Poll

POLL

-noun

1. the casting, recording, or counting of votes in an election; a voting

2. the result or quantity of such a voting

3. Also called: opinion poll

a. a canvassing of a representative sample of a large group of people on some question in order to determine the general opinion of the group

b. the results or record of such a canvassing

4. any counting or enumeration

5. short for poll tax

6. a list or enumeration of people, especially for taxation or voting purposes

7. the striking face of a hammer

8. the occipital or back part of the head of an animal

-verb (mainly trans.)

9. to receive (a vote or quantity of votes)

10. to receive, take, or record the votes of

11. to canvass (a person, group, area, etc.) as part of a survey of opinion

12. mainly US to take the vote, verdict, opinion, etc., individually of each member (of a jury, conference, etc.)

13. (sometimes intr.) to cast (a vote) in an election

14. computing (in data transmission when several terminals share communications channels) to check each channel rapidly to establish which are free, or to call for data from each terminal in turn

15. to clip or shear

16. to remove or cut short the horns of (cattle)

The polled cat

Doesn’t care

About elections

Knell

KNELL

-noun

1. the sound of a bell rung to announce a death or a funeral

2. something that precipitates or indicates death or destruction

-verb

3. (intr.) to ring a knell

4. (trans.) to proclaim or announce by or as if by a tolling bell

Here wind keens

And a knell tolls

For the departed

Impute

IMPUTE

-verb (trans.)

1. to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonourable, especially a criminal offence) to a person

2. to attribute to a source or cause

3. business to give (a notional value) to goods or services when the real value is unknown

In this case of seduction

Laurel is imputed

Though the cook won

By hiding the leaves in sauce

Bleat

BLEAT

-verb

1. (intr.) (of a sheep, goat, or calf) . to utter its characteristic plaintive cry

2. (intr.) to speak with any similar sound

3. to whine; whimper

-noun

4. the characteristic cry of sheep, goats, and young calves

5. any sound similar to this

6. a weak complaint or whine

Rain across badly sealed windows
Bleating wind faltering
Under the weight of desert sand

Ewer

EWER

-noun

a large jug or pitcher with a wide mouth

Leave it out
Hope sand does not
Come to call when
Ewer feel up with rain

Sickly

SICKLY

-adj.

1. disposed to frequent ailments; not healthy; weak

2. of, relating to, or caused by sickness

3. (of a smell, taste, etc.) causing revulsion or nausea

4. (of light or colour) faint or feeble

5. mawkish; insipid

-adv.

6. in a sick or sickly manner

Another sickly kitty

Refusing to eat

Trying to escape home

Or perhaps life

Evergreen

EVERGREEN

-adj.

1. (of certain trees and shrubs) bearing foliage throughout the year; continually shedding and replacing leaves.

2. remaining fresh and vital

-noun

3. an evergreen tree or shrub

Ready for harvesting

Edible jade nesting in evergreen

Synesthesia

SYNESTHESIA

-noun

1. (Physiology) . sensation felt in one part of the body when another part is stimulated

2. (Psychology) . a process in which one type of stimulus produces a secondary, subjective sensation, as when some colour evokes a specific smell

Mist on my skin

Calls images in decayed brown

A scent of smoke

Synesthesia

Saccade

SACCADE

-noun

1. the movement of the eye when it makes a sudden change of fixation, as in reading

2. a sudden check given to a horse

Tears flow

Salt stains

Empty eyes

Without saccade

Gritted teeth

Emerging mildew

Property

PROPERTY

-noun

1. something of value, either tangible, such as land, or intangible, such as patents, copyrights, etc.

2. law the right to possess, use, and dispose of anything

3. possessions collectively or the fact of owning possessions of value

4. a piece of land or real estate, especially used for agricultural purposes

5. (mainly Australian) . a ranch or station, especially a small one

6. a quality, attribute, or distinctive feature of anything, especially a characteristic attribute such as the density or strength of a material

7. (logic) (obsolete) .  another name for proprium

8. any movable object used on the set of a stage play or film. Usually shortened to: prop

Waiting for be picked

Edible property

With a future in wine industry

Propagate

PROPAGATE

-verb

1. (biology) . to reproduce or cause to reproduce; breed

2. (trans.) horticulture to produce (plants) by layering, grafting, cuttings, etc.

3. (trans.) to promulgate; disseminate

4. (physics) . to move through, cause to move through, or transmit, especially in the form of a wave

5. (trans.) to transmit (characteristics) from one generation to the next

Old rhizomes

Campaigning to be propagated

Rather than made tea

Crackling

CRACKLING

-noun

the crisp browned skin of roast pork

Against sadness

Cracklings and wine

Sweet and salty

Edible tears

Fray

FRAY

-noun

1. a noisy quarrel

2. a fight or brawl

3. an archaic word for fright

-verb

4. (trans.) (archaic) . to frighten

-verb

1. to wear or cause to wear away into tatters or loose threads, especially at an edge or end

2. to make or become strained or irritated

3. to rub or chafe (another object) or (of two objects) to rub against one another

-noun

4. a frayed place, as in cloth

Too many frays

Have frayed the stray

And his home

Parsimonious

PARSIMONIOUS

-adj.

exhibiting or marked by parsimony; extreme care or reluctance in spending; frugality; niggardliness

Day breaks

Parsimonious light shaken over the land

Crumbs of luminosity over mist

Lavish

LAVISH

-adj.

