Cinnamon

CINNAMON

-noun

1. a tropical Asian lauraceous tree, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, having aromatic yellowish-brown bark

2. the spice obtained from the bark of this tree, used for flavouring food and drink

3. (Saigon cinnamon) . an E Asian lauraceous tree, Cinnamomum loureirii, the bark of which is used as a cordial and to relieve flatulence

4. any of several similar or related trees or their bark

5. a light yellowish brown

Sly spices

Infesting mint

Cinnamon infused jus

Clever morsels

Surreal

SURREAL

-adj.

1. suggestive of surrealism; dreamlike

-noun

2.  the surreal (the atmosphere or qualities evoked by surrealism)

Asthma is slowly deconstructing him

Misplacing pieces day after day

Of the master cat he once was

Drawing up a tragic surreal creature

That coughs and wheezes in the night

Jalopy

JALOPY

-noun

(informal) . a dilapidated old car

Old remnants

Ancient jalopy

Crumbling away

Underground

Camera

CAMERA

-noun

1. an optical device consisting of a lens system set in a light-proof construction inside which a light-sensitive film or plate can be positioned

2. (television) the equipment used to convert the optical image of a scene into the corresponding electrical signals

4. a judge's private room

At the open day

Many phones flashing

And fancy cameras

Staring at treasures

Unseen by the eyes

Iris

IRIS

-noun

1. the coloured muscular diaphragm that surrounds and controls the size of the pupil

2. any plant of the iridaceous genus Iris, having brightly coloured flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals

3. (Also called : rainbow quartz) . a form of quartz that reflects light polychromatically from internal fractures

4.  a rare or poetic word for rainbow

5. something resembling a rainbow; iridescence

6.  short for iris diaphragm (an adjustable diaphragm that regulates the amount of light entering an optical instrument, in particular a camera. It usually consists of a number of thin metal leaves arranged so that they open out into an approximately circular aperture)

-noun

1. the goddess of the rainbow along which she travelled to earth as a messenger of the gods

In her sepal cradle

Iris surges, dressed in quartz

Bearing a message of resistance

Nevertheless, she persists

Fashery

FASHERY

[ˈfæʃərɪ]

-noun

(Scottish dialect) . a trouble or difficulty; a thing which causes worry

The current surge in fascism

Is beyond fishy

And serious fashery

Meliorism

MELIORISM

-noun

the notion that the world can be improved by human effort

Sometimes the air is sweet

Its temperature just so

And it’s hard not to believe

That the world’s travails

Cannot succumb to meliorism

Avocado

AVOCADO

-noun

1. a pear-shaped fruit having a leathery green or blackish skin, a large stony seed, and a greenish-yellow edible pulp

2. the tropical American lauraceous tree, Persea americana, that bears this fruit

3. a dull greenish colour resembling that of the fruit

Sneaky avocado

Parading as cream

(for your face or a treat)

Tout

TOUT

-verb

1. to solicit (business, customers, etc) or hawk (merchandise), especially in a brazen way

2. (intr.) to spy on racehorses being trained in order to obtain information for betting purposes

3. (intr.) to sell, or attempt to sell, such information or to take bets, especially in public places

4. (trans.) (informal) to recommend flatteringly or excessively

-noun

5. a person who spies on racehorses so as to obtain betting information to sell

6. a person who sells information obtained by such spying

7. a person who solicits business in a brazen way

8. Also called : ticket tout . a person who sells tickets unofficially for a heavily booked sporting event, concert, etc., at greatly inflated prices

9. (Northern Ireland) . a police informer

She has the technique

Down pat to perfection

Not shy to tout cuddles

For a moment with the brush

Transit

TRANSIT

-noun

1. the passage or conveyance of goods or people

2. a change or transition

3. a route

4. (astronomy)

a. the passage of a celestial body or satellite across the face of a relatively larger body as seen from the earth

b. the apparent passage of a celestial body across the meridian, caused by the earth's diurnal rotation

5. (astrology) . the passage of a planet across some special point on the zodiac

-verb

6. to make a transit through or over (something)

7. (astronomy) . to make a transit across (a celestial body or the meridian)

8. to cause (the telescope of a surveying instrument) to turn over or (of such a telescope) to be turned over in a vertical plane so that it points in the opposite direction

Looking up

Searching for transit

But stars are too numerous

To pin point

A moment

Storm

STORM

-noun

1. a violent weather condition of strong winds, rain, hail, thunder, lightning, blowing sand, snow, etc.

2. (meteorology) . a violent gale of force 10 on the Beaufort scale reaching speeds of 55 to 63 mph

3. a strong or violent reaction

4. a direct assault on a stronghold

5. a heavy discharge or rain, as of bullets or missiles

-verb

6. to attack or capture (something) suddenly and violently

7. (intr.) to be vociferously angry

8. (intr.) to move or rush violently or angrily

9. (intr; with “it” as subject) to rain, hail, or snow hard and be very windy, often with thunder or lightning

You must be holding on to the storm.

And the shadow of grass,

This fog of broken pieces, of roses

Should be but a crime

A by-product of distressed hills.

