “around” or “about”).
10.to go or proceed in a slow or aimless way (often followed by “along”).
–noun
11.a thrust or push.
12.Informal . a slow or dawdling person; slowpoke.

–noun
1. Chiefly Midland U.S. and Scot. . a bag or sack, especially a small one.
2. a wallet or purse.
3. Archaic . a pocket.

–noun
1. a projecting brim at the front of a bonnet, framing the face.
2. Also called poke bonnet. a bonnet or hat with such a brim.



Don’t poke me!
Said Amor
But Psyche would not listen
So he fled.
from “Amor and Psyche, the Alternative Story”)

Scarper

SCARPER

-verb intr.
To flee, especially without paying one's bills.






















When my husband returned last night
Hermes had to scarper so quickly
That he left a foot in the courtyard.
Most people might leave a shoe
Or an imprint in the tulip bed
It takes a god to abandon a limb.
We made a fountain out of it.

Frowsy

FROWSY

-adj.
1 : musty, stale
2 : having a slovenly or uncared-for appearance



Despite its
Fresh look
The oil proved frowsy
Ripe with rot
And mouldy
From disuse.

Milquetoast

MILQUETOAST

–noun (sometimes initial capital letter)
a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated























The proffered wine
On tasting, proved to be
Nothing more than
A mere milquetoast
Easily overpowered
By all sorts of flavours
That had little to do
With its alleged qualities.

Vellicate

VELLICATE

-verb tr., intr.
1. To twitch or to cause to twitch.
2. To pluck, nip, irritate, etc.



Modern use of split infinitives
Would cause her to vellicate
Cracking her tombstone
A little deeper each time
While we blamed earthquakes.

Recluse

RECLUSE

noun
1. a person who lives in seclusion or apart from society, often for religious meditation.
2. Also, incluse. a religious voluntary immured in a cave, hut, or the like, or one remaining within a cell for life.
–adj.
3. shut off or apart from the world; living in seclusion, often for religious reasons.
4. characterized by seclusion; solitary.






















Guilty woman,
Lost in the forest,
Seduced by a god;
Despite her vows
And better sense.
That guilty woman,
Condemned to be recluse;
We sing of her sons,
Of their fight
Of the mighty city,
Founded on blood.
But everyone forgets
The woman
The woman who loved
When it was forbidden
The woman who was closed
Young and alive into a cell
And forgotten.

Batten

BATTEN

-verb
1. To fatten or to grow fat; to thrive and prosper at another's expense.
2. To fasten or secure using battens.
-noun
A long strip of wood, metal, or plastic used for strengthening something.






















Tipsy fragile god
In dire need of battens
Perennial marble.

Spiracle

SPIRACLE

–noun
1. a breathing hole; an opening by which a confined space has communication with the outer air; air hole.
2. Zoology .
a. an aperture or orifice through which air or water passes in the act of respiration, as the blowhole of a cetacean.
b. an opening in the head of sharks and rays through which water is drawn and passed over gills.
c. one of the external orifices of the tracheal respiratory system of certain invertebrates, usually on the sides of the body.



A spirited spiracle
Tells of an Etruscan tale
Or of someone's sense of humour.

History

HISTORY

–noun
1. the branch of knowledge dealing with past events.
2. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle.
3. the aggregate of past events.
4. the record of past events and times, especially in connection with the human race.
5. a past notable for its important, unusual, or interesting events.
6. acts, ideas, or events that will or can shape the course of the future; immediate but significant happenings.
7. a systematic account of any set of natural phenomena without particular reference to time.
8. a drama representing historical events



The eye was in the tree
Watching brothers bicker
It’d seen the birds fly by
Had counted them,
Knew of the fraud
The eye was in the tree
Watching closely at rage
That killed one
Crowning the other king
Of a demented city.
The eye was in the tree
Watching relentlessly
That eye we know
Squinting over our deeds:
History.

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.

