Four poems from my Merriam-Webster Word of the Day project. For more information, look here.

---

rash : marked by or proceeding from undue haste or lack of deliberation or caution

four children
a split-level house
in-laws, cats,
meals, spats, bills –
results of a rash promise
made in other times

shadorma 444 : 8/22/22

---

obliterate : to make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or wearing away

Snow obliterates
volition Suspends time in
a white blur We wear
pajamas all day We rest
and enjoy the change. Snow day!

tanka 334 : 9/10/22

---

vandalize : to subject to vandalism : DAMAGE

The worn brick facade
The blistered paint on the door
Vandalized by time
yet the house is still graceful.
It called to me. I came home.

tanka 366 : 12/8/22

---

conundrum : an intricate and difficult problem

Beat the conundrum
Fall in with the march of time
Your best set of sticks
Put them in play. The rhythm
steps you forward. Answers roll.

tanka 380 : 1/7/23

---

---

Attributions:

“Rash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rash. Accessed 22 Aug. 2022

“Obliterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obliterate. Accessed 10 Sept. 2022.

“Vandalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vandalize. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

“Conundrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conundrum. Accessed 7 Jan. 2023.