Puffery ...

Today's word is "puffery" ... puff-uh-ree ... undue or exaggerated praise. Publicity, acclaim, etc., that is full of undue or exaggerated praise. (Dictionary.com)

"Oh Lord," he said. "I am so glad,

I'm not like that other one ... 

A sinner, poor, pathetic, torn,

His fate is sealed and done."

Continued he, with puffery,

How holy and how pure,

Were his intentions and his deeds.

He thought God too, was sure.

If he could have seen, plain and true,

Himself as others viewed him,
He would have bent to humility,
And a future much less grim.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Keysmash ... Type

Today's word is "keysmash" ... kee-smash ... a random string of letters and symbols typed out on a keyboard or touchscreen, used to signal intense emotion in written communication. (Dictionary.com)

Type
No more pen or paper,
No more cursive prose,
No proper fingers on the keys,
So what do you propose?

Shall we make due with pixels,
Or printing's progress slow,
iPads, phones, and tablets,
To express our feeling's flow?

Somehow I think we're losing,
The tender, human touch,
A keysmash may be appropriate,
When it's all too much.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2017

True-blue ... Brake

Today's word is "true-blue" ... troo-bloo ... unwaveringly loyal or faithful; staunch; unchangingly true. (Dictionary.com)

Bark

Little doggy in the pound,

Happy and true-blue,

Wants to follow you around,

And join your family crew.

Every day he'll greet you,

With boundless energy,

One look and you will know ...

You two have synergy.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Hedonism ...

Today's word is "hedonism" ... heed-n-iz-uh m ...devotion to pleasure as a way of life. (Dictionary.com)

Pay

Everywhere around,

Hedonism reigns freely ...

Dragging its results.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Winsome ... Wet

Today's word is "winsome" ... win-suh m ... sweetly or innocently charming; winning; engaging: a winsome smile.

Wet

With the innocence of spring,

And winsome grace she goes,

Toward the water's very edge,

To dip her little toes.

She holds her dolly in her hand,

So she might go in too,

But summer's sun has not begun,

To warm the laken blue.

Ankle deep must thus suffice,

For today's short swim,

Yet days and days lay up ahead,

To satisfy her whims.

Anne Selleck

Copyrighted 2017

Backronym ... Wordy

Today's word is "backronym" ... bak-ruh-nim ... an existing word turned into an acronym by creating an apt phrase whose initial letters match the word, as to help remember it or offer a theory of its origin. For example, rap has been said to be a backronym of "rhythm and poetry." (Dictionary.com)

Wordy

While most live facing forward,

Some spend creative time,

Working backronyms for pleasure,

(Or writing songs and rhymes.)

Why this is more important,

Than other great pursuits,

Is defended by the writers,

Who find no reason for dispute.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Chinwag ... Blah

Today's word is "chinwag" ... chin-wag ... Slang. an idle chat; gossip.

Blah

Chinwaggin' away ...

Facts distorted and confused.

Whose reality?

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Cantankerous ... Frown

Today's word is "cantankerous" ... kan-tang-ker-uh s ... disagreeable to deal with; peevish. (Dictionary.com)

Frown

They are no fun to be with,

Cantankerous and cruel,

No matter what we say to them,

They say that we are fools.

But they're in our family,

What then is our recourse?

There are some solutions,

(But they'd fill one with remorse.)

Better then to practice,

Some patience and some grace,

Knowing we can try again,

Each time we're face to face.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Memoriter ... Dusk

Today's word is "memoriter" ... muh-mawr-i-ter ... by heart; by memory. (Dictionary.com)

Dusk

Comfort comes to us,

Words spoken memoriter

From the hold within.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Ultracrepidarian ... Irrelevant

Today's word is "ultracrepidarian" ... uhl-truh-krep-i-dair-ee-uh n ... noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise. (Dictionary.com)

Irrelevant

He read no books about it,

No pamphlets, articles or blogs,

Yet he spoke as quite the expert,

From his cloudy-minded fog.

He really didn't want to know,

The true facts of the case,

He might have to eat his golden words,

And be put in his place.

This ultracrepidarian,

Will, when truth takes its final stance,

Bow down with great humility,

As others feast and dance.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Slumberous ... Greening

Today's word is "slumberous" ... sluhm-ber-uh s ... sleepy; heavy with drowsiness, as the eyelids; causing or inducing sleep. (Dictionary.com)

Greening

In this slumberous spring,

Birds have made their nests,

None of them is worrying,

Which one of them is best.

