Polyphonic ... Tweet

Polyphonic ... pol-ee-FON-ik ... consisting of many voices or sounds. (Dictionary.com)

Tweet

In the bushes and the trees,

In the early morning,

A polyphonic sound begins,

Without any warning.

What cues this feathered orchestra,

Is way beyond our ken,

But the timing is impeccable,
As it's always been.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Aesthete ... Replete

Today's word is "aesthete" ... ES-theet ... a person who has or professes to have refined sensitivity toward the beauties of art or nature. (Dictionary.com)

Replete

To see the blue that's made of sky,

The fire that's in the rose,

To hear the ocean's secret moan,

And discern where breezes blow.

To know the music of the spheres,

In a symphony's full measure,

To the aesthete, all's an open book,

Created for his pleasure.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Skylark ... Fly

Today's word is "skylark" ... SKAHY-lahrk ... to frolic; sport: The children were skylarking on the beach. (Dictionary.com)

Fly

Take a little time,

Skylark unreservedly,

Break the barriers.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Virgule ... Which

Today's word is "virgule" ... VUR-gyool ... a short oblique stroke (/) between two words indicating that whichever is appropriate may be chosen to complete the sense of the text in which they occur. (Dictionary.com)

Which

Who knew that little slash,

Separating one thing from the next,

That unassuming virgule,

Was so important to the text.

It's purpose is to give a choice,

Within these strange confines,

That surround it and confuse,

The finest sort of mind.

So too in life, there is a choice,

On each side of the divide,

Straddling the fence is not allowed,

When traveling clear-eyed.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Sonorous ... Winks

Today's word is "sonorous" ... suh-NAWR-uh s ... rich and full in sound, as language or verse. (Dictionary.com)

Winks
So very sleepy,
Then the sonorous sermon,
These pews need pillows!

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016

Inculcate ... Eureka!

Today's word is "inculcate" ... in-KUHL-keyt ... to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly(usually followed by upon or in). (Dictionary.com)

Eureka!

Is the goal of teaching,

To inculcate an ideal,

To press into tiny heads of mush,

Exactly how to feel?

Or maybe we could create,

An atmosphere so bold,

That each child would form alone,

A vision to behold?

Each mind then could take the facts,

Compare them to the rest,

Turn them 'round and sound them out,

And decide which one was best.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Chiasmus ... Scribble

Today's word is "chiasmus" ... kahy-AZ-muh s ... Rhetoric. a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in "He went to the country, to the town went she." (Dictionary.com)

Scribble

Turn the words around,

Around you turn the words,

A chiasmus forms a phrase,

With meaning that's not blurred.

So the pen in poised,

Or hands above the keys,

To put new thoughts together,

In a way that's sure to please.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Pantechnicon ... Pack

Today's word is "pantechnicon" ... pan-TEK-ni-kon ... a furniture van; moving van. (Dictionary.com)

Pack

You just settle in,

Then comes the pantechnicon.

Life changes again.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Connubial ... Navigate

Today's word is "connubial" ... kuh-NOO-bee-uh l ... of marriage or wedlock; matrimonial; conjugal: connubial love. (Dictionary.com)

Navigate
What could this word "marriage" mean?
This joining of two people?
Is it just a routine ritual,
Joined beneath a steeple?

What is it that is required,
Of this connubial state,
That causes some to shudder,
And others still, to wait?

Perhaps the life-long promise,
Is partially to blame,
Or the thought that for your whole life,
You'll see one face ... the same.

True love goes deep to test the soul's, 
Sincerity and grace,
As together two unite,
And an unknown future face.

But the brave do voyage forth,
Through all the gales life brings,
Sailing safe in the circumference,
Of their wedding rings.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016

Woolgathering ... Fuzzy

Today's word is "woolgathering" ... indulgence in idle fancies and in daydreaming; absentmindedness: His woolgathering was a handicap in school.  (Dictionary.com)

Fuzzy

Solutions won't come easy,

Without some hard won thought,

Woolgathering will not suffice,

As this battle's fought.

Should the status quo survive,

Or new traditions now commence?

Shall we believe in intellectuals,

Or trust in common sense?

Can we survive the road we're on,

Or should we walk the less-worn way?

All we know for sure is this,

Time will have it's say.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Megillah ... Shout!

