Aubade

Today's word is "aubade" ... A song greeting the dawn.

Neverend
White and silent is the snow,
that falls without surcease,
Spring will come one day, I know,
to end this endless peace.

All around are beings, grey,
who've too much winter born,
They gaze abjectly at the day,
hear no aubade, forlorn.

This, most difficult of times,
Will fade into the past,
When sun begins its upward climb,
And warmth returns, at last.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Deipnosophist

Today's word is "deipnosophist" (dahyp-NOS-uh-fist) ... person who is an adept conversationalist at table. (Dictionary.com)

Broken
There was a night, long ago,
when a group of friends met.
Nothing unusual about that.
Except that their host was
the God of their world
about to die.

And he spoke to them
of what was to come.
Of darkness and pain,
and the loss of everything
they thought they knew.
There was no need of a
deipnosophist to keep the
evening riveting.

He also spoke of love
and the redemption of
mankind. But not one of them
could get beyond the bread and
wine and sadness.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Fusty

Today's word of the day is "fusty" ... Old- fashioned, out-of-date.

Leaves
Somewhere in the dusty stacks,
Are secret treasures rare,
You've only got to open them,
To see what's buried there.

You may think it bothersome
To read those fusty pages,
But, oh the wonders you will miss ...
And wisdom of the sages!

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Sciamachy

Today's word is "sciamachy" (sahy-AM-uh-kee) ... An act of fighting a shadow or an imaginary enemy. (Dictionary.com)

Gone
This world is difficult enough,
without sciamachy. Battling the
unseen and unknown is so ...
exhausting.

Mysterious, isn't it, how the
invisible holds, and terrorizes.
I wonder, if we really knew the
place on which we stand ...
would we allow the presence
of those phantoms for even
one, brief, moment?

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Malinger

Today's word is "malinger" ... to pretend illness, especially in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work.

Wrong
Lacking the wherewithal to continue on
With such a difficult project,
One might be excused for malingering.
After all, there are limits to your
Knowledge and your courage.

And it is difficult to admit when you
Are wrong. Especially if you
Have made a commitment to the
Truth, and the whole of your life has
Been built upon a foundation which
Now appears to be shaking.

How then to explain your
Miscalculation. How to redeem
Your reputation and your very
Purpose, built as you see now,
Upon the sands of arrogance.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Columbine

Today's word is "columbine" ... Dove like or dove colored.

Hidden
Opinions everywhere are raging,
Some are strange and some engaging,
But those beliefs would hardly matter,
If they weren't to actions, a kind of ladder.

Sometimes from minds' mysterious core,
Columbined ideas come to the fore,
Followed by meritorious acts,
As theories come from gathered facts.

But then, some people come undone,
By evil thoughts that have been left to run,
And somehow become materially expressed,
Causing harm and character regress.

All the choices one might make,
Come when one is wide awake,
From thoughts stored and carefully protected,
Not the ones that have been rejected.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Razz

The word of the day is "razz" ... To deride; make fun of; tease.

Joke
A lot of time here,
The sum of fears and jeers,
Is just razz-ma-tazz.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Toothsome

Today's word is "toothsome" ... pleasing to the taste; palatable: a toothsome dish.

Huddle
We get together for food and warmth,
family gathered, laughing, talking,
toothsome morsels shared and
babies nestled. Words that fill
and cheer. What else is better
in our wintered world, than
this basic comfort given?

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Salchow

Today's word is "salchow" (SAL-kou)...  Ice skating: a jump in which the skater leaps from the back inside edge of one skate, making one full rotation ofthe body in the air, and lands on the back outside edge ofthe other skate.

Tick
They're flying down the mountain,
Ripping through the track,
Turning salchows in the ring,
No thought of turning back.

The gold is all that matters,
They've worked for years and years
On the platform they will stand,
Deserving of the cheers.

For the injured and the fallen,
We also hold them, proud. Only
Tenths and technicalities,
Keep them from the winning crowd.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Moiety

Today's word is "moiety" ... a half; a small part.

Small
You think no one sees you ...
that your footprints are not noticed,
your voice not heard. You think that when
you leave a space, it closes in again
as if you were never there at all.

