Poems from my Merriam-Webster Word of the Day project. For more information, look here.
cloying : disgusting or distasteful by reason of excess…also : excessively sweet or sentimental
It was his
cloying aftershave
that sank his
proposal
I’ve always thought. Who needs a
a lifetime of stink?
shadorma 467 : 10/21/22
rancid : having an unpleasant smell or taste usually from chemical change or decomposition
I wished those mean girls
deep into a garbage can
rancid and oozing
decked out in curled necklaces
of rotting banana peels
tanka 336 : 9/15/22
brackish : : somewhat salty… (also) not appealing to the taste
another late lunch
I eat alone. Brackish sludge
in a crazed-glaze bowl
thick rim chipped and abraded
washed and dried too many times
tanka 318 : 8/4/22
Attributions:
“Cloying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloying. Accessed 21 Oct 2022.
“Rancid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rancid. Accessed 15 Sep. 2022.
“Brackish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brackish. Accessed 4 Aug. 2022.
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
Brackish reminded me of the god awful coleslaw I couldn’t eat at Red Robins today 🤢
I had to laugh because I know just what you mean! Though in the context of food I am thinking of the tomato soup my mom used to make us eat when we were sick.
We had to have chicken bouillon – talk about brackish! We were so thirsty that flat 7-Up even tasted better!
Ugh, I get you, You know, I still can’t eat tomato soup to this day.
If only some of those rancid revenge day dreams could come true… Even now I have a bad taste left by “mean girls”…
Yes. I have some of the same kind of memories, I think. Unfortunately they have lasted. But, I bet those mean girls got their comeuppance somewhere down the line. Life has a way of doing that.