Kanone ... Tracks

Today's word is "kanone" ... kuh-NOH-nuh ... a person who is an expert skier. (Dictionary.com)

Tracks

Finding your footing,

A kanone flying free.

Who's your instructor?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Equivoque ... Begin

Today's word is "equivoque" ... EK-wuh-vohk ... an equivocal term; ambiguous expression. a pun. (Dictionary.com)

Begin

How you hear the equivogue,

Determines all its meaning,

For good or ill it rests upon,

Which way you might be leaning.

A comment innocently said,

Becomes a call to war,

Where before there was no threat,

There's an uneven score.

Of course the other must respond,

Pride is on the line,

And so on and on it goes,

Until the end of time.

Unless a different voice is heard,

Which stops the circle's motion,

A chord of reconciliation,

Issued from love's true devotion.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Parergon ... Sparkle

Today's word is "parergon" ... pa-RUR-gon ... something that is an accessory to a main work or subject; embellishment. (Dictionary.com)

Sparkle

All the rare parerga,

Of fashion and good taste,

Fall like leaves of autumn,

And yet go not to waste.

They warn us of mortality,

And time that ticks away,

Surely the trinkets of this earth,

Over us have no sway.

All the things that matter,

Weigh less than the air,

Yet take up all our inward space,

And make up all that's fair.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Chanticleer ... Crow

Today's word is "chanticleer" ... CHAN-yuh-kleer ... Now Literary. a rooster: used as a proper name in medieval fables. (Dictionary.com)

Crow

Chanticleer calls out,

Morning blossoms once again.

Stumble toward the light.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Shivoo ... Shout

Today's word is "shivoo" ... shi-VOO ... Australian. a boisterous party or celebration. (Dictionary.com)

There will be a Great Shivoo,

     At the End of Time and All Things.

We will there together stand,

     While Angels 'round us sing.

And loud our voiced humanity,

     Will raise a collective sigh,

Eyes full of God revealed at last,

     Who was before on high.

The light of lights will penetrate,

     Where we were once alone,

Revealing heart's true purposes,
     All idols, broken stone.

Then will rise the final shout,
     And living water flow,
As into God's Great Kingdom,
     His grateful people go.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2017

     

Fulminate ... Alarm

Today's word is "fulminate" ... FUHL-muh-neyt ... to issue denunciations or the like (usually followed by against) (dictionary.com)

Alarm

Hot fulmination,

Burning through the atmosphere.

Quick! Get the fire hose!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Simpatico ... Say

Today's word is "simpatico" ... sim-PAH-ti-koh ... congenial or like-minded; likable. (Dictionary.com)

Say

We have 300 friends,

We're all simpatico,

And we all think the same,

To like places we all go.

We take pictures of ourselves,

And post them everyday,

We like each other all the time,

In every single way.

But do not disagree with us,

Our opinions are all set,

We ignore ideas not our own,

And on them we'll not fret.

In fact we'll let you know,
If welcomed you will be,
Just say something different,
Soon enough you'll see.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Intrapreneur ...

Today's word is "intrapreneur" ... in-truh-pruh-NUR ... an employee of a large corporation who is given freedom and financial support to create new products, services, systems, etc., and does not have to follow the corporation's usual routines or protocols. (Dictionary.com)

What if in our lives,

We gave our very best,

Were intrapreneurial,

More creative than the rest?

Would we be amazed,

And pleasantly surprized,

As wonderful, imagined things,

Appeared before our eyes?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Froideur ... Panic

Today's word is "froider" ... frwa-doer ... French. an attitude of haughty aloofness;" cold superiority. (Dictionary.com)

Panic

There is much froider.

All knowing glances and signs.

Humanity gone rogue.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Talisman ... Lucky

Today's word is "talisman" ...TAL-is-muh n ... anything whose presence exercises a remarkable or powerful influence on human feelings actions. (Dictionary.com)

Lucky Don't walk under ladders,
Or let black cats cross your path,
Throw salt over your shoulder,
Even if the others laugh.

Put a talisman in your pocket,
A rabbit's foot or stone,
And wear your garlic necklace,
(Though you may find yourself alone.)

