Towser ... Yikes!

Today's word is "towser" ... TOU-zer ... a big dog. Informal. a big, hearty person, especially one who is very energetic. (Dictionary.com)

Yikes!

If you have a little dog,

And walk him everyday,

But your neighbor has a towser,

Who walks the very same way,

You might be intimidated,

Afraid to go outside,

You think you and your doggie,

Should rather take a ride.

What to do about this,

Is really quite a puzzle,

Maybe suggest your neighbor,

Buy his dog a muzzle?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Supererogatory ... Tweet

Today's word is "supererogatory" ... soo-per-uh-ROG-uh-tawr-ee ... going beyond the requirements of duty. (Dictionary.com)

Tweet

Do you ever think that birds,

With their amazing feathered frills,

Sing their ordinary songs,

With supererogatory skills?

It must be more than nature,

This enthusiastic play,

Melodies that fill the seasons,

And bring in each new day. 

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Automagical ... Cloudy

Today's word is "automagical" ... aw-toh-MAJ-i-kuh l ... (Of a usually complicated technical or computer process) done, operating, or happening in a way that is hidden from or not understood by the user, and in that sense, apparently "magical". (Dictionary.com)

Cloudy

Somewhere in the ether,

My information lies,

It's automagically organized,

Safe from rogues and spies.

At least that's what they tell me,

And I must believe,

If it all should disappear,

I certainly would grieve.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Transmogrify ... Trickery

Today's word is "transmogrify" ... trans-MOG-ruh-fahy ... to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform. (Dictionary.com)

Trickery

How do strident politicians,

With troubles of their own,

Transmogrify into moral icons,

In their attitude and tone.

As if by all their posturing,

Wool will be pulled over eyes,

And the blind will follow,

Their absurd battle cries.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Remontant ... Open

Today's word is "remontant" ... ri-MON-tuh nt ... (of certain roses) blooming more than once in a season.

Open

Some lives bloom again,

Like a red rose remontant,

Ignoring old scars.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Encephalon ... Brainiacs

Today's word is "encephalon" ... en-SEF-uh-lon ... Anatomy. the brain. (Dictionary.com)

Brainiacs

A very large encephalon,

Allows for lots of thinking,

But, if we lose our moral compass,

We will still be sinking.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

    

Endsville ... Brexit

Today's word is "Endsville" ... ENDZ-vil ... (Sometimes lowercase) Slang. Most Wonderful or exciting; or most isolated or undesirable. (Dictionary.com)

Brexit

Sometimes in the affairs of men,

When elites have held full sway,

And made decisions for the masses,

Who've had nothing much to say,

Revolt will surprise and shatter,

All the plans that they have made,

And "Endsville!" will be shouted,

By those on both sides of the fray.

Time will be the arbitrator,

Of the evil or the good,

But choice and change have spoken,

And are now understood.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Rib-tickling ... Headline

Today's word is "rib-tickling" ... RIB-tik-ling ... very amusing; funny or hilarious: A book of rib-tickling stories. (Dictionary.com)

Headline

Nothing is better.

Give us some rib-tickling news!

Hope for our future.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Tohubohu ... Order

Today's word is "tohubohu" ... TOH-hoo-BOH-hoo ... chaos; disorder; confusion. (Dictionary.com) Also, from the Hebrew meaning "without form and void."

Order

From the beginning of all things,

     Long before our time began,

In a holy instant, energy burst forth 

     from the source of Everything.

Tohubohu reigned. But then, in a miracle 

     never seen before, by anyone ... 

          (For there was no one)

Energy transformed into substance,

     And Suns and stars and worlds arose.

And then, more ... A consciousness was given,

     To one, and then another creature,

          Made in the image of their creator,

                Perfectly designed for love.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

     

     

   

Sniglet ... Do

Today's word is "sniglet" ... sNIG-lit ... any word coined for something that has no specific name. (Dictionary.com) Example: "parkastinate ... The inability to choose a parking space in a near empty lot". "Reintarnation ... Coming back to life as a hillbilly." You get the drift 😁 For more:

http://www.alphadictionary.com/fun/sniglets.html

Do

Creativity is boundless,

In dance or art or song,

If it is creative,

It really can't be wrong.

Who is the arbitrator,

Sitting high above,

Overseeing all the sniglets,

Deciding which to love? 

