I had some fun with haikus yesterday and was trying to think of way to make it a game. I think it could go two ways. YOU write the directed haiku and then give directions for the next. That direction could either be TOPIC: weather or WORD: stormy and the next player would then create a 5*7*5 syllable, 3 line haiku about the topic/word and then leave their own directions for the next player. Shall we give it a try?
Stormy clouds above
Darken to shadows of doom
Picnics are awful.
Topic: the flu
Who let this in here?
I said I didn't want 'flu!
You can't get the staff.
Next topic: family
Sister golden hair
a little light on the fare
hopefully Sunday
Next: Weather: Hail
Something stung my face.
Was it a bee or a wasp
or a hornet? No.
Next: flowers
Tulip, Daffodil
Can't spell Chrysanthemum so
Rose, Lilac, pretty.
word to include: money
I once wrote for love.
And then I wrote for money.
Now I write for fun.
word to include: sea
Old man by the sea
Abound these broken vessels,
were once seaworthy
Next: weather: heat/hot(in a general sense)
The steamy summer
Will soon be surrounding me
I must get a fan.
topic: marriage
If you wed, someone
will share the griefs you'd escape
by staying single.
topic: birthdays
Some do like birthdays
Enthusiasm not shared
Dismal progression
Hey, it's a party
So, do invite all your friends
This is my birthday!
Next: driving/traveling
Posted speed limits
Are more a challenge than rule
'Til a cop is there.
Topic: books
A room in my house
has no space for furniture
or me, only books.
Topic: cats
Just abruptly leaves
The black blur of some purpose,
or just randomly
Next: cats(again)
Small kitten mewling
Hoping to sound ferocious
To scare off the rat.
topic: noise
Someone else too loud.
When I need something doing
I shout politely.
topic: fashion
Flowing and draping
fabrics like satin, cotton
Usually wrinkled.
Or at least for me
My fashion sense is all gone
I wear my leggings.
topic: trees
Elm, ash and hornbeam:
rooks calling from the branches;
the sound of summer.
topic: boats
Ignore. There was a collision, and I lost.
Varying patterns
of trees, grounds, mountains, and clouds
– fractal architect
Next: mountains
Maybe next time. the winner says "boats" is next.
Edit: the 'recovery' always does seem a bit awkward – don't seem to get used to that.
I'd rather just drive,
but prefer sea over air
Screw the statistics
Next: mountains
They don't really care
if you climb up them or fall.
Mountains are remote.
Next: hare
It's a bad hare day!
All these rambunctious rabbits,
knocking stuff over!
Next: kitten
Fluffy, appealing,
wide-eyed. Who'd think that kitten
will become a cat?
Next: car-park
Balancing tires
Just need a quick place to stop
Carpark up ahead
Next: potholes
Home of the cave bear?
Short-cut to deepest Hades?
Or just a pot-hole?
Next: river
Gurgling babbling brooks
join with many more to form
Gigantic rivers.
topic: magic
Now you see it, now
you don't. Can you locate the
lady? Not a chance.
next: a film/movie
Tiny "rock hammer"
Little pressure; lots of time,
is all that you need
Next: another movie
CGI monsters,
human nature at its worst -
bad as one another.
next: a city
Don't like Portland Maine
or any others like it –
far too congested
Next: puppies
The best thing about
puppies is that they grow up
into dogs. End of.
Next: making a will
Inevitably
A decision may be made
as to who gets what
Next: repetitiveness
A lady from Spain
was sick on a train. Again,
again, and again.
next: pasta
Spaghetti sauces
go with penne also, then
crusty bread, salad.
topic: menu
Flame broiled ribeye
Salt, much pepper, and garlic
A baked potato
Ribeye has been like $18.99 lb. here lately.
Next: the grill
Time for dinner. What
do all these foreign words mean?
I just want a steak!
next: fruit
Cornucopia
Not exactly fruit per se
It's fruit of the loom
Next: rainy days (like today)
If it didn't rain
there would be no flowers, and
no weeds. Fair exchange?
next: ploughing
Neighbor parks in street
during the snowplow season
Does tend to annoy
Next: fields
Those blue remembered
hills are Slieve Donard, Scrabo
and Castlewellan.
next: birds
Caged birds do not sing.
They do make a mess for you
Bird seed everywhere.
topic: flight
See some dry patches
The morning birds are singing
Singing for more rain
I used to know someone that would say that the birds are "singing for more rain", usually when it looked to be on the verge of more rain or had just stopped.
Next: roadkill(it makes me cringe every time)
Edit: ignore, next is "flight".
When I am very rich
I will buy my own airport.
Planes will wait for me.
next: roadkill
Think what it was like
To have been that animal
Prior its demise
Next: backroads
There are quicker ways
to wherever you are going.
None so pretty, though.
next: puddles
To stomp for pure joy
In the aftermath of rain
Is part of childhood.
topic: falling
The art of riding
is keeping a horse between
you and the hard ground.
next: yachts
When I was a tot
One thing that I'd do a lot,
was make them spell "yacht"
Next: horsepower
"Speed kills" was for drugs
But also Lamborghinis
That go way too fast.
topic: tennis
Must there always be
this fence between us? I don't
even like tennis.
next: fishing
Sitting in a boat
Pole in hand with worm on hook
Still nothing to eat.
topic: quill
Computers be damned!
Typewriters? Far too modern.
Quill and ink for me.
next: shopping
In the cart it goes
Adding more and more and more
Then close Amazon.
topic: music
Always have music
when on those long scenic drives
Flipping through stations
I used to make a USB stick for the car but have since transitioned to ten radio presets.
Next: a musical instrument
Once I played guitar.
Not well, but good enough for fun.
Can't reach the chords now.
next: train travel
Clackity clack clack
Sway calmly with the movements
Don't try to walk fast.
topic: mosquitoes
It's a barbeque;
better not dilly dally
Bloodsuckers at dusk
Next: stinging insects
Butterflies are sweet,
moths are entirely harmless -
midges were sent from hell!
next: salad
It used to be ranch,
but today the poppyseed
is preferable
Next: main course
Nothing beats a steak.
Unless it's a bigger steak,
with all the trimmings.
next: (naturally) dessert
I love chocolate
In all its presentations
Desserts rule. AAAHhhhhhhh.
topic: picnic
Eating al fresco
is just the best thing ever.
The bugs think so, too.
next: smoke detectors
Burned dinner again
Sirens to let the neighbors
know. Burned again.
topic: daffodils
I wandered lonely
as a clown, with a yellow
flower in my coat.
next: dusting
Confectionary
Sugar on a warm doughnut
Is heaven on earth.
topic: Vacuum
The answer to a
maiden's prayer! No, not a man -
a vacuum cleaner!
next: choosing wallpaper
Stripes or floral vines
Textured, patterned, solid color
Measure carefully.
topic: teapot
Coffee for a time
Left a foul taste in my mouth...
the teapot whistles
Next: chores
It's only work if
you let it be. Keeping house
nice is fun. (Yeah, right.)
next: school
Once upon a time
It was strictly for learning,
this devolution
Next: evolution
Better child of ape
than of Bishop of Oxford,
said Thomas Huxley.
next: garden
Digging in the dirt
Perhaps to plant some flowers
Or bury bodies.
topic: windows
Watch the world go by.
Why is the world so smeary
and flecked with bird-shit?
next: stairs
Escalators move
us upwards or downwards, but
Stairway to Heaven.
topic: internet
All the world's a stage,
condensed into a lap-top.
Good; could be better.
next: trees
Repeating patterns
On and on to infinity
Gradient colors
Next: stumps
What's left when you take
a tree away is a stool
or stump. Why? Beats me.
next: gloves
The Lorax stood tall
Remnants of Truffula trees
No brown Barb-a-loots.
topic: nursery rhymes
Twinkle, little star.
Mary had a little lamb.
We were little too.
next: dolphins
Using puffer fish
to get high proves something or
perhaps not. Yaaaa Hoooo!!!
topic: ship
A mariners' tale...
Novembers' fateful journey;
'twas the Fitzgerald
Next: parasites
Mention parasites
and everyone thinks of worms,
not of mistletoe.
next: kissing
Dew kisses the earth,
and raindrops kiss black asphalt
as morning shivers
Next: chipmunks
Name means Red Squirrel.
Lives in burrows underground.
Used to sing in band.
next: swan
Elegant and white
But make for ugly ducklings
Must find your own path.
next: piano
Hammers strike on strings,
eighty-six black and white keys
Hammers strike on strings,
eighty-six black and white keys
make music for all
next: sundial
The star nearest Earth
pulls the shadow of a day
around, full circle
next: shapes
Like the children's game,
most people fit the right slot.
Some of us don't, quite.
next: camping
Leave comfortable home
Pack up nearly everything
And it rains all day.
next: driving
Fastest animals--
humans in their cars,
overspecialization.
next: slow
Whoops-got the line order wrong--
Fastest animals--
overspecialization,
humans in their cars.
next: slow
Slow worm, slow loris -
take time to smell the daisies.