All these superstitions,
Could make you oh so dizzy,
Or at the very, very least,
Keep you very, very busy!

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2017

Multitudinous ... Oh!

Today's word is "multitudinous" ... mull-ti-TOOD-n-uh s ... existing, occurring, or present in great numbers; very numerous; forming a multitude or great number. (Dictionary.com)

Oh!

Walking under winter's sky,

And multitudinous stars,

Struck dumb by moonbeams golden,

Which come from that space afar,

We can only wildly wonder,

At our purpose and our place,

The gift that we are here at all,

Inhaling all that's graced.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Asseverate ... Please

Today's word is "asseverate" ... uh-SEV-uh-reyt ... to declare earnestly or solemnly; affirm positively; aver. (Dictionary.com)

Please

Promises were spoken,

A solemn oath was made,

They asseverate all will be well,

All debts will be paid.

They're sincerely bold and brash,

(We're in a happy daze.)

But speeches will be tested,

Under reality's cold gaze.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Esperance ... Still

Today's word is "esperance" ... ES-per-uh ns ... Obsolete. Hope. (Dictionary.com)

Still

Through all dark moments,

Esperance holds the string taut.

We won't fly away.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Katzenjammer ... Blow

Today's word is "katzenjammer" ... KAT-suh n-jam-er ... uneasiness; anguish; distress. (Dictionary.com)

Blow

Mild winter tricks us,

Then katzenjammer sets in,

We know what's coming!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Jurisprudence ... Weigh

Today's word is "jurisprudence" ... joo r-is-PRO-ns ... the science or philosophy of law; a body or system of laws. (Dictionary.com)

Weigh

No jurisprudence

Can account for grace revealed.

Mystery abounds.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Rectitude ... Climb

Today's word is "rectitude" ... rek-ti-tood ... rightness of principle or conduct; moral virtue; correctness. (Dictionary.com) 

Climb

Standing in the light of change,

     is there a standard?

An unwritten rule of goodness?

     Something guaranteeing rectitude?

Or are we on our own here,

     tugging at our bootstraps ...

Struggling to lift our estimate of ourselves,

     To show the world our superiority?

Perhaps this view we have as

     Masters of our Fate, and everyone else's,

Is skewed by our perception.

     And perhaps, there is another point,

Where the view is also clear. If we could only

     Find the map and start the journey.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

     

    

Igneous ... Spark

Today's word is "igneous" ... IG-nee-uh s ... of, relating to, or characteristic of fire. produced under conditions involving intense heat. (Dictionary.com)

Spark

Waiting for the heat to begin,

     To form me like an igneous rock ...

Out of incessant pressure and flame,

     Into something strong and unyielding,

Unafraid and full of courage.

But this shrinking violet cringes,

     Wondering at the cost 

Of such a transformation.

     What will be left in the end?

After that searing, sacred violence.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Laterigrade ... Crabby

Today's word is "laterigrade" ... LAT-er-i-greyed ... having a sideways manner of moving, as a crab. (Dictionary.com)

Crabby

Up, down and laterigrade,

The creatures bob and weave,

Down the sandy beaches,

Through waves and sticks and leaves.

Running who knows where,

In search of what, who knows?

They have their own peculiar ways,

Those tiny desperados.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Crambo ... Ugh!

Today's word is "crambo" ... KRAM-boh ... inferior rhyme. (Dictionary.com)

Ugh!

When the words won't come,

All that's left is cranbo style.

A poet's nightmare!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Willowwacks ... Patter

Today's word is "willowwacks" ... New England. a wooded, uninhabited area. (Dictionary.com)

Patter

We used to walk along,

My funny dog and I,

Through town and willowwack,

Under every kind of sky.

We'd shuffle through the leaves,

Through snow or rainy tracks,

For many, soul-full miles,

And always we'd come back.

Now I walk alone,

Or with a human friend,

Carrying sweet memories,

'Round each familiar bend.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Myrmidon ... Dirt

Today's word is "myrmidon" ... MUR-mi-don ... a person who executes without question or scruple a master's commands. (Dictionary.com)

Dirt
When housework explodes,
     A myrmidon is needed.
Where can I find one?