But, this is not the truth. Wherever
you go, you leave behind a precious
memory which was in part your own
creation. Your value in this, your own
moiety, is in your hands. Each person
you encounter will be blessed by
the self same uniqueness with
which God has blessed you.
A gift so rare that you, only,
have been given it.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Bestiary

Today's word is "bestiary" ... A collection of moralized fables, especially as written in the Middle Ages, about actual or mythical animals. Also, according to Wikipedia, a reference to symbolic language of animals in Western Christian art and literature.

Plan
Deep inside the universe of our bodies,
tiny machines follow their instructions,
creating this and that for our benefit.
We are unaware as our hair grows,
our blood flows, our brains make
sense of our surroundings.
The little self-sustaining factories
run, never shut down for vacation
and never know which creature,
bird or plant they sustain. Yet,
the whole vast bestiary of the
real world lives and moves because
they meticulously fulfill their
miraculous purposes.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

August

Today's word is "august" ... venurable; eminent.

Awe
Creature by creature they came before him.
What would it be like to name a world?
Tiny mouse to august behemoth and all
varieties of flying things ... bird and bee and butterfly.
What appellation could describe immense height,
or spiny needles surrounding fragile softness?
What of blinding speed on pawed feet, or something
barely breathing, yet somehow alive.
How exhausting as they came and came. One more
and one more. Perhaps a month went by before
his rest could come. Was he then overwhelmed
by the incredible vastness of this new world?
Did he love it more because in this beginning
God blessed his boldness and gave him
his first taste of creation?

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Chirk

Today's word is "chirk" ... To cheer (usually followed by up).

Hope
Does it seem that monsters may be real?
That the odds are stacked against the right and true?
Is this something new, or has it been this way all along?
We cannot be the first who have seen persecution,
Or war, or misfortune or the slaughter of innocents.
What is there to do when evil appears to be having its day?
Do we give up, resigned to a fate that has not yet happened,
but lurks expectantly. Or do we pray for help?
Or in some way act in our own defense? What
is the way of love? What the way of peace?
How do you speak truth to an enemy?
How do you turn your cheek when you're
afraid for your life? And then. The savior
speaks, "Chirk up! I have overcome the world!"
We had forgotten. The battle has been won,
even though the skirmishes seem to go on,
and on. There is a kingdom coming and
has already come. And, despite appearances
and facts, we are cared for and loved and
have a life, if we but look for it, that
is and will be more magnificent than
we could ever have imagined.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Ailurophilia

Today's word is "ailurophilia" ... A liking for cats; as of cat fanciers.

Catatonic
Something fuzzy this way comes,
She pads, then pauses on her run,
Checking all the little spaces,
For food with little, tiny faces.

A string of yarn she might engage,
And on it focus all her rage,
Then race crazily about,
'Til you finally let her out!

With hiss and growl, purr and mew,
This feline will love but a few.
Those with ailurophilia will pray,
She'll deign them the one, with whom to stay.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2013

Schatzi

Today's valentine word is "schatzi" ... sweatheart, darling.

Heart
Today is the day,
to declare your love.
To the loves of your life ...
those here, and those
who have gone on.
They are all in your heart,
alive. With sweet experience
and memory, they are the
reason for your joy and
wonder and the reason you go on.
And so you say, my darling,
my sweety, my schatzi,
my love. No matter what
Words you speak, they
cannot encompass all
the feelings flooding
through your soul.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Pluvial

Today's word is "pluvial" ... of or pertaining to rain.

Wait
After cold unbearable,
and caustic wind unstoppable,
icy trees with branches
overcome by snow
bow low to winter's power.
Inside we sigh with pluvial eyes,
and dream of hot white sand
and the warm water welcome
that beckons on the other
side of patience.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Albumen

Today's word is "albumen" ... The white part of an egg.

Potential
See the paper stare, albumen white,
Waiting for inky contrast,
Or the joy of brushed color.
But oh, how long will it take
For the artist, poet, writer, thinker,
To finally satisfy its need to
Be marked with something
Beautiful, new and rare?

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Sooth

Today's word is "sooth" ... Truth, reality or fact.

Talk
Everybody's got their own view,
And thinks yours looks just like his too,
So assumptions are wrongly made,
When talking points are later weighed.

In sooth it's hard to analyze,
Who is foolish, who is wise,
Without some humble listening,
Which will glad resolution bring.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Blatherskite

Today's word is "blatherskite" ... A person given to voluble, empty talk.

Olympics
Around the ring the skaters glide,
Chesslike, planning the next stride,
This, no place for a blatherskate,
Just those who chase a golden fate.