Everything can wait.
next: storm
Flashes of lightning
Roar of thunderous booms bring
drenching rains, flooding.
next: pie
Whether meat or fruit
it all depends on the crust
that makes or breaks it.
next: flakes
Silently falling,
filling woods and fields with white,
a life-size snow globe.
next: sky-scrapers
Modern-day castles
glistening in sheaths of glass
draw gazes upward.
next: streets
A desolate stop
Put the window down a bit
Crickets' night music
Next: fields
Don't plough for a while.
Let nature do her own thing.
Grass starred with flowers.
next: having a cold
Sneezing and coughing
Used tissues scattered around
Wish for a quick death
next: afternoon
Afternoon doldrums
are easily shaken off
by a garden walk.
next: dance
Children cannot dance.
Adults are embarrassing.
Requires teenager.
next: car break-down
Waltzes, pirouettes,
Swirling skirts, charming men all
Slaves to the music.
next: Shakespearean theatre
All the world's a stage:
sometimes The Palladium,
and sometimes The Pits.
next: walking a dog
She strains at her leash,
eager to sniff messages
sprinkled in the brush.
next: aromatherapy
Essential oils are
what keeps a duck waterproof.
To relax, sniff duck.
Next: curry
An exotic dish,
Thai green curry is best served
With coconut milk.
next: vegetables
The best thing about peas
is the honey needed to
keep them on the knife.
next: apple-blossom
Blossoms are abound
Backroad vistas sights afar
Beginning orchards
Next: lakes/ponds
Soft pool of water
Shimmer in sun; rage in wind
Edges are muddy.
next: hummingbird
Tiny hover-fly
of a bird, clad in jewels -
drinker of nectar.
next: freedom
Freedom tempered laws
Carefully accommodate
Subjective morals
Next: captivity
Captivity
is neither good or bad she said
drowning in his gaze.
next: romance
Romance comes with a
sell-by date. If it turns to
love, it ought to last.
next: selfishness
Strangely, selfishness
is often caused by excess
and a greed for more.
next: philanthropy
Give it all away
Or at least enough to show
Magnanimous you.
next: baths
Why's the dog looking
so glum? Someone steal his ball?
No - but it's bath night.
next: cutting the grass
The smell of mown grass
Is always pleasing to me
Not the man mowing.
next: tulips
Big, bold, blowsy buds
all the way from Amsterdam.
I prefer bluebells.
next: strawberries
Loved strawberry wine
(Remembering some lyric) (60s)
And he loved you too
(Maybe it was watermelon wine)
Next: watermelons
(Was it not Lilac Wine?)
So sweet and juicy:
summer sun concentrated
in a vegetable.
next: mother of the bride
So many details
She is no longer a child
Now she's his problem.
next: ambition
I can move the world,
given somewhere to stand. But
the world may push back.
next: church-going hat
Church-ladies wear hats
Sundays to look circumspect
after Saturday.
next: sinners
It's inconvenient
that fun and frivolity
require confession
Next: dread
Existential fear,
horror of what is to come -
overwhelming dread.
next: baking
Flour, sugar, eggs
Flavorings mix together
Voila! you have cake.
Next: dieting
No flour or sugar.
Certainly no chocolate.
No reason to live.
next: dog-show
Dogs bred to standards
overaccentuate type.
I prefer a mutt.
next: cats
Re: lilac wine
It was watermelon wine. The song was I Love by Tom T. Hall:
It was popular on the radio around 1970, and I would've been around three years old at the time.
When it comes to cats
I would rather not fix them
if they ain't broken
Next: plants
Edit: I guess I remembered it wrong. Watermelon wine isn't in the lyrics, but it is in the title of another track by Tom T. Hall.
"Industrial Plant"
read the sign. What I pictured? -
an urban triffid.
next: carrot
Tall and slender root
Raw or boiled or candied
Not so good for eyes
next: penmanship
More important than
how you write is what you write.
But graceful is good.
next: a castle
I read Gormanghast
every over-written page.
At last, I asked,"why?
next: clutter
Where? Where? Lost? Missing?
I cannot find anything
In this mess. Deep sigh.
next: school days
"Best days of your life,"
they said. If I'd believed them
I'd have hung myself.
next: queuing
Stand here long enough
That I made it to the front
I forgot what for
Next: Rainy Day
Cozy here inside
under a crocheted afghan.
A lowering sky.
next: willows
The airy secrets
Will all aspirate amongst
Whispering willows
Next: grass
The wonder of grass
is, it grows from underneath.
Not killed by grazing.
next: cow
A walking burger
According to most people.
I see big, brown eyes
Next: Deadline
Ages yet. I've got
all the time in the world. What
do you mean, it's due?!!!
next: car breakdown
What is that icon
flashing red on the dashboard
and what is that sound?
next: steam
Fancy a cuppa?
Or a ride across Europe?
All you need is steam.
next: toast
Not burnt, but blackened
A little burnt is okay
Same goes for popcorn(butter, sea salt, and grated parmesan)
Next: grilled
All night they grilled him.
He would not betray his friend
who was innocent.
next: guilt
For the guilty ones
Consequences can be like
A wheel of fortune
Next: morals
I may bend the rules.
You have pushed the envelope.
He, she or it cheats.
next: squirrel
Intentionally,
squirrels scold and tease my dog
and drive her insane.
next: crows
If you see a flock
of crows, they're probably rooks.
Crows don't much like crowds.
next: wood
A cottonwood tree,
its leaves glittering in sun,
is worth blowing seeds.
next: garden
Some for edibles;
others for the fancy dress,
and the pests, no less
Next: cornfields
Sunshine fixed in corn:
walking through a golden field
is summer's highlight.
next: Shakespeare
"Words too archaic"
sayeth some who wish to write.
Remember Shakespear.
next: classics
Archaic misused,
and often times overdone,
but okay sometimes
Next: contemporary
"It's new and shiny -
it must be better than what
we had before. Right?"
next: eagle
The regal eagle
Soars high above the seagull
I'll take the beagle (but would prefer a cat)
Next: snakesss
Could be a hosepipe
coiled in the shed. But what if
it really isn't?
next: ice-cream
Count the calories?
Just remember life is short.
Eat the ice cream, Girl!
Next: picnic
Eating al fresco:
pork pie, pickles, quiche and crisps.
Never mind the ants.
next: TV
A reclining chair,
a ridiculous premise.
I'm wasting my life.
next: action
Run a mile a day.
Always take the stairs to work.
Guess what? - you'll still die.
Next: a beach
You say "ocean beach"
but I hear "carcinoma".
My age I suppose.
next: wisdom
"Wisdom of ages".
Can't mean old people: everyone
knows they're not too smart.
next: shoes
With advancing age
we use good sense buying shoes
with extra insoles.
next: spike heels
Raised heels are good for
horses with poor feet. But hurt
more on human toes!
next: clouds
Vapor formations,
Joni Mitchell didn't know
there's more than two sides.
next: thunder
Sky-born shock-wave, or
God dropping his tin tea-tray?
Probably the first.
next: stars
Points of light flicker
Making the moon look brighter
Or else, Hollywood.
next: heatwave
Heatwaves look more fun
when they affect someone else.
A bit like parties.
next: a bridge
A summer heatwave,
let's walk to the river bridge,
there'll be a cool breeze.
next: stonework
Taller than the trees,
cathedral's slender stone spire
gives God the finger.
next: hope
Hope, more than a rope
to cling to when suspended.
but work at it too.
Next: Optimism.
My glass is half full.
Actually, I'm really glad
to have my own glass.
next: gloom
Dusky, dark, brooding
Vampires and goblins abound
Nightmares terrify.
next: roses
Pretty as picture,
perfume to die for. And thorns.
Wouldn't you just know?
next: street-lamp
Shine in my window
Sounds romantic in novels
But keeps me awake.
next: annoyances
Am I getting old?
Everything annoys me now,
even being cross!
next: cobwebs
The marine layer lifts,
reveals a bright spider web
strung with beads of dew.
next: snake
A snake in the grass,
we say, meaning a traitor.
Good job snakes are deaf.
next: fog
Swirling, twirling, mists
Clouds come close to Earth to stay
Burned off by bright sun.
next: potato chips
(I'm guessing you mean what we call crisps, rather than what you call fries.)
Addictive as pot.
No one has just one, or two.
It's none, or a pack.
next: history lesson
Yes, I did mean what you call crisps.
The past is present
In everyday happening
If you know to look.
next: miracles
It's a miracle
we're here at all. After that,
nothing surprises.
next: ice-skating
Upright on knife's blade
Swirling over frozen ice
Until I fall down.
next: origami
Make a careful fold,
turn the edge back on itself,
and look! - creased paper!
next: visit to a zoo
Enclosures hold back
All the animals from those
taunting human kids.
next: ballet
Really skilful, and
also really athletic.
Pity it's so daft.
next: television
Masses' opium
That was the designation
But still popular.
next: police
Our brave boys in blue,
or aggro behind a shield.
Depends who you ask.
next: a candle
Bees' wax or tallow
Flickering lights are pretty
Don't burn the house down.
next: Botox
Smooth out those wrinkles!
A shot of deadly toxin
a small price to pay.
next: gym
(note: Botox is playing with fire for some people as it can trigger some pretty terrible autoimmune diseases.)
For free-spirited
the gym is but a dance hall,
loud music--ZUMBA!
next: fun
Yipeee! Gleeful days
Spent in splendid amusement.