If you adore a color,

A strange word or odd note,

You are the creator,

And get the final vote.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Zeitgeber ... Return

Today's word is "zeitgeber" ... TSAHYT-gey-ber ... an environmental cue, as the length of daylight or the degree of tempuratures, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock. (Dictionary.com)

Return

As the night turns into day,

And day back into night,

The sun as zeitgeber, commands

This rhythm of earth's flight.

All the creatures living here,

Obey this way or that,

Rising early morn or late,

Within their habitat.

But, we push the darkness back,

Awake past set of eve,

Up in the morn, before the sun,

Our destinies to weave.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Nonpareil ... Mmmm

Today's word is "nonpareil" ... non-puh-REL ... a person or thing having no equal; a small pellet of colored sugar for decorating candy, cake, and cookies; a flat, round, bite-sized piece of chocolate covered with this sugar. (Dictionary.com)

Mmmm

They were in a cupboard,

It smelled chocolatey and fine,

A little jar of nonpareils,

On which we liked to dine.

It was my grandma's cupboard,

I wonder if she knew ...

That when no one was looking,

We would take a few.

The cupboard always opened,

With a soft, short pop,

That's where the chocolates rested,

Quite near the lemon drops.

The noise and sticky fingers,

Likely gave us both away,

But no one ever stopped us,

From secret snacking as we played.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Jamboree ... Joy

Today's word is "jamboree" ... jam-buh-REE ... a carousal; any noisy merrymaking. (Dictionary.com)

Joy

At the end of time,

Will there be a jamboree?

Music and dancing?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Alliaceous ... Crown

Today's word is "alliaceous" ... al-eye-EY-shuh s ...Having the odor or taste of garlic, onion, etc. (dictionary.com)

Crown

It is common in a garden,

To find onions, leeks and chives,

All these alliaceous plants,

Are quite fragrant when alive.

Even after they are pulled,

Out from their dark and earthy home,

Their fragrance lingers in the air,

Just as it did under the loam.

But one of the family surprises,

Tall and purple in the spring,

Rounded, swaying, it arises,

Lording over lesser things.

Though its pedigree suggests,

Aroma's all it has to give,

The beauty of its flowering head,

Shows forth the reason that it lives.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Cater-cousin ... Talk

Today's word is "cater-cousin" ... KEY-ter-kuhz-uh n ... an intimate friend. (Dictionary.com)

Talk

Everybody needs someone,

A cater-cousin or true friend,

To share their inmost feelings,

Who'll be loyal to the end.

Those who are an island,

Surrounded by a self-made sea,

Find the ones they've cast off,

Soon tire of them and flee.

What seemed in the beginning,

A strong and fortressed glory,

Later turns with sad precision,
Into a lonely, broken story.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Iatrogenic ... Whole

Today's word is "iatrogenic" ... ahy-a-truh-JEN-ik ... (Of a medical doctor) caused by the diagnosis, manner, or treatment of a physician. (Dictionary.com)

Whole

Have you heard that sometimes,

The cure is much, much worse,

That the disease it's healing,

It's an iatrogenic curse.

Just watch the ads on your T.V.,

And the actors happy faces,

Dispite all of the side affects,

They claim they're good as aces.

Maybe if we just refused,

Packaged food and drink,

Our bodies would repay us,

And keep us in the pink.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Vexillology ... Go

Today's word is "vexillology" ... vek-suh-LOL-uh-jee ... the study of flags. (Dictionary.com)

Go

Do you know the countries,

Their cultures and their ways,

Is your vexillology up-to-date,

Where would you like to stay?

The world is beautiful and strange,

With amazing sites galore,

Traveling brings understanding,

As you go from shore to shore.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Paranymph ... Obsolete

Today's word is "paranymph" ... PAR-uh-nimf ... a groomsman or a bridesmaid.(dictionary.com) (Don't think I'd be calling anyone in the wedding party by this particular name these days ... Just sayin')

Obsolete

If on your next wedding day,

You need help in a hurry,

A paranymph might fit the bill,

You'd have narry a worry.

Your shoes would surely brightly shine,

Your tie would be perfection,

If a girl, your hair would curl,

In all the right directions.