Numinous

NUMINOUS

–adj.
1. of, pertaining to, or like a numen; spiritual or supernatural.
2. surpassing comprehension or understanding; mysterious.
3. arousing one's elevated feelings of duty, honour, loyalty, etc.






















Their relationship
Numinous as it well was
A source of wonder
generating its own light
An eerie glow – pure love.

Effluvium

EFFLUVIUM

-noun
1. A usually invisible emanation or exhalation, as of vapour or gas.
2.
a. A by-product or residue; waste.
b. The odorous fumes given off by waste or decaying matter.
3. An impalpable emanation; an aura.






















Coming into the cellar
We could easily recognize
When Serendipity had been by
She left an effluvium
About the rounds of cheese
Decay and transformation
Pungent transcendence
That delighted mice and men
But puzzled tourists

Tendency

TENDENCY

–noun
1. a natural or prevailing disposition to move, proceed, or act in some direction or toward some point, end, or result.
2. an inclination, bent, or predisposition to something.
3. a special and definite purpose in a novel or other literary work.






















Alone at night
She had the tendency to pray
For the most unlikely things:
Knights in shining armours,
Fantastic beasts,
Moon driven mills,
And shining stars
That might,
One day,
Wander in her path.

Graft

GRAFT

–noun
1. Horticulture .
a. a bud, shoot, or scion of a plant inserted in a groove, slit, or the like in a stem or stock of another plant in which it continues to grow.
b. the plant resulting from such an operation; the united stock and scion.
c. the place where the scion is inserted.
2. Surgery . a portion of living tissue surgically transplanted from one part of an individual to another, or from one individual to another, for its adhesion and growth.
3. an act of grafting.
–verb (used with object)
4. to insert (a graft) into a tree or other plant; insert a scion of (one plant) into another plant.
5. to cause (a plant) to reproduce through grafting.
6. Surgery . to transplant (a portion of living tissue, as of skin or bone) as a graft.
7. to attach as if by grafting.
8. Nautical . to cover (a rope) with a weaving of rope yarn.
–verb (used without object)
9. to insert scions from one plant into another.
10.to become grafted.

–noun
1. the acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, esp. through the abuse of one's position or influence in politics, business, etc.
2. a particular instance, method, or means of thus acquiring gain or advantage.
3. the gain or advantage acquired.
4. British Slang . work; labour.
–verb (used with object)
5. to obtain by graft.
–verb (used without object)
6. to practice graft.






















In
An
Unwise
Graft attempt
He had transplanted
Gold jewellery into the flesh
Of fast growing canes
Losing to
Magpies’
Glee.
Fool!


Magpie image courtesy of YimHafiz

Repine

REPINE

-verb
1. to feel or express dejection or discontent : complain
2. to long for something






















Cast in stone
The angel repines over freedom
And the caress of winds
In its ruffled feathers

Fusty

FUSTY

-adj.
1 British : impaired by age or dampness
2 : saturated with dust and stale odours
3 : rigidly old-fashioned or reactionary






















Spent time, dead times…
Where do all those deceased seconds go?
In which cemetery do they lay,
Limbs stiff, frozen, contorted
By short yet consumptive effort?
Traces, skeletons, fossils,
Locked in fusty transient smiles.

Somewhere
Time scavengers roam,
Empty hour glasses in hand
Sorting out bodies
By order of decay and corrosion
Frisking them for spare moments
Grain after silvery grain.

Their dream:
To build a parallel universe
On spare instants
And stolen fragments
Where all possibilities of this world
Might escape and lead a life
Free from constrains
Of time.

The gorgeous hour glass picture in the background is appearing courtesy of Brooks Elliott.

Maffick

MAFFICK

-verb intr.
To celebrate boisterously.























Here
The walls are prone
To mafficking too
Shouting glee
Into the ears
Of the startled
Passers-by.