Recovery is hard.
next: remote control
Rise no more from couch!
TV always within reach!
Quite soon legs drop off.
next: walking stick
Balance gone with age
Or glamour of the twenties
Walking stick tap taps.
next: lipstick
Never did use much;
now I don't even own one.
I'm quite bright enough.
next: autumn leaves
Red, yellow, and orange
Coloring the mountainsides
For a few, short weeks.
next: Bluetooth
Not sure what it is.
Something electronic, yes?
I manage without.
next: reindeer
Dasher and Dancer
Prancer, Vixen, and Cupid
All pull Santa's sleigh.
Next: high tea
What does "high tea" mean?
Perhaps some strange ritual
under a full moon?
next: dinner
Best meal of the day -
unless you count first breakfast,
lunch, tea or supper.
next: a cushion
Meat and potatoes
Perhaps even some veggies
But mostly, dessert.
next: fresh baked bread
Quote from: Spell Chick on June 20, 2025, 12:37:14 PMMeat and potatoes
Perhaps even some veggies
But mostly, dessert.
For use as a cushion? Doesn't it get a bit messy?
Heavenly scented,
somewhat indigestible,
never lasts for long.
next: a tractor
John Deer is favored
by Dakota wheat growers.
What about Europe?
next:crops
Those new pages catch me far too often. You would think I would know how to use this by now. But alas, I'm dumb as a post.
Tilling and planting
Neat rows produced by machines
Harvest wheat and corn.
next soy beans
I've never had them
so it's tricky to comment.
Any good on toast?
next: choosing paint
Ecru or off white
Cream, pearl, alabaster, bone
Just paint the damn wall.
next: theater
Sat in the front row,
the lead had a missing tooth,
Ruined the whole play.
next: playground
Gravel in your knee
was a badge of honour once.
Now rubber makes safe.
next: canoe
paddling with the flow
The going is easier
but not always right.
next:exploring
Seeking out new worlds
Not just Star Trek, everyone
Needs to find some new.
next: heat wave
Don't use the cooker.
Draw curtains during the day.
Little hope of sleep.
next: skiing
Always thought I could,
but never did go flying
down glittering slopes.
next: regret
Regrets: had a few.
Not that many, in fact, and
none of them major.
next: a soldier
Patriotic or
Duty bound, or just perhaps
Too young and foolish.
next: doom
They say it's certain
that one day I too must die;
and it is not so!
next: take-away
Three take away one,
the answer is binary,
either this or that.
next: complexities
Difficulties now
With unrelenting issues
No easy answers.
next: spaghetti
Spaghetti Junction
gets you from Birmingham to
the rest of the world.
next: pasta
With butter or with sauce
As a side dish or main course
Oodles of noodles.
Next: rice
Feed half the world, with
a little grain, water, and
a black buffalo.
next: insomnia
What good does it do
to lay awake and worry?
I can't turn it off.
next: advice
Received, good or ill
Often completely ignored
Feels good to give.
next: boldness
Look before you leap?
Be damned to that! I'm leaping
anyway. Watch me!
next: a clock
A clocks hands go 'round
we think time is linear.
and both things are true.
next: cycles
The yin and the yang
Spinning together and apart
Make bicycles go.
next: beach house
Stripes are the done thing,
blue and white for preference.
And wooden seagulls.
next: garden pond
The koi remain coy
Gently swimming in circles
Looking for more food.
next: ice cream
Oh! the decisions.
Sprinkles, or a chocolate stick?
Or raspberry ripple?
next: parking the car
I would rather walk
from the far end of the lot
than deal with the mob
Next: Summer Nights
The temperature
dips just enough to refresh.
The first stars come out.
next: mobile/cell phone
There is no escape
No place you can run or hide
Ring-ring! They found you
Next: hummingbird
Drinker of nectar,
as much tongue as bird, and can
fly forwards and back.
next: sloth
Spirit animal
Slow and steady wins the race
Mold grows in your fur.
next: red flag
Unwise around bull,
bad news for racing driver,
great for admiral.
next: airport
Modern air travel woes
Start with extra fees an then
Move on to pat down.
next: meadow
Daisies star the grass,
buttercups liquid sunshine;
oh yes, and cow shit.
next: mirror
A still lake mirrors
the stars below as above,
centering my soul.
next: cosmic
Everywhere is here
Stars, planets, and moons light up
The vast, deep, night sky.
next: grocery shopping
Just want to say, although I almost never join in on this thread, I enjoy reading them.
Gyppo
All compliments gratefully accepted, Gyppo!
Why do I always
get the wonky-wheeled trolley
that's like herding cats?
next: keeping a diary
Some day when I'm gone,
and all my diaries found
won't they just be shocked?
Next: a long funeral
He wasn't very
interesting when alive:
now he's dead boring.
next: toothache
So much agony
And the worst part of all
I still cannot eat.
next: Disneyland
The rides were thrilling,
but now they are old and quaint.
Memories remain.
next: virtual reality
An expensive toy;
unless you're in a wheelchair,
when it's a new life.
next: the pub
Mind your Ps and Qs
Quaff your ale and sling some darts
Watch for the alewife.
next: stilettos
Stilettos are sharp,
often forced deep in through ribs
stopping unlucky hearts.
next: bloodstains
Cold water's the thing
for bloodstains; and luminol
to show where they were.
next: fingerprints
No two are alike
like snowflakes and zebra stripes.
Safecrackers take heed.
next: gloves
Falling leaves, frost, wind;
but nothing says Autumn like
getting out your gloves.
next: rocking horse
Worry, it is said
Like a rocking horse used as
Get away stallion.
next: anxiety
Conscious of weakness,
worried I can't even do
anxiety right!
next: arrogance
I am the great me
Full of bluster and false pride
Secretly ashamed.
next: freedom
Freedom does not mean
any action is okay,
but I have free will.
next: choices
Chocolates or nuts?
In life, is it quality
or length that we choose?
next: open window
The breeze softly wafts
The curtains flutter along
but then - mosquitoes.
Next: bread
Bread, a vehicle
to convey peanut butter.
I like mine crunchy.
next: foodies
Talk about playing
with your food! Forget the taste -
how photogenic?
next: camera
Now flat and compact--
you can even talk on them,
then send the photo.
next: simplicity
On switch. Off switch. That's
enough complexity for
anyone, surely?
next: queuing
Here is a great thing
So say the advertisers
Line up and buy now!
Next: waiting on hold
"Please hold the line. Your
call is important to us.
But our coffee waits."
next: butter or margarine?
Synthetic butter,
why would anyone put it
on asparagus?
next: spinach
Popeye's magic trick
beat that Bluto every time.
Made Olive Oyl melt.
next: tin whistle
It's impossible
for a tin-whistle artist
to play a sad tune.
next: spirit
Spirit in a horse
is considered a good thing.
Also in a glass.
next: a balloon
Hot air balloon rides
aren't scary because of height
but electric wires.
next: thrill seeking
Live fast and die young!
Or observe the speed limit
and see more of life.
next: fairground
Sweating children cry
Frustrated parents cry more
All the money gone.
next: topiary
So much skill and care!
And for what? To make a hedge
look like a peacock.
next: strawberries
These days it is true,
the bigger the strawberry
the less its flavor.
next: genetics
Blue eyes or brown eyes
Tall or short, man or woman
A double helix.
next: ethnic food
They eat lutefisk
in Lutheran church basements,
Norwegians scorn it.
next: pizza
Meat, tomatoes, cheese -
dust with chocolate for a
three-course meal in one.
next: art gallery
Hoi polloi enjoy
being seen in galleries,
best scene is in streets.
next: anti-intellectual
Snobbish idiocy
Is questionable at best
No answers here.
next: banjo
Probably counts as
a musical instrument;
up for debate, though.
next: conducting an orchestra
The powerful baton
can conjure up entire worlds
imagined in sound.
next: horns
Horns can be too loud.
A bulls horns can kill easily.
French horns are suspect.
Next: Dog lead.
How to keep someone
safe in busy city streets?
Attach to a dog!
next: wind-surfing
Breezes, gusts, and winds
Move the clouds over the Earth
Are they wind surfing?
next: helicopter
Next thing to bird flight
human species have devised
and a thrill to ride.
next: space flight
No limits: not to
human ambition or our
ingenuity.
next: midnight
It's a misnomer.
Midnight is bedtime for some
who like the dark hours.
next: sleep
"Sleep like a baby."
Old age brings more challenges
than insomnia.
next: a gravestone
Two dates separated
By a brief time here on Earth
Stained with many tears.
next: friends
Like me, but another.
Best of both worlds: alone but
never quite alone.
next: bicycle
Queen wrote a whole song
On the wonders of pedaling
For fat bottomed girls.
next: kites
Imagination
soars, only a string away
from freedom and flight.
next: dolls' house
Elegant and small
Made for play but displayed, too
So damn expensive.
next: model railroad
Every man's secret
desire, lived in miniature.
Hear the whistle scream!
next: new car
A new red Corvette,
or a classic jalopy--
two mid-life choices.
next: switchbacks
Swirling and twirling
Back and forth among the mountains
Motorcycle bliss.
next: frustration
Where there's will, there's way.
Nothing is impossible.
