Poems from my Merriam-Webster Word of the Day project. For more information, look here.
melancholia : a sad quality or mood : MELANCHOLY
musty in
melancholia
mossy roof
peeling paint
grayed clapboards fingernail soft
the old house succumbs
shadorma 440 : 8/12/22
grandiose : characterized by affectation of grandeur or splendor or by absurd exaggeration
we moved here
fancy neighborhood
big house with
grandiose
ambitions we could not meet.
It was a mistake.
shadorma 448 : 9/2/22
countenance : FACE, VISAGE especially : the face as an indication of mood, emotion, or character
The house in sunlight:
a good-humored countenance
it turns to the road
haiku 1067 : 1/23/23
Attributions:
“Melancholia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melancholia. Accessed 12 Aug. 2022.
“Grandiose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grandiose. Accessed 2 Sep. 2022.
“Countenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countenance. Accessed 13 Jan. 2023.
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
I am imagining someone looking to move into a new property and visiting some prospective houses. I hope they have the budget for the final house. I think I can smell the melancholy house in my mind’s eye (mind’s nose?)
Thank you. As you know, I feel each house is a personality or personage, with its own arc of life. So of course every house has a different story it’s appearing in. There is something sad about a house decaying but also, maybe it was just time for it to rest, I often think. And I also hope the good humored home finds a similar family and they are happy together.
Thought provoking! (Just what poetry should do)
Thank you!
I like how you made these all about houses. I feel sad for the melancholic house–definitely wouldn’t want to live there, but yes to the one with the cheerful face!
Every house is a person to me, in that it has its own story and lifespan. And of course not all houses, like people, get treated as they deserve. I am fascinated by the array of emotions that can be expressed through writing about houses, we do identify with them so much.
Yes, I agree about houses having personalities. I think we’ve talked about that.
But I think some have stronger personalities than others–good or bad, pleasant or evil.
Yes, you are right. And I still have never been able to come to a conclusion why this is, but you do feel it.
It’ s like an energy held within the house.
Yes. Different from that of a tree, say, or something organic.
Yes. Different, but there. Sort of like they’re holding an echo.
Yes. That is it.
Seriously awesome dictionary word poems. I especially like the melancholy poem!
Thank you. There is a house near us that is kind of in this state and that’s what made me think of it for this word.