Outside this role, there's not much call,

For one with such precision,

But if someone popped up with this skill,

I'd not treat him with derision!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Overslaugh ... Task

Today's word is "overslaugh" ... oh-ver-SLAW ... to pass over or disregard (a person) by giving a promotion, position, etc., to another instead. (Dictionary.com)

Task

Overlooked and underpaid,

Working for peanut wages,

Oversloughed and ignored,

Might lead to angry rages.

Knowing all about your job,

Let go for no good reason,

Could sure cause you aggravation,

In any kind of season.

What then is it you should do,

To magnify your wages?

The answer to this sad dilemma's,

In your resume's best pages.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Terraqueous ... Last

Today's word is "terraqueous" ... ter-EY-knee-uh s ... consisting of land and water, as the earth. (Dictionary.com)

Last

Blue and green the colors,

Of this terraqueous ball

(We've been traveling through space,

     well before our noted fall.)

Long-lost stardust, we go on,

And live and move and breathe,

Hope and love the energy,

We to our home bequeath.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Slyboots ... Cheshire

Today's word is "slyboots" ... SLAHY-boots ... an engagingly sly or mischievous person. (Dictionary.com)

Cheshire

Watch out! She's tricky!

Ultimately, a slyboots.

Character needed.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Heuristic ... Experiment

Today's word is "heuristic" ... hyoo-RIS-tik ... encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: a heuristic teaching method. (Dictionary.com)

Experiment

Sometimes cramming information,

Into our addled brains,

Does not make us more intelligent,

Or guarantee our gain.

But, a heuristic method,

Might open up some doors,

That have not been thought of,

In the present or before.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Onomatopoeia ... Kaboom

Today's word is "onomatopoeia" ... on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh ... the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent. (Dictionary.com)

Kaboom

Poetry's a strange thing,

Onomatopeia for example,

A word possessed of certain sound,

Which to the ear is ample.

It might be rasp or gurgle,

Punch or crack or clatter,

The word becomes the sound,

That's what really matters.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Comity ... Defame

Today's word is "comity" ... KOM-i-tee ... mutual courtesy; civility. (Dictionary.com)

Defame

Well, we know what's missing,

In these fateful days,

Comity and kindness,

In our common ways.

Unkind words are flying,

To the opposing side,

And they respond with fury,

Slinging insults far and wide.

Could thoughts of a shared future,

And the good that's greater,
Bring some resolution,
For our work together, later?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Gegenschein ... Midnight

Today's word is "gegenschein" ... GEY-guh n-shahyn ... Astronomy. a faint, elliptical patch of light in the night sky that appears opposite the sun, being a reflection of sunlight by meteoric material in space. (Dictionary.com)

Who knew!

Midnight

Astronomical surprise,

Gegenschein in the dark sky,

Light unexpected.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Villatic ... Blue

Today's word is "villatic" ... vi-LAT-ik ... of or relating to the country or to a farm; rural. (Dictionary.com)

Blue

After too much city time,

Traffic and peopled space,

The sound of wind and bird song,

Call from a villatic place.

An hour or two of drifting surf,

Or shady woods of green,

Bring relief to the frazzled soul,

A break from the routine.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Natatorium ... Sediment

Today's word is "natatorium" ... ney-tuh-TAWR-eye-uh m ... a swimming pool, especially one that is indoors. (Dictionary.com)

Sediment

The air is nearly warm enough,

(And the lake water as well),

For a swim with little fishes,

Who in the depths do dwell.

There are other creatures,

Snails and turtles that slow creep,

Some plants with tangly fingers,

Which across your legs may sweep.

If you do not like this picture,

And a natatorium prefer,

Clean water, chlorinated,

Will be your fishbowl, as it were.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Olykoek ... Hole

Today's word is "olykoek" ... OL-i-koo k ... Hudson Valley: Older use. Doughnut. (Dictionary.com)

Hole

Oh! Olykoek day!

Sugar, fat and white flour.

I want sprinkles please!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Pierian ... Inspiration

Today's word is "Pierian" ... pahy-EER-ee-uh n ... of or relating to poetry or poetic inspiration. (Dictionary.com)

Inspiration

Sometimes the words inside my head,

Are Pierian in their sound,

Bouncing into one another,

Like tiny birds who've lost their ground.

But when sleepiness or hurry call,

And syllables wander far away,

They must be coaxed back into hand,

And molded like a sculptor's clay.

The results of this process strange,

The pulling and teasing of letters small,

Can be wondrous, magical or ridiculous,

Depending on how the words all fall.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016