Except that it is.
next: birthday
Just celebrated
another year: eighty-three.
Not much time left now.
next; immortality
Here and ever here
Always and forevermore
I wish I could sleep.
next: crayons
Color me surprised!
Old sayings from the eighties
taken from lyrics.
next: spectrum
So many children
paint rainbows that we forget
the wondrous science.
next: suitcase
Of all your luggage,
make certain one's a go-bag
with your essentials.
next: disasters
Stormy weather or
a gun toting miscreant
Get the hell out now!
next: puzzles
Why do we do them?
Life's complicated enough,
why set fresh puzzles?
next: hot dog
Lo, Oscar Meyer
Hebrew National, et.al.
Time to BBQ.
next: mustard
An acquired taste,
especially the brown kind,
once developed--yum!
next: seeds
The secret of life,
the universe and all that
wrapped up very, very small.
next: thunder
Lightning excitement
Leads to the low, rumbling sound
Of distant thunder.
next: eclipse
If I was Stone Aged
I'd think a wolf had eaten
the sun. Glad I'm not.
next: ouija board
Mysterious vibes
Moving the small triangle
The answer is nonsense.
next: fortune teller
The fortune-teller
knows just where the money goes.
Into her pocket.
next: a snake
Sinewy, slithers
Twirling back and forth across
Your deepest nightmares.
next: dreams
Sometimes dreams reveal
a message that emanates
from a higher self.
next: trust
Once lost, never found.
Lose keys, lose cash, but never
lose a person's trust.
next: swan
No ugly duckling
Just beautiful and graceful
Perched on the waters.
next: plaid
Tartan by any
other name would also clash
with anything else.
next: jogging
Concerning jogging,
my knees issued an edict,
"do it and go lame."
next: body language
My body language
mostly consists of versions
of the words, "Not likely!"
next: eye test
See the giant E
It gets progressively worse
Farther down the chart.
next: starfish
The star of tidepools,
among its fellow creatures,
the sign of the hex.
next: witchcraft
A witch is a bit
like cough-syrup: disgusting
until you need one.
next: knitting
The soft fluffy yarn
Wrapped around two sharp needles
And then - two warm socks.
next: medication
Open your mouth and
close your eyes, and swallow! Now,
don't you feel better!
next: morning lie-in
Total luxury
Is the manipulation
Of your special time.
next: chores
My dust is mostly
dog hair. No hair, no dog. So
sometimes I must dust.
next: wine
The sommelier's notes:
"overtones and finishes,
earthy, smokey"--bah!
next: vinyards
Row upon row stand
Stately vines dripping with grapes
Later, bottled sun.
Next: camel
Both ends dangerous,
uncomfortable to ride -
ship of the desert.
next: Bigfoot
Cryptids are famous
For being elusive souls
Who have no presence.
next: presents
What shall I give him?
Look in the re-gifting drawer.
No - he gave me that!
next: bird feeder
Seeds scattered around
Covering the ground below
Turn to wild flowers.
Next: mirrors
A strange old, ugly
face peers in. That's no window,
that's a mirror. Me?
next: taking a bus
Wheels go round and round
Sometimes yellow, sometimes red
Where are we headed?
next: sandpaper
The feel of the wood
growing smoother and silky,
it was a tree once.
next: workshop
Tools scattered around
Screwdriver, hammer, and wrench
Where is the damn nail?
next: island
A speck of land lost
in a boundless ocean; or
one soul, surrounded.
next: tea-bag
Dip, dip and then steep
Little container of leaves
Crushed in hot water.
next: straw
It's your bed! If you
eat it all, you'll have nothing
to lie on! Daft horse.
next: tiger
Tigers in a zoo,
like Ronstad's tree museum,
aren't the same as wild.
next; habitat
Plain for a lion,
dense jungle for a tiger;
city streets for us.
next: camera
The beauty of now
Cameras try to capture
But often just fail.
next: meadow
Tall grass, waving, starred
with marigolds and cornflowers.
My land. (Horse thinks his.)
next: school sports day
Too short and too slow,
always last to be chosen
by the team captain.
next: talents
Honed skills from practice
Or gifts from the gods to us
Maybe make money.
next: bed
Not just place to sleep.
Obviously. But best place
to read, chat, reflect.
next: stars
Hollywood has made
some brilliant movies and yet
some poor headliners.
next: the moon
Romantic icon,
green cheese, or just rock? Depends
who it is you ask.
Next: laundromat
This community
pounded clothes on river rocks
singing together.
next: traditions
This is the old way
The right way, the only way
It's how it is done.
next: Victorian era
Viewed from a distance,
can seem quaint, charming. Until
you need surgery.
next: rope-bridge
The Black-bottom stomp
can get a rope bridge swinging
to a Cajun beat.
next: roaring twenties
Dapper flappers and
Jazz bands and blues singers and
Then the horrid crash.
next: movies
I've been compared to
a movie star. Flattering?
Not when it's Lassie.
next: parade
Lines and lines and lines
of both marchers and watchers.
Not fun in this heat.
next: quill
Before computers
there were typewriters, pens, quills.
Only words matter.
next: dinosaur
I am a dinosaur,
still use an edged pen to write
calligraphic hands.
next: dinosaur (again)
I am a dinosaur
I survived a meteor
I'm NOT a chicken.
next: erasers
Those who use pencils
for intimate thoughts and plans
still can change their minds.
next: daydreams
I'm seventy-four,
and still wondering what will
growing up be like.
next: favourite childhood toy
Dolls or toy soldiers
Small people like small people
To learn about life.
next: job interview
I only ever
did two. Got both jobs, though one
wasn't a keeper.
next: spaghetti
Many advocate
for Mediterranean
diets, cuz pasta.
next: souffle
I believe it's hard
to make rise. I wouldn't know.
I like spotted dick.
next: camping
Plans to go camping
are often susceptible
to circumstances.
next: tent
Pitched and placed in shade
or placed directly in sun
and too cold, too hot.
next: aging
Can be graceful; but
it's much more fun to grow old
disgracefully, friends!
next: friendship
In my eighth decade,
old friends are lost, one by one,
still I say their names.
next: naming
Persons, places, things
Nouns are given unique names
To tell them apart.
next: grammar
A noun and a verb
alone make terse conversing.
Choose the rest wisely.
next: modifiers
Split infinitives
Add spice and color as you speak
And while writing, too.
next: television
That box on the wall
brings the world into your home.
Not always good thing.
next: DIY
If you cannot patch
a too-badly damaged wall,
sledge-hammer it down.
next: overkill
Lord, give everyone
in the whole world patience - but
I want mine right now!
next: sky-scraper
Whay folly rises
near the San Andreus Fault?
Will they ever learn?
next: city life
Scurry here and there
Bright lights, traffic, and glamour
Step around unhoused.
next: sunflowers
Sturdy sunflowers
keep their faces toward the light,
they are resilient.
next: optimism
This is the best of
all possible worlds: it has
chocolate in it.
next: beer
Beer is as tasty
as drinking Alka-Seltzer.
Fizz goes up my nose.
next: milk
Forget oats, soya -
you want milk, you need a cow
(or other mother).
next: despair
Why, oh why laments
As the world slowly plunges
Toward normality.
next: wedding
"Do you take him, for
as long as you both shall live?"
For now, anyway.
next: funeral
Weep, sob, or laughter
Depending on your feelings
For star of the show.
next: letter writing
Cursive with dip pen
on a beautiful vellum--
a lovely letter.
next: grace
One spotty ear, one
tan one; sweet-natured, unruly.
My late lurcher Grace.
next: weather forecast
Mostly dark tonight
With widely scattered light come
Morning. George Carlin
next: quotations
I loved the hippy dippy weatherman stuff
A universal
truth caught in a line or two:
a quotable quote.
next: embroidery
Of the needle arts,
the deceptively simple
is embroidery.
next: paper
All the latest news;
but tomorrow, it'll be
lining the cat's box.
next: rock'n'roll
We were highschoolers
cruising around the drive-n
when we heard James Brown.
next: street dance
Loud and obnoxious
Writhing bodies and perhaps
Some beer and/or drugs.
next: magic lamp
Rub for three wishes!
Health, wealth and beauty? Wisdom,
kindness? Or just light?
next: cave
A large chamber here
Stalagmite and stalactite
Dripping and growing.
next: bats
Who'd have thought that a
bat's closest relative was
something like a cow?
next: family
Parents and siblings
All crammed together as one
Domicile unit.
next: internet
Thousands of "friends", a
million "likes". So how come
folk feel so alone?
next: bird-bath
My neighbor's birdbath
is constantly visited by crows
who entertain me.
next: flight
Two hours to check in,
then boarding, then tarmac hold.
Then off like bullet!
next: boredom
Ennui, shiftlessness
Sitting and staring and then
Sighing and sadness.
next: excitement
Isn't it thrilling?