The buds are not competing,

For flower of the week,

And yet each one's enticing,

Their beauty what we seek.

Each sunrise is singular,

Each star is in its place,

Nature works in harmony,

A picture of God's grace.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Moggy ... Meow

Today's word is "moggy" ... mog-ee ... British Informal. a cat. (Dictionary.com)

Meow

Call them "cat" or "kitty,"

Or "moggy" if you please,

These fuzzy, slinky creatures,

We love to pet and squeeze.

They're very independent,

Yet happily abide,

In our homes and neighborhoods,

Or right by our sides.

If you want a little pet,

That loves yet stays apart,

A feline will surely fill the bill,

And slip into your heart.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Purloin ... Zzzz's

Today's word is "purloin" ... per-loin ... to take dishonestly; steal; filch; pilfer. (Dictionary.com)

Zzzz's

Up 'til 3:00 am,

Time purloined from nighttime sleep.

Payment tomorrow.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Slacktivism ... Scream

Today's word is "slacktivism" ... slak-tuh-viz-uh m ... actions taken to bring about political or social change but requiring only minimal commitment, effort, or risk. (Dictionary.com)

Scream
All the brave ones in a line,
Yelling with emotion,
Holding signs and banners,
Displaying their devotion.

Floor-sitting in an office,
At upper-level school,
Moving if demands are met,
Slacktivim's fools.

Throwing rocks and bottles,
Violence their only voice,
Refusing to speak reason,
A coward's final choice.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2017

Zugzwang ... Dust

Today's word is "Zugzwang" ... tsook-tsvahng ... Chess. a situation in which a player is limited to moves that cost pieces or have a damaging positional effect. (Dictionary.com)

Dust

Evil's tempting us

Into zugzwang silently,

Resist with courage.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Forgettery ... Grey

Today's word is "fogettery" ... for-get-uh-ree ... a faculty for forgetting; faulty memory. (Dictionary.com)

Grey

I have my own forgettery,

Somewhere in my brain,

Most things are found where they belong,

Locating others is a pain.

There are a least a thousand songs,

Filed away by year,

But where I put my running shoes,

Has shuffled to the rear.

What is so amazing,

Is that without a drive or folder,

Most what I need is close at hand,

Even as I grow much older.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Luddite ... Toot

Today's word is "luddite" ... luhd-ahyt ... someone who is opposed or resistant to new technologies or technological change. (Dictionary.com)

Toot

Call me a Luddite.

Robots are making music ...

Tone-deaf metal band.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Superlative ... Climb

Today's word is "superlative" ... suh-pur-luh-tiv ... of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else or others; supreme; extreme. (Dictionary.com)

Climb

Who has got the best,

The latest car, or clothes or home,

The fastest boat or largest camper,

The trip on which they furthest roamed?

About these bold achievements,

We just cannot stop talking,

The superlatives keep rolling,

Though some may find them shocking.

Those whose options are more narrow,

Might just want to grow and thrive,

And may find more joy in living,

Honing arts to stay alive.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Rosarian ... Bud

Today's word is "rosarian" ... roh-zair-ee-uh n ... a person who is fond of, develops, or cultivates roses. (Dictionary.com)

Bud

Spring gardens are soft calling,

To those who love the earth,

To rosarians and planters,

Who find in growing, mirth.

Soon the soil will be tilled,

And furrows filled with seed,

Zucchinis will be sprouting,

Far more than you need!

Watch out yellow dandelions,

Bugs and crazy squirrels,

Wild life will be bursting,

And the plants will rule.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Imprimatur ... Swirl

Today's word is "imprimatur" ... im-pri-mah-ter ... sanction or approval; support; an official license to print or publish a book, pamphlet, etc. (dictionary.com)

Swirl

Sitting on this tiny earth,

In the Milky Way,

Surrounded by a billion stars,

"Unremarkable," some say.

Yet marked by curiosity,

With persistence, plenty,

We explore this universe,

And ourselves, unrelenting.

Looking outward or within,

To the worlds inside our skin,

We find patterns most unlikely,

And an imprimatur built-in.

From spirals in the galaxies,
To the petals of a flower,

All pinecones, DNA and dreams,

Speak of a greater power.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Saudade ... Past

Today's word is "saudade" ... soh-dah-duh ... (in Portuguese folk culture) a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent. (Dictionary.com)

Past

Over your shoulder,

Saudade and sighs remain,

Broken by sunlight.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Sophistry ... What?

