Hagridden ... Ruin

Today’s “hagridden” ... hag-rid-n ... worried or tormented, as by a witch. (Dictionary.com)

Ruin

Some so hagridden,

Scuttled by circumstances.

Totally controlled.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Contextomy ... Shazam!

Today’s word is “comtextomy” ... kon-tens-tuh-mee ... the practice of misquoting someone by shortening the quotation or by leaving out surrounding words or sentences that would place the quotation in context. (Dictionary.com)

Shazam!

Ah, to recreate the world,

By rearranging facts,

Cutting this, moving that,

No need to just react.

This sly contextomy,

Leaves nothing up to chance,

Everything is organized,

To swallow in one glance.

But that meal of forged delight,

Won’t stand time’s great testing,

Except by those who close their eyes,

And eat with their brains resting.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Causerie ... Yes

Today’s word is “causerie” ... koh-zuh-ree ... an informal talk or chat. (Dictionary.com)

Yes

Sometimes,

A causerie

Warms more than love’s delight.

The words bringing understanding,

Soul to soul.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Hypnopedia ... Zzzzz

Today’s word is “hypnopedia” ... hip-nuh-pee-dee-uh ... sleep learning. (Dictionary.com)

Zzzz
We could keep our phones
On for twenty four,
Watch tv all day,
And then beg for more,

No more school for us,
No books or lectures old,
Because with hypnopedia,
Our sleep has made us bold!

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2018

Punnet ... Treat

Today’s word is “punnet” ... puhn-it ... British, Australian. A small container or basket for strawberries or other fruit. (Dictionary.com)

Treat

Blueberries,

Piled in punnets,

Unmade pies await ...

Muffins, cookies, ice cream wonders.

Summer’s gifts.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Isopolity ... Hole

Today’s word is “isopolity” ... ahy-such-pol-i-ty ... equal rights of citizenship, as in different communities; mutual political rights. (Dictionary.com)

Hole

Hedges, walls and borders,

Separate us all,

Some within and some without,

No isopolity at all.

Lambs within their folds,

Coyotes roaming free,

Humans in their houses,

Safe as they ought to be.

Separation chafes the ones,

Who yearn to unify,

Other’s love their unique place,

Under God’s good sky.

We love the hopeful vision,

Of a peace for one and all,

But only Christ can save us,

From the import of our fall.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Blinkered ... Out

Today’s word is “blinkered” ... bling-kerd ... narrow-minded and subjective; unwilling to understand another viewpoint. (Dictionary.com)

Out

Fervently they yell,

Blinkered blind by feeling’s sway,

Reason under foot.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Epigone ... Blank

Today’s word is “epigone” ... ep-i-gone ...an undistinguished imitator, follower, or successor of an important writer, painter, etc. (dictionary.com)

Blank

He studies,

Each line and dot,

Every shaded master stroke,

The epigone works in shadows.

Lost, himself.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Leonine ... Fierce

Today’s word is “leonine” ... lee-uh-nahyn ... resembling or suggestive of a lion. (Dictionary.com)

Fierce

Shy, silent footsteps,

Leonine face well hidden,

He stalks dragonflies.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Vogie ... Bigger

Today’s word is “vogie” ... voh-gee ... Scot. conceited; proud. (Dictionary.com)

Bigger

He’s larger than life,

And as vogie as they come.

No compromise there.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Cart Blanche ...

Today’s word is “cart blanche” ... Kahrt blanch ... unconditional authority; full discretionary power. (Dictionary.com)

Judge

It is really true,

     we have been given cart blanche

          to rule this world.

Why we’ve been entrusted with this,

     is anybody’s guess.

Certainly not for our obedience,

     and not for our purity.

In fact. If it had been up to us to judge ourselves,

     we would have had less mercy.

So we fell, out of order, out of time,

     into a chaos made with our own hands.

There would have been no hope for us

     at all, except for grace.
And now we know. We have a choice ...
     the darkness or the light.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2018

Tummler ... Peace

Today’s word is “tummler” ... any lively, prankish, or mischievous man. (Dictionary.com)

Peace

All around the town it seems,

Are tumblers, jesters, knaves,

Clowns and sordid characters,

Who jump and spout and wave.

How can we be expected,

To trust any of the lot,

When the very best of them,

Continuously plot.

Ah, for some sweet civility,

For just one single night,

Because all of the rest of us,

Are too tired of them to fight.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Hoity-toity ... Better

Today’s word is “hoity-toity” ... pretentious; haughty. (Dictionary.com)

Better
Looking down his nose,
Speaking hoity-toity words,
No one listening.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2018

Cheville ... Marked

Today’s word is “cheville” ... shuh-vee ... Prosody. a word or expression whose only function is to fill a metrical gap in a verse or to balance a sentence. (Dictionary.com)

Marked

Let our lives matter,

No mere chevilles in this world,

True love’s disciples.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Magisterial ... High

Today’s word is “magisterial” ... maj-uh-steer-ee-uhl ... authoritative; weighty; of importance or consequence; of relating to, or befitting a master. (Dictionary.com)

High

Power

Life-long desire,

All things under his feet,

Magisterial influence.

Rejected.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Garbology ... Details

Today’s word is “garbology” ... the study of the material discarded by a society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns. (Dictionary.com)

Details

Who thought that garbology,

That sticker or that bill,

That broken bat or mitten,

Thrown into the landfill,

Would tell someone you do not know,

All about your life,
And how your culture spent their time,
Your loves and hates and strife?

That will paint some picture!
Of what, we can’t be sure,
Except to say there will be lines,
That crisscross, run and blur.