My human, missing for three
minutes, is now back!
next: bees
Busy little things
Doing some waggle dances
To tell of pollen.
next: honey
The only sweetness
the ancients knew made a few
bee stings well worth while.
next: mountains
Here by the ocean
I yearn for distant mountains--
there I gaze seaward.
next: variety
Variety is
the spice of life: yet the norm
has its attractions.
next: sand-castle
Castles in the sky
Do not compare with the ones
Kids build on the beach.
next: puppets
Jerking spider limbs,
fixed smile of a murderer -
children love puppets.
next: canoe
Natives thanked the trees,
white paper birch and pine pitch
to ply the waters.
next trade routes
Knowing where the winds
and currents will take a ship
opened up the world.
next: dentist
Back in older times
The pulling of teeth was the
only remedy.
next: grocery shopping
My shopping-list was
only three items long: how
come I bought the shop?
next: the sphinx
Its nose was shot off,
but not by Napolean.
Still, it's impressive.
next: the desert
Sand forming mountains
Scrub plants barely surviving
Small animals thrive.
next: glacier
A river of ice
thrusting towards the ocean,
it stops for nothing.
next: tent
Attempt to commune
with nature, close to the ground,
but not with the bears.
next : wildlife
On safari bus
we wonder who's watching who?
Are we Meals On Wheels?
next: charity
The gift of giving,
even when one's resources
are meagre, is true.
next: purse
When he opened it -
because he needed food, say -
moths flew out. Old moths.
next: beach hut
Sitting at the seaside
Small and compact cabins sit
Waiting for some use.
next: cereal
Sun-toasted, wind-stirred,
waving wheat to the sky-line.
Soon to be breakfast.
next: slippers
Cold feet in the night
Are somehow worse than daytime
When socks can manage.
next: yellow
Colour of sun and
cowardice, lemonade and
rosettes for third place.
next: wedding
Dearly beloved
Do you take this one person
For now and ever?
next: divorce
Whatever made her
think he would prove a keeper?
We all told her, No!
next: skiing
Put some small wood slats
On your feet and then go fast
Down a mountain slope.
next: curtains
We draw the curtains:
but does that leave them open
or shutting out light?
next: spelling
Spelling is tricky
some is truly quite logical
other times it is not.
Next: Marriage
"Will you take...?" Er, no.
On second thoughts, better not.
More fish in the sea.
next: election
One person, one vote.
It seems simple in theory,
but not in practice.
next: fences
Good fences make good
neighbours. So do a couple
of big rottweilers.
next: spiders
Silken thread used to
weave a beautiful web to
catch flies for dinner.
next: waterfall
Tourists spend all day
dodging rain, then take boat to
Niagara Falls!
next: table-tennis
First the ping, then pong
The game with a small white ball
And two wood paddles.
next: dictionary
There's a word for it...
And this is where you find it,
the dictionary.
next: bridge
Canasta is fun
Poker can be quite costly
Bridge takes strategy.
Next: Mediterranean Sea
Golden sands, blue sea.
Waiting for the tide to rise.
Don't hold breath: no tide.
next: Rocky Mountains
Imagine wagons
ascending those peaks
to get to the gold.
next: greed
Call it ambition,
or doing right by your kids -
greed makes world go round.
next: library
Books and even more
Sorted by Dewey and his
Decimal system.
next: ink
What did people do
before computers? They used
pen and ink, and brain.
next: poetry
Rhythm and meter
Sound and sense, furious or
calm, the lines may soothe.
next: bread
Called the staff of life:
no day entirely wasted
that has toast in it.
next: jam
Sometimes called preserves
Strawberry or apricot
All is delicious.
next: Venus
By-word for beauty,
lantern gleaming in night sky.
Close up? - hell on earth.
next: Saturn
Saturnine features,
the darkly brooding visage
some find romantic.
next: attitude
Personality?
Expressiveness, or perhaps
A little shady.
next: microscope
Grind the lens with skill.
There's a whole new world waiting,
full of tiny things.
next: mother of the bride
Mother of the bride
escorted to the front pew,
thoughts of grandchildren.
next: wedding dance
Father and daughter
Mother and son swirl about
In programed dances.
next: funeral
Ashes to ashes,
dust to dust. Farewell, dear one.
Now, who's got the will?
next: windy day
Devil winds they're called
that blow from desert to sea
bringing hellish heat.
next: fog
Little cat feet are
Swathed in a fluffy whiteness
Really hard to drive in.
next: pottery
I sat at my wheel,
centred my clay - and watched it
fly across the room!
next: hobbies
I'm dedicated
to my work in the fine arts.
It's not a hobby.
next: dreaming
A prince dreaming of
being a butterfly, or
vice versa? The first.
next: Hallowe'en.
End of October
Filled with witches and goblins
All looking for candy.
next: topiary
It's clever to make
a hedge look like a pony,
but won't keep sheep in.
next: sheep
Black sheep or white sheep
Irish ones have painted butts
Which are whose is marked.
next: bowls
(Er - Chick, that's not what the paint on the sheep's butt means. The rams wear a harness with a paint dispenser called a raddle on their chest. You change the colour every week or so. Then you know by the colour of the smear on her bottom when a ewe was covered, and therefore when she should lamb.)
Francis Drake wants to
finish his game of bowls. But
the Spanish won't wait.
next: impatience
If you watch a clock,
moves are infinitesimal
by the second-hand.
next digital
For his retirement,
the man with one arm got a
nice digital watch.
next: retirement
That was not the story I heard while visiting in Ireland. I was lied to!
Work for forty years
Look forward to time away.
Try to fill the void.
next: lies
I think someone was sparing your blushes, Chick. In case it seemed too much like sheep porn.
I tell the odd fib.
You have been known to white-lie.
He/she tells whoppers.
next: museum
Here are all the things
We have collected and put
Into this one place.
next: playground
What you win on swings
you lose on the roundabouts.
In play as in life.
next: circus
Three Rings and Big Top
Fun for the whole family
Very rarely is.
next: eclipse
Disaster has struck!
A wolf has eaten the Sun!
No, Moon's in the way.
next: Venetian blinds
Little, tiny slats
Let in soft streams of soft light
And collect much dust.
next: tuxedo
A bird that can't fly,
and nests where there are no trees,
looks good in a tux.
next: shark
Great White, Hammerhead,
Tiger, Nurse, Bull, Thresher, Goblin
All have rows of teeth.
next: notebook
Worthless, scribbled stuff
but I can't throw them away.
They're hidden in drawers.
I pity my heirs,
they'll have to go through it all,
a paper glacier.
next: bad habits
When nuns need secret
pockets for whiskey and fags,
they wear bad habits.
next: greyhound
Sleek and fast, they race
Around the oval track, or
It's a dirty bus.
next: grapefruit
It's a dirty bus. My ex was a trainer, it's dirtier than you can imagine.
High vitamin C
but not for those on statins,
eat oranges instead.
next: heart
"I'd give you my heart" -
but then, what would you do with
the rest of me, dead?
next: thatched roof
A haven for things
that crawl down during the night
and bite while you sleep.
next: fleas
Great ones have little
ones; which is fine, as long as
they don't pester me!
next: hay-making
Do while the sun shines
Otherwise it makes a mess
Moldy, damaged mess.
next: calligraphy
An elegant hand
is much to be admired; but
the words matter more.
next: dictionary
Look up how to spell
But must know how to spell first
In order to find.
next: encyclopedia
All the world is here.
Sadly, it's also on line
where it's much cheaper.
next: driving test
I can't remember
which lane I should use for that turn,
can we start over?
next: vision test
"Which line can you read?
The bottom? The next one up?"
I can't see the chart!
next: Eiffel Tower
Despised while building
Ridiculed at first, and now
a local landmark.
next: secretary
Takes shorthand and types;
may make tea if asked nicely;
makes whole business work.
next: income tax
I earned some money
The government wants to have
Some of it right now.
next: sneezing
Sneezing while driving
causes your eyes to go closed.
That is dangerous.
next: play
"Now is the winter
of our discontent." It's cold.
I think I'll stay home.
next: best friend
Like sisters, but not
So many things to freely share
She died. I miss her.
next: flames
It's the solar flares
that disturbs the atmosphere
and makes my joints ache.
next: old wives' tales
"Granny always said..."
She was not in possession
of all the facts, though.
next: the morning after the night before
It rained while we slept
sunrise lights up the forest,
surprise glitter-fest.
next: draught
I'm going to assume you meant drought and not a rough draught of a paper or something. If I'm wrong, sorry.
Rain, rain, go away
Come back. Please oh please come back
The crops are dying.
next: first draft
A writer checks his script
'A strong draft here' he thinks, then
closes the American window.
Next: Dinner
Posh southerners eat
dinner in the evening.
Us northerners don't.
next: garden statue
I'm going to assume you meant drought and not a rough draught of a paper or something. If I'm wrong, sorry. <<---yer right, how embarrassing :)
Of all the art forms,
garden statues can draw scorn
or enhance the plants.
next: kitsch art
I mean, why do it?
What's wrong with a nice blank wall?
You can keep your kitsch.
next: graffiti
Territorial.
behavioralists might agree--
dogs pissing on trees.
next: immature
We want to grow up
We claim to be grown too soon
And do stupid stuff.
next: telephone
You have to talk fast
on the phone. The sound travels
at the speed of light.
next: gravity
We think it pulls down
But it is the attraction
Between two masses.
next: errors
Thank Dog for Spell Check!
Eye used to tope thins rung, but
now eye tie-pins grate!
next: champagne
The monk made wine wrong
It fermented twice and
Became quite bubbly.
next: tea time
A cup of green tea
is said to boost memory.