1. prolific, abundant, or profuse

2. generous; unstinting; liberal

3. extravagant; prodigal; wasteful

-verb

4. (trans.) to give, expend, or apply abundantly, generously, or in profusion

Again the wall

Lavish expense

Of photography props

Tempting fate

Profuse

PROFUSE

-adj.

1. plentiful, copious, or abundant

2. (often followed by “in”) . free or generous in the giving (of)

Although autumn is already here

Warm weather means profuse water

Still has to be sprayed over fields

And newly ploughed terrains

Recline

RECLINE

-verb

to rest or cause to rest in a leaning position

If

You

Manage

Close your eyes

Imagine the clouds

Reclining upon cushy hills

As soft winds pass by

And dried grass

Tickles

Your

Back

Betide

BETIDE

-verb

to happen or happen to; befall

Not too  sure

About what betides

Or how, let alone why.

Could this be a murder?

Copious

COPIOUS

-adj.

1. abundant; extensive in quantity

2. having or providing an abundant supply

3. full of words, ideas, etc.; profuse

Preparing a feast

Copious amount of fried food

Made up of anchovies

Apples and sage leaves

Abulia

ABULIA

-noun

(psychiatry) . a pathological inability to take decisions

He wavers

Not so much plagued by abulia

Than conflicting temptations

And tourists sandwiches

Restraint

RESTRAINT

-noun

1. the ability to control or moderate one's impulses, passions, etc.

2. the act of restraining or the state of being restrained

3. something that restrains; restriction

We talked all over the place

Crossing lines to rhymes and nonsense

But she insisted for restraint

And drew up lists instead

Betimes

BETIMES

-adv.

1. (archaic) in good time; early

2. (archaic) in a short time; soon

She rang a fugue

Betimes and back

We nearly missed it

Stirps

STIRPS

-noun

1. genealogy a line of descendants from an ancestor; stock or strain

2. botany a race or variety, especially one in which the characters are maintained by cultivation

Out at sea,

Lie the stirps that brought us here

Playing with waves

Singing sweet songs of death

Analeptic

ANALEPTIC

-adj.

1. (of a drug, etc.) stimulating the central nervous system

-noun

2. any drug that stimulates the central nervous system

3. (formerly) a restorative remedy or drug

Sunshine

The ideal analeptic

Cast in clay and glazed

For better conservation

Manteel

MANTEEL

-noun

a cloak, shawl or covering

Against summer winds
Famous blue manteel

Seltzer

SELTZER

-noun

1. a natural effervescent water with a high content of minerals

2. a similar synthetic water, used as a beverage

After excess
Seltzer might help
Though restraint
Would work best

Sheathe

SHEATHE

-verb (trans.)

1. to insert (a knife, sword, etc.) into a sheath

2. (especially of cats) to retract (the claws)

3. to surface with or encase in a sheath or sheathing

Magnanimous
He sheathes his blades for me
But could I please
Leave him alone?

Countervail

COUNTERVAIL

-verb

1. (when intr., usually followed by “against”) to act or act against with equal power or force

2. (trans.) to make up for; compensate; offset

When greed and curiosity

Countervail suspicion

Syllable

SYLLABLE

-noun

1. a combination or set of one or more units of sound in a language that must consist of a sonorous element (a sonant or vowel) and may or may not contain less sonorous elements (consonants or semivowels) flanking it on either or both sides.

2. (in the writing systems of certain languages, especially ancient ones) a symbol or set of symbols standing for a syllable

3. the least mention in speech or print

-verb

4. to pronounce syllables of (a text); articulate

5. (trans.) to write down in syllables

Wooden minstrel

Unable to syllable

If not in a song

Splatter

SPLATTER

-verb

1. to splash with small blobs; spatter

-noun

2. a splash of liquid, mud, etc.

Intemperate years

Have splattered these walls

With old age flowers

Gesticulate

GESTICULATE

-verb

to express by or make gestures

A debate of statues
Marble gesticulating
Arguments

Sheath

SHEATH

-noun

1. a case or covering for the blade of a knife, sword, etc.