Today's word is "sophistry" ... sof-uh-stree ... a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning; a false argument. (Dictionary.com)

What?

Everywhere you go,

Someone's trying to make a point,

With logic or with sophistry,

Their views they do annoint.

T.V., the net and radio,

At meetings far and wide,

Someone is just begging,

For you to take their side.

So weigh the facts most carefully,

Be swayed by only reason,

Then you will be satisfied,

In every coming season.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Holus-bolus ... Lanes

Holus-bolus ... hoh-luh s boh-luh s ...all at once; altogether. (Dictionary.com)

Lanes

At the end of the day,

Workers holus-bohlus depart,

Leaving cubicles behind,

As their homeward journeys start.

Into their rolling containers,

They wearily ease themselves,

With computers and cell phones,

They join the motored swell.

Back and forth they go for years,

For money or for fame,

Greatful, happy, enthused or bored,

Chasing disparate aims.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Hypostatize ... Halt

Today's word is "hypostatize" ... Hahy-pos-tuh-tahyz ... to treat or regard (a concept, idea, etc.) as a distinct substance or reality. (Dictionary.com)

Halt

Chaos runs along ...

Hypostatizing spirit.

Order holds its hand.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Oleaginous ... Fanatic

Today's word is "oleaginous" ... oh-lee-aj-uh-nun s ... having the nature or qualities of oil; containing oil; producing oil; unctuous; fawning; smarmy. (Dictionary.com)

Fanatic

Do you believe what he has said?

His oleaginous words?

The way they wind and twist about,

You can't make sense of what you've heard.

His logic does not exist at all,

His emotions are intense,

At your reasonable argument,

He'll take great offense.

To him, your facts are smoke and dust.

Because you're on the wrong side,

But truth cannot be swept away,

By whims of self-made pride.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Milliner ... Eat!!!

Today's word is " milliner" ... mil-uh-ner ... a person who designs, makes, or sells hats for women. (Dictionary.com)

Eat!!!

Baby birds, mouths open wide,

Waiting for their mother,

Peered in on by a human,

They want worms or some such other.

Feathers, few, are all askew,

No fashion templates these,

They could use a milliner,

To make those feathers please.

Soon enough they'll fly away,

To build nests of their own,

They'll teach their fledglings everything,

That they themselves were shown.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Abrazo ...

Today's word is "abrazo" ... ah-brah-thaw ... Spanish... an embrace, used in greeting someone. (Dictionary.com)

Return

A day's work well done.

Welcomed in an abrazo ...

The warmth of home.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Coruscant ... Return

Today's word is "coruscant" .. kuh-ruhs-kuh nt ... sparkling or gleaming; scintillating; crusscating. (Dictionary.com)

Return
When life is unfair,
     failing to live up to our expectations,
And we look at skys, dark, clouding;
     rain threatening to overwhelm ...
What is left, except to rage in incoherence,
     or trust in a coruscant hope ...
          beliving all is well, despite what our vision proves,
               that we are held within a faith-fueled goodness.
And that we will never be laid aside, broken or forgotten,
     but will, instead, be carried into the unfathomable light
          of God's new creation.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2017
     

Minatory ... Stay

Today's word is "minatory" ... min-uh-tawr-ee ... minatory ... menacing; threatening. (Dictionary.com)

Stay
Evil's hand trembles.
Minatory events pale
in the light of truth.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2017

Dox ... Net

Today's word is "dox" ... doks ... Slang. to publish the private personal information of (another person) or reveal the identity of (an online poster) without the consent of that individual: The professor was dosed by a bitter student who failed her class. (Dictionary.com)

Net

This strange world of bits and bytes,

Is getting us in trouble,

This new world which we can't see,

Makes our troubles, double.

A nasty word on Facebook,

Sets someone's life on fire,

Another's doxed for something small,

Brought on by revenging ire.

But on the other, brighter side,

So too does happiness go 'round,

And good wishes, love and prayers,

Announced by tiny pinging sounds.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017

Floriferous ... Bloom

Today's word is "floriferous" ... flaw-rif-er-uh s ... producing blossoms; flower-bearing. (Dictionary.com)

Bloom

Bright blue sky is here!

Florriferous plants burst forth;

Joy in the back yard!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2017