Shamble

SHAMBLE

–noun
1. shambles, ( used with a singular or plural verb )
a. a slaughterhouse.
b. any place of carnage.
c. any scene of destruction.
d. any scene, place, or thing in disorder.
2. British Dialect . a butcher's shop or stall.

–verb (used without object)
1. to walk or go awkwardly; shuffle.
–noun
2. a shambling gait.






















The shambling cat
Easing on to her prey
Aiming at mayhem, mischief,
And shambles.

Alacrity

ALACRITY

-noun
promptness in response; cheerful readiness






















An offer of cake
Is often met with alacrity
Even when calories aren't.

Heed

HEED


–verb (used with object)
1. to give careful attention to.
–verb (used without object)
2. to give attention; have regard.
–noun
3. careful attention; notice; observation (usually with “give” or “take”).






















The Mexican monster reached from the deep, oozing, all oily and stinking of wasted riches, hungry for lives, scaring the fish and sea life away from around him. But for one courageous – but possibly only blind – medusa who, alone, dared to return the creature’s gaze, turning it into fire coral instantly, a massive yet grotesque living sculpture to greed and loss-of-profit (although, to this day, careless divers still chop some of the monster’s flesh to carve jewellery and trinkets, while angry fish yell “sabotage!”. But no one heeds them.)

What will happen when that wind farm starts leaking winds, now?


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.

Breath

BREATH

–noun
1. the air inhaled and exhaled in respiration.
2. respiration, especially as necessary to life.
3. life; vitality.
4. the ability to breathe easily and normally.
5. time to breathe; pause or respite.
6. a single inhalation or respiration.
7. the brief time required for a single respiration; a moment or instant.
8. a slight suggestion, hint, or whisper.
9. a light current of air.
10.Phonetics.
a. the air drawn into or expelled from the lungs to provide the generative source for most speech sounds.
b. the audible expiration generating voiceless speech sounds, as (p), (k), (sh), etc.
11.moisture emitted in respiration, esp. when condensed and visible.
12.a trivial circumstance; trifle.
13.an odorous exhalation, or the air impregnated by it.
14.Obsolete. exhalation or vapour.



Midday,
All shadows have disappeared,
Pinning us down to the tarmac
We hold our breaths close
For fear they might not return
If allowed to fly.
Seconds crawl about,
Minutes.
Our lungs start hurting
Then the sun moves on.

Vitiate

VITIATE

–verb (used with object)
1. to impair the quality of; make faulty; spoil.
2. to impair or weaken the effectiveness of.
3. to debase; corrupt; pervert.
4. to make legally defective or invalid; invalidate



More often than not
Seedy behaviour
Would vitiate statements
Of good manners
Proffered in court.

Rogue

ROGUE

–noun
1. a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.
2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp.
3. a tramp or vagabond.
4. a rogue elephant or other animal of similar disposition.
5. Biology. a usually inferior organism, esp. a plant, varying markedly from the normal.
–verb (used without object)
6. to live or act as a rogue.
–verb (used with object)
7. to cheat.
8. to uproot or destroy (plants, etc., that do not conform to a desired standard).
9. to perform this operation upon.
–adj.
10.(of an animal) having an abnormally savage or unpredictable disposition, as a rogue elephant.
11.no longer obedient, belonging, or accepted and hence not controllable or answerable; deviating, renegade























A rogue imp
Petrified in the act
Of stealing a basket of strawberries
Impenitent
Vexes senses of justice
And good taste.