Today's word is "Megillah" ... muh-GIL-uh ... Slang. a) a lengthy and tediously complicated situation or matter. b) a lengthy, detailed explanation or account.

(Dictionary.com)

Shout

It's political.

Megillahs of craziness!

Reigning hope and change.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Bildungsroman ... Read

Today's word is "bildungsroman" ... BIL-doo ngz-roh-mahn ... a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist. (Dictionary.com)

Read

Of all the books there are,

A Bildungsroman's quite rare,

And most of our young folk,

Really do not care.

If something is not moving,

Or connected to a screen,

If they can't move it with a mouse,

They don't care what it means.

Though a library holds much wisdom,

In all its tomes and texts,

The young will learn their lessons,

From the technology that comes next.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Doctrinaire ... Scratch

Today's word is "doctrinaire" ... DOK-truh-NAIR ... dogmatic about other's acceptance of one's ideas; fanatical; merely theoretical; impractical. (Dictionary.com)

Scratch

So much verbal noise,

Doctrinaire verbiage withers,

Turning hope away.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Arrears ... Beam

Today's word is "arrears" ... uh-REERZ ... the state of being behind or late, especially in the fulfillment of a duty, promise, obligation, or the like. (Dictionary.com)

Beam
When you're underneath it,
And can't see the end,
When every breath's a challenge,
And you don't know if you can mend,

And everything is in arrears,
And everything seems broken,
When the thoughts that are in your head,
Cannot be loudly spoken.

It's time to turn some things around,
And look past the darkened sky,
To know the light's just hidden,
And that soon the clouds will fly.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016

Ambrosial ... Brrr

Today's word is "ambrosial" ... am-BROH-zhuh l ... exceptionally pleasing to taste or smell; especially delicious or fragrant; worthy of the gods; divine. (Dictionary.com)

Brrr

Scorching sun beats down.

Ambrosial ice cream treats ...

Icy colors call.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Zoosemiotics ... hint

Today's word is "zoosemiotics" ... oh-uh-see-mee-OT-iks ... the study of the sounds and signals used in animal communication, as song in birds or tail-wagging in dogs. (Dictionary.com)

Hint

What's going on here?

Just zoosemiotics,

Wag, wag that tail dog!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Animadversion ... What?

Today's word is "animadversion" ... an-uh-mad-VUR-zhuh n ... an unfavorable or censorious comment; the act of criticizing. (dictionary.com) 

What?
Can there be freedom,
     where there is no animadversion?
No conflict, surely
     but no discussion to inform.
And if One Idea reigns,
     where will the dissenters go?
Sent behind bars to silence ...
     or worse?
Speak to each other. Listen.
     Let the words intermingle,
          until they write a new resolution.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2106

Puissant ...

Today's word is "puissant" ... PYOO-uh-suh nt ... Literary. powerful; mighty; potent. (Dictionary.com)

What difference in the scheme of things,

Can a puissant prayer make?

Can it cut through circumstance,

Or change the course of a mistake?

Can it take a willful soul,

And make it turn around?

Or move the path of a great storm,

Where wind and rain abound?

What of a different sort of change,

Not spoken much about,

Which happens in the hearts of those,

Who move to faith from doubt.

There are powers not understood,

By our feeble minds,

But spirit moves 'round and within,

As about us love does wind.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Vox populi ... Shake

Today's word is "vox populi" ... voks POP-yuh-lahy ... the voice of the people; popular opinion. (dictionary.com)

Shake

Hear the uprising,

The vox populi shouting.

The silence fractures.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Campestral ... Thick

Today's word is "campestral" ... kam-PES-truh l ... of or relating to fields or open country. (Dictionary.com)

Thick

Crowded by the people,

Deafened by the noise,

Needing quiet solitude,

Away from what annoys.

A campestral environment,

With trees and flowing brook,

Would sooth the tattered nerves,

Within a shady nook.

Time to think evades,

But must be gathered in,

If gentle contemplation,

Is ever to begin.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Tweedle ... Past

Today's word is "tweedle" ... TWEED-l ... to lure by or as by music: The Pied Piper tweedled the children into following him. (dictionary.com)

Past

What sort of music,

Could tweedle you to comfort?

Long forgotten tunes?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Nixie ... Grope

Today's word is "Nixie" ... NIK-see ... a letter or parcel that is undeliverable by the post office because of a faulty or illegible address. (dictionary.com)

Grope

Searching along the wall,

Looking for a gate,

Lost as a nixie in the mail,

With an undetermined fate.