Ground

GROUND

-noun

1. the land surface

2. earth or soil

3. (plural) . the land around a dwelling house or other building

4. (sometimes plural) . an area of land given over to a purpose

5. land having a particular characteristic

6. matter for consideration or debate; field of research or inquiry

7. a position or viewpoint, as in an argument or controversy

8. position or advantage, as in a subject or competition

9. (often plural) . reason; justification

10. arts

a. the prepared surface applied to the support of a painting, such as a wall, canvas, etc., to prevent it reacting with or absorbing the paint

b. the support of a painting

c. the background of a painting or main surface against which the other parts of a work of art appear superimposed

11. the first coat of paint applied to a surface

12. the bottom of a river or the sea

13. (plural) . sediment or dregs, especially from coffee

14. (mainly British) . the floor of a room

15. cricket

a. the area from the popping crease back past the stumps, in which a batsman may legally stand

b. ground staff

16. ground bass . a short melodic bass line that is repeated over and over again

17. a mesh or network supporting the main pattern of a piece of lace

18. (electrical) (US and Canadian)

a. a connection between an electrical circuit or device and the earth, which is at zero potential

b. also called : earth . a terminal to which this connection is made

-verb

19. (trans.) to put or place on the ground

20. (trans.) to instruct in fundamentals

36. (trans.) to provide a basis or foundation for; establish

37. (trans.) to confine (an aircraft, pilot, etc.) to the ground

38. (trans.) (informal) . to confine (a child) to the house as a punishment

39. the usual US word for earth (to connect (a circuit, device, etc.) to earth)

40. (trans.) (nautical) . to run (a vessel) aground

41. (trans.) to cover (a surface) with a preparatory coat of paint

42. (intr.) to hit or reach the ground

 -verb

1.  the past tense and past participle of grind

-adj.

2. having the surface finished, thickness reduced, or an edge sharpened by grinding

3. reduced to fine particles by grinding

I stand at his ground without a hand

Staring at the post-horse shape of our sea,

The suicide's little hood of leaves

That moved the stars, the cold shades of gold

While the sun lays beneath the waters.

Rutaceous

RUTACEOUS

[ruːˈteɪʃəs]

-adj.

of, relating to, or belonging to the Rutaceae, a family of tropical and temperate flowering plants many of which have aromatic leaves. The family includes rue and citrus trees

In the cloister

We encountered

Miraculous grafts

Of a rutaceous ilk

Our ideal marmalade

Still on the tree

Motormouth

MOTORMOUTH

-noun

(slang)  a garrulous person

The season is upon us

Driving the poultry mad

With garrulous desire

Flagrant expectations

And well groomed feathers

Motormouth pigeons

Bergamot

BERGAMOT

-noun

1. Also called : bergamot orange . a small Asian spiny rutaceous tree, Citrus bergamia, having sour fruits

2. essence of bergamot

3. a Mediterranean mint, Mentha citrata, that yields an oil similar to essence of bergamot

4. wild bergamot

a. a North American plant, Monarda fistulosa, with clusters of purple flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

b. a garden plant of the same genus, usually M. didyma (bee balm), grown for its scarlet or pink flowers

5. a variety of pear

How tart and sour

But fragrant bergamot makes for

The most delicious marmalade

And almond cakes

Sceptical

SCEPTICAL

-adj.

1. not convinced that something is true; doubtful

2. tending to mistrust people, ideas, etc., in general

3. of or relating to sceptics; sceptic

After so many attempts

At slipping pills into his food

He has become sceptical

Of treats and endearments

Blood

BLOOD

-noun

1. a reddish fluid in vertebrates that is pumped by the heart through the arteries and veins, supplies tissues with nutrients, oxygen, etc, and removes waste products. It consists of a fluid (see blood plasma) containing cells (erythrocytes, leucocytes, and platelets)

2. a similar fluid in such invertebrates as annelids and arthropods

3. bloodshed, especially when resulting in murder

4. the guilt or responsibility for killing or injuring

5. life itself; lifeblood

6. relationship through being of the same family, race, or kind; kinship

7. ethnic or national descent

8. temperament; disposition; temper

9. good or pure breeding; pedigree

10. people viewed as members of a group, especially as an invigorating force

11. (mainly British)(rare) . a dashing young man; dandy; rake

12. the sensual or carnal nature of man

13. (obsolete) one of the four bodily humours

-verb (trans.)

14. (hunting) . to cause (young hounds) to taste the blood of a freshly killed quarry and so become keen to hunt

15. (hunting) . to smear the cheeks or forehead of (a person) with the blood of the kill as an initiation in hunting

16. to initiate (a person) to an activity or organization, especially by real-life experience

Off-winter hour, a lonely fence

Something went wrong with

The ones who stopped and stared

There was a sound of blood and panic

The dreaded calm of mortal species.

Homogeneous

HOMOGENEOUS

-adj.

1. composed of similar or identical parts or elements

2. of uniform nature

3. similar in kind or nature

4. having a constant property, such as density, throughout

5. (mathematics)

a. (of a polynomial) . containing terms of the same degree with respect to all the variables, as in x2 + 2xy + y2

b. (of a function) . containing a set of variables such that when each is multiplied by a constant, this constant can be eliminated without altering the value of the function, as in cos x/y + x/y

c. (of an equation) . containing a homogeneous function made equal to 0

6. (chemistry) . of, composed of, or concerned with a single phase

A story unaccounted for

The disarray of millions

Broken by homogenous apathy

Lies and razor barbed fences

Between them and their new life.

Our story.

Lid

LID

-noun

1. a cover, usually removable or hinged, for a receptacle

2. short for eyelid

3. botany another name for operculum (the covering of the spore-bearing capsule of a moss)

When the storm stops me,

I see the smell of leaves,

The pressure of the sky

Still and tied at my window

At the lid of my soul

Garrulous

GARRULOUS

-adj.

1. given to constant and frivolous chatter; loquacious; talkative

2. wordy or diffuse; prolix

As a woman of war,

The only possible present

Is a soul to sink into water,

Garrulous silence, and a man.