Wizen

WIZEN

–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
1. to wither; shrivel; dry up.
-adj.
2. lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness























How unfair
That you and I
Should wizen away
Disappear
Why she rests
Splendid and untouched
For millenia

Humour

HUMOUR

–noun
1. a comic, absurd, or incongruous quality causing amusement: t.
2. the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical.
3. an instance of being or attempting to be comical or amusing; something humorous.
4. the faculty of expressing the amusing or comical.
5. comical writing or talk in general; comical books, skits, plays, etc.
6. humours, peculiar features; oddities; quirks.
7. mental disposition or temperament.
8. a temporary mood or frame of mind.
9. a capricious or freakish inclination; whim or caprice; odd trait.
10.(in medieval physiology) one of the four elemental fluids of the body, blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile, regarded as determining, by their relative proportions, a person's physical and mental constitution.
11.any animal or plant fluid, whether natural or morbid, as the blood or lymph.
–verb (used with object)
12.to comply with the humour or mood of in order to soothe or make content or more agreeable.
13.to adapt or accommodate oneself to.






















Her sense of humour
Festering
On the edge of rabid
Would bite more often than not
Infectious
Thick and fluid
As a heavy fever.

Binge

BINGE

–noun
1. a period or bout, usually brief, of excessive indulgence, as in eating, drinking alcoholic beverages, etc.; spree.
–verb (used without object)
2. to have a binge






















Holidays came with a minimum of binge
Lest they felt somewhat flavour-less.

Lest

LEST

–conjunction
1. for fear that; so that (one) should not (used negatively to introduce a clause expressive of an action or occurrence requiring caution)
2. that (used after words expressing fear, danger, etc.)






















Don't smile
Lest you like to be thought of as brainless
Or just plain stupid
He said.

I ditched the guy
Lest I'd be thought of as mad
And went on smiling.

Inure

INURE

–verb (used with object)
1. to accustom to hardship, difficulty, pain, etc.; toughen or harden; habituate (usually followed by “to”).
–verb (used without object)
2. to come into use; take or have effect.
3.to become beneficial or advantageous.























Inured as he might be
To city life and its challenges
The loss of a limb
Still less painful
Than scorn
Or worse
Pity

Taciturn

TACITURN

–adj.
1. inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.
2. dour, stern, and silent in expression and manner.






















Girls (and boys)
Had ached to kiss
Those taciturn lips
But recoiled
At the thought of a smile.

Popinjay

POPINJAY

–noun
1. a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; coxcomb; fop.
2. British Dialect . a woodpecker, esp. the green woodpecker.
3. Archaic . the figure of a parrot usually fixed on a pole and used as a target in archery and gun shooting.
4. Archaic. a parrot.




Green
Parrot
Popinjay.
Disapproving
Song

Original parrot picture, courtesy of Pareerica

Recumbent

RECUMBENT

–adj.
1. lying down; reclining; leaning.
2. inactive; idle.
3. Zoology, Botany. noting a part that leans or reposes upon its surface of origin.
–noun
4. a recumbent person, animal, plant, etc.



Recumbent feast of stone
For the long time dead
Plate in hand, begging for food
Small talk frozen on lips.

Smithereens

SMITHEREENS

–noun (plural)
small pieces; bits



Time, that Rogue of Cups
Tipsy fool bully
Gyrating until...
Dizzying until...
The clock stops your heart
Your empty cup falls
Smashed to smithereens
Seconds flying off,
Untimely shards
Piercing straight through hearts.


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.

Macaroni

MACARONI

-noun
1. Pasta in any of various hollow shapes, especially short curved tubes.
2.
a. A well-travelled young Englishman of the 18th and 19th centuries who affected foreign customs and manners.
b. A fop.






















Spaghetti gurus
Express a distaste for fops
And macaronis

Obdurate

OBDURATE

-adj.
1.Stubborn: not easily moved.
2. Hard-hearted: resistant to emotions.






















A
Fig
Planted
Defiant
An obdurate plant
Refusing to yield or wither
To obey the diktats of weather or mankind
Showing its babies to the wind
Threat to the future
Or delight
Should you
Eat
Them.

Lummox

LUMMOX

–noun
Informal.
a clumsy, stupid person.























Such a luminous lummox,
Just meant to flummox;
Purrs exchanged for food, shelter.

Propensity

PROPENSITY

–noun
1.a natural inclination or tendency
2.Obsolete. favourable disposition or partiality.