Can't hurt to try it.
next: good habits
My New Year's Resolve:
I must keep resolutions,
starting next New Year.
next: park bench
Paul Simon said that
Old friends sat on a park bench
Like bookends. Old friends.
next: graffiti
Gafitti's been done a few posts back:
Territorial.
behavioralists might agree--
dogs pissing on trees.
But what the heck:
Graffiti: public,
Banksy elevated it
to revered art form.
next: right-brain
The brain works as one
Entity; all together
And still comes up wrong.
Next: grasshopper
Summer's troubadour,
chirruping in the long grass.
More dance than a song.
next: autumn/fall leaves
The maple is best,
its colors, red-orange, intense
against blue-sky fall.
next: plaid
Buy a Tesla Plaid
and puzzle at the name choice
it's not a tartan.
Next: Marketing
It's Psychology,
convincing you happiness
depends on this thing.
next: consumerism
Gimme more and more
All the stuff accumulates
Happiness not found.
next: stick man drawing
The earliest form
of visual documents,
crude, but intriguing.
next: cave paintings
The hand came first. Then
bison, horses and aurochs -
objects of the hunt.
next: bonfire
Tribal gatherings
at day's end around the fire--
verbal history.
next: mysticism
People who want to
believe will believe in
any damn nonsense.
next: hope
It springs eternal
That is at least what they say
Depression says, "No".
next: origami
So, you fold it here,
turn it over and fold here,
and look! Creased paper!
next: newspaper
Black and white and read
And then came the internet
It changed everything.
next: hand lotion
Why do I always
put on hand-cream and then want
to open the door?
next: teacher
These are the facts, kid
But we will pretend they aren't
So don't be so sad.
next: filing system
retrieval is easy,
if you remember correctly,
or label logically.
Next: Office memos.
You know you're aging
when you leave yourself a note
to check your memos.
next: office parties
It sounds sort of fun
Like a good time had by all
It is surely not.
next: secret code
It's called a pig-pen
cypher. Once you know the key,
it's easy to read.
next: harvest
Big one a-coming
next month, October pumpkins--
not for pies but fun.
next: spooky
Once a year you must
pretend to be scared of ghosts!
But people are worse.
next: corner shop
Simple Mom and Pop stores
are nearly a thing gone past
Which is very sad.
next: Milky Way
That glowing path is
our galaxy sideways on.
There are millions more.
next: black holes
The verdict is in
black holes attract each other,
might be how ALL ends.
next perpetual
Dream of science: make
perpetual motion work.
Unions appalled.
next: vacuum
Nothing is something
with nothing in it. So odd.
Now clean the carpets.
next: splinter
A splinter is wood's
way of getting its own back
for being chopped down.
next: mirror
To be avoided--
the mirror before coffee
and morning rituals.
next: wrinkled
Why should I regret
these marks of experience
that took years to gain?
next: ambition
She whispers, "I want"
Next she plans to get the thing
With time she succeeds.
next: control
Big dog at one end
of leash, me at the other.
Who's controlling who?
next: snake
Why always in grass?
Plumbing uses some snakes too
The bill is scary.
next: tantrum
Stamp, go red, and shout.
"Stop bossing me about!" But
I am your boss. Yes?
next: best friend
Our beasties are best
except they leave us too soon--
they leave us bereft.
next: mechanical
The Industrial
Revolution took men from
the land. Was that good?
next: jam doughnut
Strawberry or grape?
Boston Cream filled is better
Icing on doughnuts.
next: scones
we call them jelly doughnuts over here
Here they call them gravy rings. Why? - I have no idea. No one in the whole history of doughnuts has ever wanted to pour gravy onto one.
They used to crown kings
on the Stone of Scone, Scotland,
till England nicked it.
next: stile
There's always a way
with enough motivation
to get around them.
next: moats
A ring of water
round the castle makes it hard
to get in - or out.
next: pike
A pointed stick
An early weapon. Can be
useful even now.
next: turmoil
Mother-in-law's due,
the house is in a shambles
and the cat's been sick.
next: off to university
So very certain
Since "adults" know everything.
Changes major twice.
next: flamboyance
Putting on a show.
Funny thing: more flamboyance,
less of real substance.
next: subtlety
The purpose of this
art form is conveyance of
mystic subtleties.
next: sneezes
Christopher Robin
had measles and sneezles; he'd
missed his MMR.
next: conspiracy theorists
Not bothered by facts
Here is a theory of mine
You must believe it.
next: lies
A lie can travel
round the world before the truth
has got its boots on.
(Not mine: courtesy of the late great Terry Pratchett; wherever he is, I hope he doesn't mind me quoting him.)
next: boots
Boot the whole lot out.
Appoint the ones who don't care
about wealth or power.
next: unrealistic
Ambition is all
very well; but keep your feet
firmly on the ground.
next: lighthouse
No longer needed,
they still stand ready to serve
in case all else fails.
next: Power grid
Surge across the sky,
held aloft by tall pylons,
cables of power.
next: TV remote (so called because it's never where you left it)
Another damn ad
I need to flip the channel
Don't want to get up.
next: Band-aids (plasters)
Rare to die of a
cut or graze; but feels better
with a plaster on.
next: mud
Old-fashioned mud packs
have been replaced with lotions
pricey and worthless.
next: soap
Soap operas aren't
either soap or operas
Large audiences watch.
next: pizza
Enough already!
Too many pizza parlors,
not enough good food.
next: vegetables
You can know it's good
for you if caterpillars
have wee'ed on it first.
next: brown bread
Bread, the staff of life,
limpa, black rye, molasses,
brown bread is the best.
next: gluten
A simple protein
which prevents loaves collapsing.
Some can't tolerate.
Next: Zebra
Small wild horse wearing
striped pyjamas. The zebra,
in plain black and white.
next: lion
King of the jungle
Roars echo across the land
And the mane is great.
next: giraffe
Nobody necks like
a giraffe. Actually,
it's an antelope.
next: hippo
Huge but graceful
while floating in the water.
Like a tank on land.
next: hyena
What's she laughing for?
Because her society
is matriarchal!
next: goldfish
"Goldfish" sounds so much
better than carp. Which sounds so
much worse than "Koi" does.
next: crackers
In the lexicon
of words for madness, "crackers"
is least offensive.
next: taking umbrage
I beg your pardon,
How dare you criticize me?
You do the same thing.
next: belittle
Awful things you did
You should feel so horribly
Wrong, so shame on you.
next: dictionary
Every word you know
and even more you don't. But
not much fun to read.
next: atlas
Every place you know
in this world you'd like to go
but can't afford to.
next: Day trips
Ice-cream, sandwiches,
paddling knee-deep in the sea;
home in time for bed.
next: bicycle ride
Pedal along with
the fat bottomed girls, go slow
and see the wide world.
next: kayaking
and now I have the ding, ding, ding sounds from the end of the song in my head
Never light a fire
in this boat. You can't have your
kayak and heat it.
next: rapids
The St. Croix River,
tamarack tannins brown it,
rapids fizz it up.
next: root beer
Thirst-quenching, no high;
fills a tankard like real thing.
We don't have it here.
next: tea
Finely shop some leaves
Make hot water to perfect temp
Steep, then drain, then drink.
next: castle
Circular towers
deflecting cannon-balls brought
warfare to impasse.
next: windmill
Poor Don Quixote
Tilted and postured and still
Had no real success.
next: orchids
Spotted orchids grow
in my field. They're Common, but
not very spotty.
next: buttercups
The song lyrics say,
"pucker up buttercup"
asking for a kiss.
next: romance
Kissing doesn't last -
cooking does. Forget romance,
find yourself a cook.
next: knitting
The needles click, click
The fiber loops round and round
Pretty soon - fabric.
next: notebook
Reporter's best friend:
spiral-bound at top, to turn
the pages quickly.
next: felt-tip pen
Ink breathes on paper
A small sun bleeds through the lines
Colour hums to life
Next: Empty page
Forget Rottweilers,
spiders, income tax demands.
Nothing scares like this!
next: "The End"
Silent sky darkens,
footsteps fade into the wind
the story is done
Next the weekend
Bold proclamation
on posterboard from Walmart.
Ready for the streets.
next: protest
Never mind your wins -
you must have done something wrong.
We'll protest re that!
next: welfare state
Grey offices hum
papers bloom like tired flowers
hope waits in tired lines
next: traffic jam
Have they no legs? Who
needs all these damn cars, getting
in the way of mine?
next: dining out
An outdoor cafe
or home, cooking together--
which is romantic?
next: beans
Giant-killer Jack
swapped his cow for one; and just
look where that got him!
next: toast
First melt the butter,
a cast iron griddle is best,
fry bread till crusty.
next: first daylight
Red comes in the East
Soon there will be yellow too
It all fades so fast.
next: clean sheets
The thing about clean
sheets is, why are they always
colder the first night?
next: bed-socks
Toasty toes are fine
Until your feet get too hot
Poke one out the side.
next: sneezing
A good sneeze used to
earn you sympathy; now it's,
"Have you got covid?!!"
next: gloves
When cracking a safe,
leave no fingerprints; wear gloves.