Observing all the signposts,

For one that points toward home,

Sure there is a secret,

That will bring shalom.

Will is not enough,

To light the darkened way,

But, love can be trusted,

To come, and guide and stay.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Sockdolager ... Peace

Today's word is "sockdolager" ... sok-DOL-uh-ger ... Older Slang. something unusually large, heavy, etc. (dictionary.com)

Peace

Break through the darkness,

Destroy the sockdolager.

Return sanity.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Selenotropism ... Irresistible

Today's word is "selenotropism" ... si-lee-nuh-TROH-piz-uh m ... Biology. growth in response to moonlight. (Dictionary.com)

Irresistible

Is there a man inside the moon?

Someone who calls to creatures here?

Selenotropic plants reach up,

Hoping to bring its moonbeams near.

This is a moonish mystery,
Or a fantasy, some would say,
But little plants do upward turn,
And by the moonlight dance and play.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016

Velleity ... Will

Today's word is "velleity" ... vuh-LEE-i-tee ... a mere wish, unaccompanied by an effort to obtain it; volition in its weakest form. (Dictionary.com)

Will

Wanting. Not having.

     Like a beggar without a horse.

Though all the shiny, pretty things,

     are close enough to touch,

This golden road to having,

     is not paved with wishes.

For velleity brings nothing

     in its wake but disappointment 

          laced with envy.

But those who by gratitude 

     embrace their world will find 

          everything therein complete.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2015

Skerrick ... Munch

Today's word is "skerrick" ... SKER-ik ... Australian. a small piece or quantity; a bit. (Dictionary.com)

Munch
It's about that kettle corn,
That pops up everywhere,
It's irresistible you know,
And will drive you to despair.

You only want one tiny bite,
A skerrick, crunchy, small,
A little salty, a bit sweet,
Not handfuls, after all.

But, this tasty little treat,
Has a way of beckoning,
And if you can't resist it's call,
You'll face a reckoning.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2015

Orthography ... i

Today's word is "orthography" ... awr-THOG-ruh-fee ... The art of writing words with the proper letters, according to accepted usage; correct spelling. (Dictionary.com)

i

The letters were unusual,

   in the text I read,

"u" for you and "b" for be,

     like an orthographer'd gone mad.

No punctuation and no paragraphs,

     leaving me confused .... 

Where do I start? Where do I end,

     how do I find my way?

The meanings could be many.

     Confusions multiplied.

And I wondered,

     from my rule-bound mind,

if the rules no longer merit 

     any contemplation ... well,

who will the unruly keepers b?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

     

Egalitarian ... Carry

Today's word is "egalitarian" ... ih-gal-i-tair-ee-uh n ... asserting or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, especially in political, economic, or social life. (Dictionary.com)

Carry
Even with the problems,
The failures and the tears,
The constant, tortured changes,
Through lifetimes of years,

The fight egalitarian,
Marches through the dark and storm,
To create a new thing,
Never seen before.

Where all are well regarded,
All speaking, guaranteed,
Grown into great freedom,
From a bravely planted seed.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016

Tourbillion ... Spin

Today's word is "tourbillion" ... too r-BIL-yuh n ... a whirlwind or something resembling a whirlwind; a firework that rises spirally. (Dictionary.com)

Spin

It seems as if almost every day,

One tourbillion (or two or more),

Swirl through our lives with suddenness,

Leaving debris and rancor.

To keep your head is crucial,

Within this circumstance,

We need to find our peace,

And learn a different sort of dance.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Punctilio ... Nibble

Today's word is "punctilio" ... puhngk-TIL-ee-oh ... strictness or exactness in the observance of formalities or amenities; a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure. (Dictionary.com)

Nibble
The finest of food,
Punctilio perfection,
Art in an entree.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016

Churrasco ... July

Today's word is "churrasco" ... chuh-RAS-koh ... Latin-American Cookery. meat cooked over an open fire. (Dictionary.com)

July

You can call it a churrasco,

Or some barbecue,

A celebration is in order,

When the Fourth's in view.

Fireworks and sparklers,

Lighting up the dark,

Flags and decorations,

In every county park.

It is our country's birthday,

We thank those who fought and died,

To keep the light of freedom,

Burning far and wide.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016