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

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evanescent : tending to vanish like vapor

she is eternal
and she is evanescent
a woman pulls weeds

haiku 1011 : 6/9/22

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burgle : to break into and steal from (a home, business, etc.)

the bathtub’s gurgle
carried off with all the rest –
that epic burgle

haiku 1012 : 6/12/22

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panacea : a remedy for all ills or difficulties

a panacea
did present itself but oh!
what an aftertaste

haiku 1013 : 6/13/22

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Attributions:

“Evanescent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evanescent. Accessed 9 Jun. 2022.

“Burgle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burgle. Accessed 12 Jun. 2022.

“Panacea.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/panacea. Accessed 13 Jun. 2022.

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

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hummock : a rounded knoll or hillock

Then one day
yellow bulldozers
shape hummocks
dig a pond.
Turtles. Dragonflies. Frogs. Snails.
Water lilies bloom.

shadorma 477 : 11/16/22

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apropos : with regard to (something) : APROPOS OF

Hydrangea.
Leaves droop flowers brown
apropos
lack of rain.
Another breathless morning.
Hazed sky. Ground baked hard.

shadorma 435 : 7/27/22

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teleological : exhibiting or relating to design or purpose especially in nature

Winds blow. Ferns shiver.
Teleological minds
Theorize. Explain.
Winds blow. Ferns shiver. Clouds skip.
Voices call. I don’t ask why.

tanka 382 : 1/10/23

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Attributions:

“Hummock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hummock. Accessed 16 Nov. 2022.

“Apropos.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apropos. Accessed 27 Jul. 2022.

“Teleological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teleological. Accessed 10 Jan. 2023.

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

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headlong : lacking in calmness or restraint

Headlong dive.
Brush into color
and out. Fall
and flip drips
Sunny-Side Up Fried Egg (gloss).
Now stroke the wall gold.

shadorma 410 : 6/11/22

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emancipation : the act or process of emancipating : to free from restraint, control, or the power of another

one day it happens
paints and brushes set me free
emancipation
into a new life I choose
the colors and I take flight

tanka 305 : 6/19/22

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oblivion : the fact or condition of not remembering : a state marked by lack of awareness or consciousness

Loops of colored lights
Pink twists of cotton candy
Let the carnival
be tonight’s oblivion:
A sky full of Ferris wheels

tanka 368 : 12/17/22

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Attributions:

“Headlong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/headlong. Accessed 11 Jun. 2022.

“Emancipation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emancipation. Accessed 19 Jun. 2022.

“Oblivion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oblivion. Accessed 17 Dec. 2022.

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

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duress : law : compulsion by threat

under duress I
said I was sorry although
I wasn’t but if
I held out Mom would not let
me go back outside and play

tanka 310 : 6/29/22

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pathos : an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion

Doomed lovers
play out destiny
on the screen
I feel it
The pathos of their parting
The three of us weep

shadorma 433 : 7/24/22

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endemic : characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, area, or environment

Sheath dresses
endemic back then.
Sherbet tints.
Big party –
twelve tables of bridge players.
I can’t locate Mom.

shadorma 494 : 1/23/23

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Attributions:

“Duress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duress. Accessed 29 Jun. 2022.

“Pathos.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pathos. Accessed 24 Jul. 2022.

“Endemic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endemic. Accessed 23 Jan. 2023.

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

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Luddite : one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest…broadly : one who is opposed to especially technological change

No Luddite,
I just like the feel
of the pen
writing out
notes in looping cursive ink
stacks of index cards

shadorma 434 : 7/26/22

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bombast : pretentious inflated speech or writing

My boss and bombast
Condense the hot air she blows –
Tropical typhoon

haiku 1066 : 1/11/23

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assiduous : showing great care, attention, and effort : marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application

Your fingers
squeezing the pencil
blunted tip
pressing hard
with assiduous slowness
you scrawl a squashed “4”.

shadorma 450 : 9/5/22

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Attributions:

“Luddite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Luddite. Accessed 26 Jul.2022.

“Bombast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bombast. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.

“Assiduous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assiduous. Accessed 5 Sep. 2022.

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

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bravado : blustering swaggering conduct

Burst of bravado.
Spewed a few bald truths. Wigged out
in other words. Oops.

haiku 1058 : 12/10/22

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hyperbole : extravagant exaggeration

So they say. But I
discard the hyperbole
Trim its frayed loose ends
Free up the truth. Skeletons
in her closet want to talk.

tanka 346 : 10/17/22

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perspicacious : of acute mental vision or discernment : KEEN

How we have missed her
the perspicacious insights
the tart tell-the-truth
that balanced our sugared lives
All lost to us now. We mourn.

tanka 339 : 9/21/22

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Attributions:

“Bravado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bravado. Accessed 10 Dec. 2022.

“Hyperbole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hyperbole. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.

“Perspicacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perspicacious. Accessed 21 Sep. 2022.

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

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paladin : a trusted military leader (as for a medieval prince)

Ambition
and rank: Figurines
grab shelf space.
Who’s the boss?
Pink mermaid? Stern paladin?
Fat simpering clown?

shadorma 492 : 1/16/23

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fresco : the art of painting on freshly spread moist lime plaster with water-based pigments : a painting executed in fresco

a forlorn fresco
melancholy in makeup
the sad circus clown

haiku 1079 : 3/1/23

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substantive : having substance : involving matters of major or practical importance to all concerned

After the dinner
substantive discussions lag
Digestive matters
take precedence over talk.
Oh, why won’t that fool shut up?

tanka 335 : 9/11/22

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Attributions:

“Paladin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paladin. Accessed 16 Jan. 2023.

“Fresco.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fresco. Accessed 1 Mar. 2023.

“Substantive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/substantive. Accessed 11 Sep. 2022.

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

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perceptible : capable of being perceived especially by the senses

The baby crying
her distress perceptible
and how it carries!
Louder than a fire siren!
(Maybe they should hire her? Hmmm…)

tanka 364 : 12/3/22

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lachrymose : given to tears or weeping : TEARFUL

We stood there
small lachrymose group
our old car
hauled off to
the junkyard. Good-bye, old friend.
End of an era.

shadorma 482 : 12/7/22

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festoon : to decorate, adorn – : to hang or form festoons on

On the floor
festoons of blond curls.
A small girl.
First haircut.
Scissors snip. The child unsure.
Is it tears or smiles?

shadorma 411 : 6/14/22

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Attributions:

“Perceptible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perceptible. Accessed 3 Dec. 2022.

“Lachrymose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lachrymose. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

“Festoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/festoon. Accessed 14 Jun. 2022.

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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

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speculate : to meditate on or ponder a subject : REFLECT

eyes narrow
assessments begin
I see it
I feel it
You speculate. You conclude.
In silence I wait.

shadorma 486 : 12/23/22

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eleemosynary : of, relating to, or supported by charity

The will. The long word.
Eleemosynary. What?
A cat charity?
That’s where Grandpa’s fortune goes?
It’s time to start meowing.

tanka 391 : 2/1/23

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despot : a ruler with absolute power and authority

With his permission
we exist. The cat rules us
as the mood takes him
A somewhat benign despot
his claws clicking on the floor.

tanka 393 : 2/8/23

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Attributions:

“Speculate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speculate. Accessed 23 Dec. 2022.

“Eleemosynary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eleemosynary. Accessed 1 Feb. 2023.

“Despot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/despot. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.