Here mind wins over brawniness,
The race won with pure finesse,
To the winner go fame and glory,
And the telling of a strategic story.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Dulcify

Today's word is "dulcify" (DUHL-suh-fahy) ... to make more agreeable; mollify; appease.


Flake
Slogging through surprizing snow,
How could the sky hold anymore?
The world outside is deep and white,
And surrounds with a mean cold that bites.

Onward toward the window's glow,
To singing, worship words that flow,
They will depression dulcify,
Chords soaring over winter's cry.

Warmth of wisdom's spoken words,
Deep in to the heart are heard.
We leave better than we came,
Though winter's mantra is the same.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Maw

Today's word is "maw" ... the symbolic or theoretical center of a voracious hunger or appetite of any kind: the ravenous maw of Death 


Walk
It's trust or indecision.
This new direction requires
great courage and the strength
that vision brings. Nothing
can prepare us entirely
for the gaping maw of fear
that appears when we cannot
see past each moment
as it reveals itself.

We can only hope for clarity
and listen for the whisper
of wisdom as we take
our next breath.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Schuss

Today's word is "schuss" ... To execute a straight downhill run at high speed.

Zoom
I want understanding to come quickly,
like schussing down a mountain,
feeling the blast of wintered air
rush. Hearing the swish of powdered
snow. Feeling the sting of it
on lips gone numb.

But, alas. Work is required. And time.
Nothing comes quickly, if it comes
at all. And there is only an
infrequent "ah ha" to guide along
the way. But go on I must. More
a snowshoe slog. Causing sore muscles
and leaving me gasping for breath,
squinting through cold for the
shape of smoke that signals
warmth and a resting place.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Neologize

Today's word is "neologize" (nee-OL-uh-jahyz) ... To make or use new words, or create new meanings for existing words.

Ski
Look! They're flying through the sky,
Off the jumps, so very high,
Neologized moves rewarded here,
Amazing, tricky, they are cheered.

Is applause the thing they crave,
As they come on, wave on wave?
Or is it pride of state or nation,
Or just pure, joyful exultation?

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Farceur

Today's word is "farceur" (fahr-SUR) ... A joker; wag.

Evolve
Looking backward through the ages,
Scientists have found some facts,
Some anomalies and mysteries,
Which will keep them coming back.

On the other hand the faithful,
Have their own set of unique rules,
A book, a man and many stories,
They don't teach you in most schools.

No matter which side of the battle,
You think a farceur did embrace,
There will be gaps that may require,
You use your faith to fill that space.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Inglenook

Today's word is "inglenook" ... A corner or nook beside a fireplace.

Toasty
I wish I had an inglenook,
I wish I had a fire.
I would sit there all the day,
And read to be inspired.

Oh, I do read anyway,
But what pleasure it would be,
To warm my nose and toesies,
As my mind was fed and freed.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Posy

Today's word is "posy" ... A flower, nose gay, bouquet.

Oh!
When winter's winds blow cold,
I go out quick and bold,
to find supplies to help survive,
and on the shelves, strange items find,
that I did not expect.

Passing by the flower aisle,
I find I rightly could compile,
a posy from the flowers there,
and even put some in my hair,
if I was so inclined.

All of this just makes me think,
cold storms are here for a mere blink.
Soon enough the sun will shine,
and all of summer will be mine,
and I'll bask in its glory.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2013

Slake

Today's word is "slake" ... To allay (thirst, desire, wrath etc.) by satisfying.

More
Sometimes it appears,
The world is at my door,
Everything is sparkeling,
All I want is more.

So I pray to God,
Slake my thirst for things,
Take me to the place,
That only spirit brings.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014

Galligaskins

Today's word is "galligaskins" ... Leggings or gaiters, usually made of leather.

Stylin'
How to keep up with the Joneses, I don't know.
In and out of fashion are all my clothes.
I have things that look as silly as
Galligaskins on a goose. Something's
Are too tight, and the other's much too loose!

Don't even talk to me, about the style of cars,
Or counters made of granite, in the houses of the stars,
Then there's knowing what to say, and
What fork to use. I just know that I'll be
Wrong, whichever one I choose.

In all these dilemmas, when I am confused,
And I don't know the proper motions,
What to wear, or say, or do. I just remember
That my worth, is not on the outside. But in my heart,
Which, I hope, is both deep and wide.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2014