She was known to have
A propensity for sloth
And love for cushions
But what can a kitty do
But dream up the universe?

Prevenient

PREVENIENT

- adj.
1. Coming before; preceding.
2. Expectant; anticipatory.



Prevenient times
Waiting for tempests or calm
A first rain drop falls.

Supercilious

SUPERCILIOUS

–adj.
haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.






















Supercilious cats
Object to being disturbed
Minions banned from sight

Persiflage

PERSIFLAGE

–noun
1. light, bantering talk or writing.
2. a frivolous or flippant style of treating a subject.



Heated discussions
About what can be considered
- Allowed -
As being ironic or not
Go beyond your basic persiflage,
YET
Nobody mentions the Spanish Inquisition.


Painting of Sixtus IV and Tomàs de Torquemada by Jean Paul Laurens

Hug

HUG

–verb (used with object)
1. to clasp tightly in the arms, especially with affection; embrace.
2. to cling firmly or fondly to; cherish.
3. to keep close to, as in sailing, walking, or in moving along or alongside of.
–verb (used without object)
4. to cling together; lie close.
–noun
5. a tight clasp with the arms; embrace.























Hugging shadows
For fear they'll fly away,
Remembering the scents,
The play of light on that special day
Forgetting the voice.

Lipstick

LIPSTICK

–noun
a crayon-like oil-based cosmetic used in colouring the lips, usually in a tubular container.






















She made her own
Blending shades of universe
Spices and scents from afar
A kiss from her
Would bind you to her whims
Or freeze your heart in its path
Never mind her eyes
Her lipstick was deadly
Sweet Medusa

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.

Whinge

WHINGE

–verb (used without object)
British and Australian Informal. to complain; whine.























The old door had whinged
Under drafts and pushes
Nagging in continuation
Until the ancient battered lock
Could take it no more and absconded
To a desert island.

Border

BORDER

–noun
1. the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary.
2. the line that separates one country, state, province, etc., from another; frontier line.
3. the district or region that lies along the boundary line of another.
4. the frontier of civilization.
5. the border,
a. the border between the U.S. and Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande.
b. In the British Isles, the region along the boundary between England and Scotland.
6. brink; verge.
7. an ornamental strip or design around the edge of a printed page, a drawing, etc.
8. an ornamental design or piece of ornamental trimming around the edge of a fabric, rug, garment, article of furniture, etc.
9. Horticulture.
a. a long, narrow bed planted with flowers, shrubs, or trees.
b. a strip of ground in which plants are grown, enclosing an area in a garden or running along the edge of a walk or driveway.
c. the plants growing in such a strip.
10.Theater.
a. a narrow curtain or strip of painted canvas hung above the stage, masking the flies and lighting units, and forming the top of the stage set.
b. border light - a strip-light hung upstage of a border, for lighting the stage.
–verb (used with object)
11.to make a border around; adorn with a border.
12.to form a border or boundary to.
13.to lie on the border of; adjoin.
–verb (used without object)
14.to form or constitute a border; be next to.
15.to approach closely in character; verge






















Where shadows define light
At that ultimate border
I shall meet your smile
With a frown of my own
For enhancement.

Hypobole

HYPOBOLE

- noun
A figure in which several things are mentioned that seem to make against the argument, or in favour of the opposite side, each of them being refuted in order.




He’d prepare a speech
A diatribe denouncing the kill
Full of hypoboles and second thoughts
Something so elaborate, so clever
He got confused half way through.
So he just pounced on his prey
Without waiting for the verdict.

Reminder: Last day to read my story "Another End" at Metazen, don't miss it!

Exegesis

EXEGESIS

-noun
critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, in particular of the Bible.






















In a peculiar attempt at exegesis,
- A post-mortem on our relationship -
He tried to read the blooming flowers
Left by an “anonymous” burst of fire
That had destroyed most of his car.
“She loves me, she loves me not…
If she didn’t, would have she tried to kill me?”