Anne Selleck
Copyright 2018

Coeval ... Reunion

Today’s word is “coeval” ... Koh-ee-vuhl ... of the same age, date, or duration; equally old. (Dictionary.com)

Reunion

Best friends,

And coevals,

Memorized the same times.

Now review discrepancies.

Click.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Amour-propre ... Umbrella

Today’s word is “amour-proper” ... a-moor-praw-pruh ... French. self-esteem; self-respect. (Dictionary.com)

Umbrella

His amour-proper was such,

That he believed in all he said,

No matter what the argument,

Feelings his logic fed.

Undeterred by darkening sky,

And weeds in his neighborhood,

All was red, red roses,

All was bright and good.

Even when the storm began,

He sat right there and whistled,

Unperturbed as he got wet,

Annoyed by thorn and thistle.

Ann Selleck

Copyright 2018

Vitiate ... Varoom

Today’s word is “vitiate” ... vish-ee-eyt ... to impair or weaken the effectiveness of. (Dictionary.com)

Varoom

Early silence wakes,

Vitiated by motors.

Humans greet the day.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Eggbeater ... Cloudy

Today’s word is “eggbeater” ... eg-bee-ter ...Slang. a helicopter; a small rotary beater for beating eggs, whipping cream, etc. (dictionary.com)

Cloudy

Orange dot flys,

Choppy waves roll.

An eggbeater thundering,

Watching for lost swimmers flailing.

Saving.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Solecism ... S’up?

Today’s word is “solecism” ... sol-uh-siz-uhm ... a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was. (Dictionary.com)

S’up?

Sloppy language, solecisms.

Cursive, what is that?

Words like “photobomb” appear,

Like rabbits from a hat.

We type out our messages,

On thumbs upon our phones,

And keep our eyes right on the screen,

Even with those we love, at home.

This leads to abbreviations,

The young know what they mean,

The rest of us just shake our heads,

Glad to be on the scene!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Makebate ... Waste

Today’s word is “makebate” ... meyk-beyt ... Archaic. a person who causes contention or discord. (Dictionary.com)

Waste

Peaceful.

Then the makebate.

A cloud of bad mischief,

Leaving a troubled trail behind.

Wrecked.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Ullage ... Slam

Today’s word is “ullage” ... uhl-ij ... the amount by which the contents fall short of filling a container, as a cask or bottle. (Dictionary.com)

Slam

Sometimes I think there’s ullage,

Where some people’s brains should be,

As I hear their lack of logic,

(Though with each other they agree.)

It must be a certain virus,

Or mental illness on their part,

Or maybe they tire of thinking,

Or have teeny, tiny hearts.

Whatever the condition,

They cannot speak their minds,

And must resort to actions,

Which often are unkind.

Maybe a debating class,

Would bring facts up to the fore,

Then we could simply compromise,
From alternatives galore.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Bravura ... Brillant

Today’s word is “bravura” ... bruh-vyoor-uh ... a display of daring; brilliant performance. (Dictionary.com)

Brilliant

Hear it?

Bravura sings,

Meadows dipped in flowers

Rise in multicolored chorus

Praising.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Plantigrade ... Fuzzy

Today’s word is “plantigrade” ... plan-ti-greyd ... walking on the whole sole of the foot, as humans, and bears. (Dictionary.com)

Fuzzy

They cross the road together,

     the five of them,

Walking plantigrade,

     cubs following their mother,

           trusting her with their lives ...

If bears think such things.

People watch and frett,

     not sure if this maternal group

          is cute, or dangerous.

The creatures wander off, unaware

     that they have caused a stir.

Reminding us

     that we are not so far

          from where we started.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Campcraft ... Tent

Today’s word is “campcraft” ... kamp-kraft ... the art of outdoor camping. (Dictionary.com)

Tent

On the rugged lakeshore,

Sitting round the fire,

All the campcraft well in hand,

Everyone is tired.

The nearby leaves are rustling,

The sun low in the sky,

The last of evening’s bird song,

Goes out with no reply.

Laughter rings around,

As tales are being told,

Memories to savor,

Even when we’re old.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Debonair ... Summer

Today’s word is “debonair” ... deb-uh-nair ... courteous, gracious, and having sophisticated charm. (Dictionary.com)

Summer

Sandles,

Shorts and t-shirts,

Contrast with the flowers.

Deonair waiters look down noses,

Sighing.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Fizgig ... Boom

Today’s word is “fizgig” ... fiz-gig ... a type of firework that makes a loud hissing sound. (Dictionary.com)

Boom

Tonight is the night!

We celebrate with fizgigs!

Our America!

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Kafkaesque ... Maze

Today’s word is “Kafkaesque” ... marked by a senseless, disorienting, menacing complexity. (Dictionary.com)

Maze

How is it, that at the top,

So often no one speaks,

Words normal folk can understand,

Words thrown down from lofty peaks.

Not only pompous do to they seem,

But Kafkaesque and strange,

Proposing actions, rules and laws,

Which no one can explain.

Seems common sense has left the room,

The grown-ups have gone home,

The children are all screaming,

Wanting goodies of their own.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Buttery ... Strive

Today’s word is “buttery” ... buht-uh-ree ... grossly flattering; smarmy. like, containing, or spread with butter. (Dictionary.com)

Strive

Shiny,

Buttery leaves,

Soaking up bright sunshine.

Energy building to burst forth,

Petal frenzy.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018

Mind-pop ... Remembered

Today’s word is “word-pop” ... mahynd-pop ... Psychology Informal. a word, phrase, image, or sound that comes into the mind suddenly and involuntarily and is usually related to a recent experience. (Dictionary.com)

Remembered

What is that word-pop?

It’s been conjured from thin air ...

Not my idea.

Anne Selleck

Copyright 2018