Makes sense doesn't it?
next: bumblers
Masterminds are rare
More often it is bungling
fools who commit crimes.
next: police
It's the bungling fools
the police bring to justice.
They're easy to catch.
next: highwayman
Dick Turpin, Black Bess,
a legendary pairing.
Reality fails.
next: Fallen Angels ;-)
Not easy, riding
a Hog. Even Hell's Angels
fall off now and then.
next: climbing wall
Step upward with care
Believe the harness will save
Don't ever look down.
next: ants
Ants can read the signs
that invite you to picnic.
They invite themselves.
next: bad boss
Employees have needs
That can't simply be ignored
If you want them here.
next: good bosses
I am self-employed.
Some days I'm great to work for
and some days I'm not.
next: self-discipline
I can resist any-
thing but temptation; oh, and
chocolate of course.
next: weekend
If you are lucky
you can stay home on weekends,
have fun on weekdays.
next: good company
Company is like
cake, comes with a "best before"
date stamped on the front.
next: goldfish
Swimming in a pond
Pillsbury Farm crackers
Goldfish- really orange.
next: chopsticks
Chop-sticks: how to make
a rather skimpy meal stretch
to fill a meal-time.
next: wine
Red, white, or bubbly
This drink can enhance a meal
Or ruin a life.
next: deerstalker hat
Sherlock Holmes had one.
Perhaps his mother gave it
to him for Christmas.
next: tinsel
Glittering, draping
Looking festive all season
Until the clean up.
next: reindeer
My Sami forebears
herded them in northern lands.
Reindeer, a lifestyle.
next: hardship
A four-masted barque
sails like a dream. One with five
masts is a hard ship.
next: traffic lights
Red, yellow, green
Annoyance, speed up, and go
Makes travel safer.
next: storm clouds
Great on a canvas -
ask Constable or Turner.
Not so good in life.
next: vinegar
White, good for cleaning,
balsamic, oil and honey
on arugala.
next: collards
You can tell they're good
for you because they're green, but
not a patch on sprouts.
next: lavender
Two essential oils,
lavender and lemon grass
in my disperser.
next: aroma therapy
Nothing wrong with it,
I suppose, if this New Age
stuff makes you feel good.
next: changing the cover on the duvet
Being American
I possess a comforter
and sheets and blankets.
next: dinner preparation
Start chopping early,
set out everything needed
to avoid panic.
next: organization
I organise like
mad. But sometimes wish I was
more spontaneous.
next: walking the dog
I just put her down.
Hiking now seems so lonely,
she was my last dog.
next: heartache
What should be is not
There is no recompense, just
What should be is not.
next: solitude
Quote from: indar9 on November 04, 2025, 08:41:52 PMI just put her down.
Hiking now seems so lonely,
she was my last dog.
next: heartache
I'm so sorry, Indar. Try to remember the good stuff. You were lucky to have her. She was lucky to have you.
When push comes to shove,
you're a community of
one. Learn to like you.
next: talisman
My lucky object
Brings to me much good fortune.
At least I think so.
next: Ferris wheel
Round and round and round
we go! Soaring, plummeting!
Ah - where's the sick bag?
next: bonfire
(Thank you Jo)
California,
bonfires no longer allowed,
forget barbeques.
next; smoke
None without a fire -
or maybe a cigarette.
It gets in your eyes.
next: shopping centre Christmas elf
National Service now!
Call up those damn Christmas Elves.
National Elf Service!
Next: Grumpy Old Gits
A Coalition
of the Unwilling: Grumpy
Old(ish) Gits, unite!
next: Jolly teachers (aaghh!)
Enjoy education
Teach the nasty little shits
With smiles on your face.
next: cheerful editors
Found something in the
slush-pile that might have promise.
Offer bugger-all!
next: shopping trolley
In the checkout line,
what is missing in my cart?
The thing I came for.
next: shopping list
Everything I could
possibly need, on a list
left on the hall stand.
next: manatee
Also called "sea cow"
An unattractive swimmer
Looks for warm water.
next: old age
Death approaching; should
be miserable. Guess what? -
most of us are not.
next: teens
Jo, found this picture today and had to share.
Awkward and confused
Yet certain of everything.
Can I have some cash?
next: college/university degree
Somehow, Chick, that doesn't come as a surprise. Still, manners aren't everything.
Letters after my name
took three years to earn. Visit
the Job Centre next.
next: on-the-go coffee
Essential to life
I must have my coffee now!
The public be damned.
next: tofu
Meat substitute with
minimal flavour. Not what
ballerinas wear.
next: mushroom
Hallucinogen,
good source of vitamin K
or a sudden death.
next: scavenger
Hyenas hunt more
than they scavenge. They just need
better PR guys.
next: abandoned house
Broken windows and
Roof caved in, weeds all over
No one lives here now.
next: champagne flute
Not part of the band
but lifted often to lips
can incite singing.
next: self-deception
I am hard-done-by.
The world hates sensitive souls.
You have it so easy.
next: running a marathon
In another life,
a half-marathon perhaps.
now, a half-hour nap.
next: Hum
Lyrics left unsung
The melody stays behind
And can issue forth.
next: loud noises
BANG went the cosmos
now, much later, here we are--
dogs, houses, yard work.
next: destiny
"Destiny" doesn't
usually predict success
as much as work does.
next: courtesy
What a miracle
when someone lets you merge in.
Or were they texting?
next: snidery
Not so much the words
as the look that goes with them.
Not a nice response.
next: arm-chair
Take a book and snack
Snuggle into the embrace.
Next to the fireplace.
next: aurora
Ribbons of colour
paint the night sky. Who'd have thought
they come from the sun?
next: paint-box
How to mix pigments
is basic knowledge required
or no masterpiece.
next: lawn ornaments
Regarding garden
gnomes, the rule is Less Is More.
And none is better.
next: wedding ring
Lost a side diamond
teaching ceramic sculpture.
The piece fired OK.
next: sacrifice
Time or money: which
to sacrifice? Money. They're
not making more time.
next: best china
The fancy dishes
Come out for the holidays
Fret about chipping.
next: tureen
Made for soup. But used
mostly for suet pudding,
at least in our house.
next: fish kettle
Fish kettles work best
if the fish is already dead
otherwise it splashes.
Next: Contact lenses
I still need glasses
to find my contact lenses
when I put them down.
next: walking-stick
A tall wooden staff
presents a more commanding
image than a stick.
next: cape
Essential kit for
a super-villain. No one
can flourish a mac.
next: skeleton
Skull, ribs, phalanges
All connected together
No skin is needed.
next: Taj Mahal
What was the reason
for magnificence like this?
Was it for true love?
next: ego
I think, therefore am.
I think mainly of me, so
I'm an egotist.
next: Stonehenge
Large stone tourist trap,
Druids and weirdoes gather.
Still a special place.
Next: Bumper car(s)
Lights, music, action!
Sparks, collisions, screams of joy.
No Highway Code here.
next: golf
Little dimpled white ball
Long sticks with various heads
Lots of goddam its.
next: karate
Fight without weapons.
Not really unarmed combat
since you use your hands.
next: meditation
Deep meditation,
not for those with monkey-brain
who require action.
next: visualization
Visualise a
calm place. Is it really calm?
Bet you're not there, then.
next: (since I keep typing s instead of x) nest
Nest is empty now,
chicks are senior citizens.
Their children are grown.
next: legacy
Used to mean something
I might get. Now means something
of mine left behind.
next: volcano
Earth's indigestion
Belching flaming rocks upwards
Making a damn mess.
next: pine cones
Scent of autumn: pine
cones, moss, wet boots, walking wet
dog in a wet wood.
next: first frost
Old Man Winter comes
with cold breath across the land
sparkling at sunrise.
next: sneezes
A sneeze is how a
virus interacts with the
world. The little shit!
next: reindeer
Dasher and Dancer
Prancer and Vixen, et. al.
Rudolph is the best.
next: mistletoe
Why associate
a parasite with kissing?
Freudian or what?
next: telescope (optical or radio)
Images sent back
from the Hubble telescope
cause great wonderment.
next: deep sea
Less known than deep space.
Full of aliens, though they
don't use light sabres.
next: tartan
Various Celtic
clans can identify by their
person fabric.
next: snow globe
Christmas tat; and yet,
watching the fake flakes falling
somehow has a charm.
next: tinsel
One strand at a time
until Christmas cheer wears thin,
then it's "fire at will."
next: egg nog
Sounds innocuous.
Egg, cream, sugar - where's the harm?
In adding the rum!
next: crane (bird or construction, take your pick)
Fold only one sheet
of paper this way and that
Miraculous crane.
next: tweed
Simple, natural,
skilful: turning sheep's fleeces
into classic clothes.
next: sou'wester
In the USA
Wear baseball caps or nothing
Or an umbrella.
next: tutu
I had to look that up as I had no idea what it was. It sounded like a nor'easter, which is a storm off the New England coastal region.
If there's a nor'easter blowing, you just turn your hat round.
In the long list of
silly-sounding words, tutu
is one of the worst.
next: fairy lights
Twinkling British lights
Simply called Christmas lights here.
Some blink, others don't.
next: icicles
In Minnesota,
they build up like stalagmites
and have killed people.