I’ll probably have to be more direct next time.


Reminder: you can read my story "Another End" at Metazen (It's a timed publication so don't miss it!)

Gullibility

GULLIBILITY

-noun
A propensity to allow oneself to be easily deceived or cheated.






















She flew away
Mocking him
His love and gullibility
That had driven him
To make her a coat
Of phoenix feathers
When she laid cold
And shivering
In his arms

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.

Reminder: you can still read my story "Another End" at Metazen until tomorrow.

Styptic

STYPTIC

–adj.
1. serving to contract organic tissue; astringent; binding.
2. serving to check haemorrhage or bleeding, as a drug; haemostatic.
–noun
3. a styptic agent or substance.






















Chocolate
That staple styptic
For the bleeding heart.

Happy Easter.
Reminder: you can read my story "Another End" at Metazen (It's a timed publication so don't miss it!)

Promenade

PROMENADE

–noun
1. a stroll or walk, esp. in a public place, as for pleasure or display.
2. an area used for such walking.
3. a march of guests into a ballroom constituting the opening of a formal ball.
4. a march of dancers in square dancing.
5. a formal dance; prom.
–verb (used without object)
6. to go for or take part in a promenade.
7. to execute a promenade in square dancing.
–verb (used with object)
8. to take a promenade through or about.
9. to conduct or display in or as if in a promenade; parade






















Promenade top goal:
Old sea scented carousel
Youth spinning by fast

Reminder: you can read my story "Another End" at Metazen (it's on for only a week, so don't miss it!)

Disport

DISPORT

-verb tr., intr.
To divert or amuse (oneself).
-noun
A diversion or amusement.



A lazy disport
All that lounging in the sun.
Gravel sticks to fur.

Reminder: you can read my story "Another End" at Metazen (it's on for only a week, so don't miss it!)

Beam

BEAM

–noun
1. any of various relatively long pieces of metal, wood, stone, etc., manufactured or shaped esp. for use as rigid members or parts of structures or machines.
2. Building Trades. a horizontal bearing member, as a joist or lintel.
3. Engineering. a rigid member or structure supported at each end, subject to bending stresses from a direction perpendicular to its length.
4. Nautical.
a. a horizontal structural member, usually transverse, for supporting the decks and flats of a vessel.
b. the extreme width of a vessel.
c. the shank of an anchor.
5. Aeronautics. the direction perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft and outward from the side.
6. the widest part.
7. Slang. the measure across both hips or buttocks.
8. Machinery.
a. walking beam. - an overhead oscillating lever, pivoted at the middle, for transmitting force from a vertical connecting rod below one end to a vertical connecting rod, pump rod, etc., below the other end.
b. (in a loom) a roller or cylinder on which the warp is wound before weaving.
c. a similar cylinder on which cloth is wound as it is woven.
9. the crossbar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales or pans are suspended. 10.a ray of light.
11.a group of nearly parallel rays.
12.Radio, Aeronautics. a signal transmitted along a narrow course, used to guide pilots through darkness, bad weather, etc.
13.Electronics. a narrow stream of electrons, as that emitted from the electron gun of a cathode ray tube.
14.the angle at which a microphone or loudspeaker functions best.
15.the cone-shaped range of effective use of a microphone or loudspeaker.
16. beam antenna - radio slang. an antenna that transmits its radiation in a particular direction.
17.a gleam; suggestion.
18.a radiant smile.
19.the principal stem of the antler of a deer.
–verb (used with object)
20.to emit in or as in beams or rays.
21.Radio. to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.
22.Radio and Television. to direct (a program, commercial message, etc.) to a predetermined audience.
–verb (used without object)
23.to emit beams, as of light.
24.to smile radiantly or happily.



Spring
Smiles
Too scant
A blessing
To day, yet Earth beams.

For a week you can read my story "Another End" at Metazen