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016

Flackery ... News

Today's word is "flackery" ... FLAK-uh-ree ... publicity and promotion; press-agentry. (Dictionary.com)

News

Once a long, long time ago,

There was a humble man,

Who used no flackery or fuss,

To work out his great plan.

He walked the world anonymous,

From most who lived therein,

Yet everyone now knows his name,

Through long history's din.

Bigger things were happening,

Than any human thought, 

This answer to our sinfulness,

With sanctity was fraught.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Crepitate ... Burn

Today's word is "crepitate" ... KREP-I-teyt ... to make a crackling should; crackle. (Dictionary.com)

Burn

The night is cold; we're waiting,

Cozy, warm and sheltered,

We've heard a storm is coming,

Snow will blow helter-skelter,

But if all holds tight within,

And the fire crepitates,

We'll outlast the lashing,

And give thanks for our warm state.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Fallal ... Sparkle

Today's word is "fallal" ... fal-LAL ... a bit of finery; a showy article of dress. (Dictionary.com)

Sparkle

Sometimes a bit of fallal,

Is all it takes to cheer,

That's why all the shopping,

This bleak time of year.

A bright scarf or earrings,

A new dress or pair of shoes,

Blink against the whiteness,

And keep away the blues.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Frondescence ... Snow

Today's word is "fromdescence" ... fron-DES-uh ns ... leafage; foliage. (Dictionary.com)

Snow

In this bleak white season,

There is no fromdescence,

The trees are all stripped bare,

Of their leafy, lovely essence.

We will have to wait long days,

'Til green reappears,

And the sun shines warm,

On all, far and near.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Etiolate ... Leaf

Today's word is "etiolate" ... EE-tee-uh-leyt ... to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor. (Dictionary.com)

Leaf

My sad little plants

     etiolate before my eyes.

Life has given up.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Draconian ... Release

Today's word is "draconian" ... drey-KOH-nee-uh n ... rigorous; unusually severe or cruel. (Dictionary.com)

Release

Come away from fear,

Draconian punishment

Cannot live with love.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Emolument ... Add

Today's word is "emolument" ... ih-MOL-yuh-muh nt ... profit, salary, or fees from office or employment; compensation for services. (Dictionary.com)

Add

Is this the season then,

     To contemplate one's future,

The ins and outs of profits,

     Emoluments and wages?

Evaluations must be done,

     Taxes and levies paid,

All that disappointing stuff,

     Made of numbered details.

But there are other scales,

     Weighing motives meanings,

Attitudes and purposes,

     And their consequences.

Of the two the latter,

     May be the more important,

As on we go through winter,

     The cold and windy season.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Murmuration ... Cloud

Today's word is "murmuration" ... mur-muh-REY-shuh n ... a flock of starlings.

Cloud

Sudden sky fills with movement.

     Birds in thousands, soar and turn 

          in flight as if guided by one mind.

They close and darken,

     open and let light leek

          through uncountable openings.

A living, black and white 

     kaleidoscope of shape,

          making and remaking

               itself in mysterious patterns.

This murmuration is understood

     only by the aviators.

The rest of us arrange ourselves in awe,

     privileged to gape at them

          in earthbound wonder.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Yeasayer ... Again

Today's word is "yeasayer" ... YEY-sey-er ... a person with an optimistic and confident outlook. (Dictionary.com)

Again

All the yeasayers,

Are cheering in the new year.

Join the great rumpus!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Tootle-oo ...

Today's word is "tootle-oo" ... told-l-OO ... Informal. goodbye; so long. (Dictionary.com)

Cheers

Tootle-oo to you,

And to the year that's now gone,
Plant your seeds today!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2016

Handsel ... Toll

Today's word is "handsel" ... HAN-suh l ... a gift or token for token for good luck or as an expression of good wishes, as at the beginning of the new year or when entering upon a new situation or enterprise. (Dictionary.com)

Toll
Do you desire a handsel,
To begin your new year?
A little something extra,
To alieviate your fears?

Give yourself this wondrous thing,
Think a soulful thought,
You are the minder of yourself,
And can't be sold or bought.

The level of the water glass,
The beauty in your eye,
Are determinedly yours,
And yours to apply.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2016