2. any similar close-fitting case

3. biology an enclosing or protective structure, such as a leaf base encasing the stem of a plant

4. the protective covering on an electric cable

5. a figure-hugging dress with a narrow tapering skirt

6. another name for condom

-verb

7. (trans.) another word for sheathe

Despite looming fall
Pumpkin flowers still
Burst out of their sheath
Looking for adventure 

Scallion

SCALLION

-noun

any of various onions or similar plants, such as the spring onion, that have a small bulb and long leaves and are eaten in salads. Also called: green onion

A little kick
Scallions over a dish
Cheap domestic exotism 

Eyrie

EYRIE

-noun

1. the nest of an eagle or other bird of prey, built in a high inaccessible place

2. the brood of a bird of prey, especially an eagle

3. any high isolated position or place

Cats envy birds

Their eyries

And will steal them

Whenever possible

Distal

DISTAL

-adj.

(anatomy) (of a muscle, bone, limb, etc) . situated farthest from the centre, median line, or point of attachment or origin.

Tombs were thus placed

Distal growth along consular roads

To accompany citizens in their travels

A reminder of transience

Evaginate

EVAGINATE

-verb

(trans.) medicine to turn (an organ or part) inside out; turn the outer surface of (an organ or part) back on itself

Men’s ire had buried the place alive

The memory of his owner smothered

Archaeologists reversed the spell for a while

The hill was explored, evaginated

Nero’s palace came back to life

Before being eaten again by its tomb

Fettle

FETTLE

-verb (trans.)

1. to remove (excess moulding material and casting irregularities) from a cast component

2. to line or repair (the walls of a furnace)

3. British dialect

a. to prepare or arrange (a thing, oneself, etc.), especially to put a finishing touch to

b. to repair or mend (something)

-noun

4. state of health, spirits, etc.

5. another name for fettling

After a few years of fettling

The fountain is in fine fettles

Fulcrum

FULCRUM

-noun

1. the pivot about which a lever turns

2. something that supports or sustains; prop

3. a spine-like scale occurring in rows along the anterior edge of the fins in primitive bony fishes such as the sturgeon

Importance of a detail

Fulcrum against which all revolves

Turquoise green gem

Weft

WEFT

-noun

the yarn woven across the width of the fabric through the lengthwise warp yarn. Also called: filling, woof

Dusk builds up

One weft at a time

Across the loom of night

Shuck

SHUCK

-noun

1. the outer covering of something, such as the husk of a grain of maize, a pea pod, or an oyster shell

-verb (trans.)

2. to remove the shucks from

3. (informal) (mainly US and Canadian) to throw off or remove (clothes, etc.)

Just a glance

Inside a shuck

Reveals a whole world

Ready to happen

Quantum

QUANTUM

-noun

1. physics

a. the smallest quantity of some physical property, such as energy, that a system can possess according to the quantum theory

b. a particle with such a unit of energy

2. amount or quantity, especially a specific amount

3. (often used with a negative) the least possible amount that can suffice

4. something that can be quantified or measured

5. (modifier) loosely, sudden, spectacular, or vitally important

In the dirt

Quantum cuteness

Begging for food

And cuddles

Lumbar

LUMBAR

-adj.

of, near, or relating to the part of the body between the lowest ribs and the hipbones

Oh, the pleasure

Of the lower lumbar view!

Wail

WAIL

-verb

1. (intr.) to utter a prolonged high-pitched cry, as of grief or misery

2. (intr.) to make a sound resembling such a cry

3. (trans.) to lament, especially with mournful sounds

-noun

4. a prolonged high-pitched mournful cry or sound

In the dark of the night

Wailing ghosts argue

Swearing and cursing

Until someone calls the cops

Finally silencing the neighbours

Whitewash street art by Borondo

Overt

OVERT

-adj.

1. open to view; observable

2. (law) open; deliberate.

Not just sweet scents

Floating evanescent temptation

But overt seduction

Trumpery

TRUMPERY

-noun

1. foolish talk or actions

2. a useless or worthless article; trinket

-adj.

3. useless or worthless

The name says it all and

While people want to be lied to

Please resist the tawdry call of trumpery

Nub

NUB

-noun

1. a small lump or protuberance

2. a small piece or chunk

3. the point or gist

4. a small fibrous knot in yarn

She loses herself in the prose

Looking for a nub

An answer to all questions

Pasty

PASTY

-adj.

1. of or like the colour, texture, etc., of paste

2. (especially of the complexion) pale or unhealthy-looking

-noun

3. either one of a pair of small round coverings for the nipples used by striptease dancers

-noun

1. a round of pastry folded over a filling of meat, vegetables, etc.

Making tiny pasties

For a summer picnic

A Sunday at the park

Jocular

JOCULAR

-adj.

1. characterized by joking and good humour

2. meant lightly or humorously; facetious

On a good day

She entertains jocular moods

For a short while

Then sleeps it off

Dispossess

DISPOSSESS

-verb

(trans.) to take away possession of something from (someone), especially property; expel

Time moved in

Stripping the flesh from their bones

Dispossessing them of their lives

Leaving ruins in its wake

Nubble

NUBBLE

-noun

a small lump

Playing against the incoming storm

A pebble, a mere nubble

Awaits for rain