Next: sick jokes
The odd thing about
jokes is, bad ones can be far
funnier than good.
next: airport
The most certain way
to get a terrible start
to your vacation.
next: waterfall
Rainbows hanging in
the air, thunder bouncing off
the cliffs: waterfall.
next: glacier
It's stuck in my house,
a paper glacier that moves
three inches a year.
next: bills
It's so fun to shop
In person, or now online
Buy now; weep later.
next: serenade
Who is that, singing
under our Tracey's window?
Shouldn't be allowed.
next: Statue of Liberty
France might take her back
now that Lady Liberty's
pledge is forsaken.
next: promises
You promised them "Great"
Willingly, they bought the lies
Quite the bait and switch!
Next: Resist
Laws are for the weak
Do not comply as it is
not really needed.
next: camping
Lie under the stars.
look DOWN into the deep well
from earth's underside.
next: gravity
Newton invented it.
Before him, people needed
Velcro on their shoes.
next: obstinacy
Obstinacy wrote this
sheer bloody mindedness is
a bugger at times.
Next word: Happiness
Happiness: largely,
the absence of anything
to be glum about.
next: forgetfulness
Why did I come in?
I must have had a reason.
Cannot recall it.
Next word: Dissembling.
When they throw the book
at you, the wisest course is
always, "No comment."
next: a family occasion
Kith and kin unite
Then argue over nonsense
Can't wait for next time.
next: good news
My good news from yesterday: you don't have cancer
I was quite pleased to hear that
Bloody hell, I should hope you were! I am, and we've never met. Congratulations - keep it up.
They say, No news is
good news. They should try being
a news editor.
next: cookbook
Also glad to hear of your good news, Patty. Don't know if you remember, but we go way back to the days of AOL chat groups. You introduced me to the old forum.
I experiment,
been cooking a long time and
write my own cookbook.
next: dust
If you ignore dust
for long enough, it won't get
very much deeper.
next: snowdrops
Quote from: Jo Bannister on November 26, 2025, 07:32:23 PMIf you ignore dust
for long enough, it won't get
very much deeper.
This is a Public Service Announcement.
Once dust is thick enough it tends to cluster and become cohesive. After this doesn't blow around until some house-proud idiot disturbs it. Asthmatics
know this.
Right... back to someone else for the next Haiku.
Linda, I remember! Not everything ... but
Cookies or flowers
Sweet little treats for the eyes
Perhaps the stomach.
next: (butter) sculpture
You could make a swan
to grace your table; or just
spread it on your toast.
next: ice-skating
Ninety pounds grade A
carved in rotating cooler,
cold butterfingers.
next: performance art
Do you have an pictures of your sculptures? I remember them being quite grand.
Interpretive dance.
Live action engages in
various settings.
next: sledding
Skidding down a slope
on your arse. You'd sue someone
if it wasn't Fun.
next: pine cones
I have a gazillion of them from 1972 to 2022 princesses, lumberjacks, big bird, mayoral candidates...cheese sculptures as well.
Early memories,
face down on flattened cardboard
flying down white hills.
next: repurposing
Here is some old stuff
Now it will become new stuff
It's quite magical.
next: lyrics
Never mind the tune,
listen to the words. That's where
the magic resides.
next: cornfield
Shorter than corn stalks,
we went out there and got lost,
that's why it's called maze.
next: puns
Lowest form of wit,
people say; but most of us
find a pun good fun.
next: map-reading
Which way is up north?
Where is my right or my left?
Why I'm always lost.
next: Elizabethan fashion
Whose bright idea
was it, that circular saw
blade worn round the neck?
next: holly wreath
During the winter
In times of gray and much cold
Red and green are nice.
next: vitamins
You get a choice: pills,
or food made with proper stuff.
Guess which I prefer.
next: lawn-mower
No lawn mowers here,
thanks to the water shortage--
artificial turf.
next: succulents
Aloe vera sooths
which seems very nice because
others are spiky.
next: laundry
"Split your colours from
your whites, delicates apart."
Jeez! - just chuck them in!
next: hearth-rug
A cozy fireplace
with crackling flames need a rug,
Just not a bear one.
next: Prodigal son
They always turn up
again, like a bad penny,
when the cash runs out.
next: cinema visit
Big screen in the front
With the idiots behind
Using their small screens.
next: daisy
Cheery little white
flower starring the grass. Why
does it anger you?
next: cameo brooch
Nostalgia jewelry,
nothing glitzy, never worn,
generational.
next: keepsakes
"Take a ring, a book -
something to remember me
by." Like I'd forget.
next: garden shed
Take care opening
that little shed of horrors:
falling scythes and hoes.
next: disorganized
Must be here somewhere,
under the paper mountain -
my organiser?
next: hanging a picture
Bang in a sharp nail,
hit a power cable and die.
Someone else completes.
Next: Decorations
Isn't this pretty?
Holding up some ugly thing
Beauty - beholder.
next: pillow(s)
How can something so
soft in the evening feel
like a brick by dawn?
next: high-heeled shoes
Walking on tip toe
Is truly uncomfortable
but your ass looks good.
next: teakettle
Should be tarry-black
from long use; but electric
ones are easier.
next: coffee morning
Elixir of life,
without it, the walking dead--
a whole day brainless.
next: mummified
They sought eternal
life. Instead they're forever
dead. Fitting result.
next: carol-singers
The Silent Night is
shattered by the sound of the
group of wanderers.
next: fruitcake
"Dotty as Dundee
cake," my mother used to say.
Takes one to know one.
next: traffic lights
Grudging agreement,
we must tolerate these lights
that make us take turns.
next: road rage
Never yet saw a
road lose its temper. Drivers
do it all the time.
next: advertising
It's Psychology
to keep us always wanting
but never happy.
next: free stuff
There is no free lunch
Someone, somewhere always pays
Wish it wasn't me.
next: gift wrapping
Always buy square gifts.
Cylindrical ones will do,
but you can't wrap globes.
next: storm-clouds
Puffy white clouds turn
dark and forbidding holding
thunderstorms; blizzards.
next: backspace key
Perfect typists don't
need a backspace key; but who
needs to be perfect?
next: grandfather clock
In grandfather's time
the "swing of the pendulum"
belonged to his clock.
next: ebb and flow
"Tidal range": just words
until you go aground. Then
every inch will count.
next: cave
Caves have great appeal
until claustrophobia hits
then they're not funny.
Next: A bag of chips.
"Cheap as chips," they say.
But perhaps they haven't bought
a bag recently.
next: mistletoe
Festive parasite
Demands a peck on the cheek
Or passionate kiss.
next: champagne
Bought for the bubbles.
Bubbles made of mostly air.
How much booze in glass?
next: train set
Lionel train sets
need miniature towns and
countryside settings.
next: projection
"Your voice needs to reach
deaf old lady in back row."
Who hears actors now?
next: pantomime
In a box of glass
With white gloves and white face paint
Dialog missing.
next: Jack and Jill
Whoever heard of
locating a well at the
top of a damn hill?
next: diamonds
Girl's best friend? Baseball?
Shiny and not worth so much.
Stupid batting game.
next: marshmallow
Hold a marshmallow
in the campfire till it burns,
peel and eat the goo.
next: the dark
Afraid of the dark?
Not much there that isn't there
in the daytime too.
next: artist's model
Exhibitionist
or lover of the fine arts?
We always wondered.
next: nudist
It saves buying clothes
but when the Winter wind blows
a tracksuit's handy
Next word: Salopettes.
Dungarees with a
good PR agent. Mostly
seen on mountain slopes.
next: ski-lift
Skiing is joyful
The trip down is wonderful
The trip up isn't.
next: shooting star
What are they really,
astronomical wonder
or falling space junk?
next; curmudgeon
Bah, humbug! I don't
mind Christmas so much. It's the
other days I hate.
next: walrus
Coo, coo, ca-choo sang
The Beatles - a carpenter
and a walrus. Pshaw.
next: carpenter
Working with your hands
to make something out of wood:
how satisfying!
next: plumber
I bring water in
send your shit and waste back out
charge a small fortune.
Next word: Courier
Essentially, a
delivery boy with a
smart phone. Dearer, though.
next: Cinderella
That's not how it works.
A slipper lost at the ball
and prince charming found.
next: realism
See how the world is.
You can't improve on something
'less you see it clear.
next: surrealism
Life as a vision
Pictures seen as metaphor
Some really weird stuff.
next: jam and toast
Dining out is great;
but what you really need
is home, jam and toast.
next: donkey
The symbol of the
liberal political
party, in the States.
next: knight
Hour after hour
he hunches over the board,
conquering hero.
next: strategy
Tactics win battles;
but to win a war you need
strategic thinking.
next: home-made bread
Norwegian Grandma
passed her recipe to mom
for Jule Kaga.
next: tradition
An inheritance
or a millstone round your neck?
Tradition is both.
next: Christmas jumper
The ugliness of
the Ugly Christmas Sweater
is part of the fun.
next: gingerbread house
First, the aroma,
then all the fancy frosting,
an edible house.
next: impermanence
I think, therefore am.
But what about tomorrow?
That's another day...
next: meteors
The romantic name,
falling stars to wish upon
makes nights mystical.
next: crickets
Singing in the grass,
all through the warm night. Don't you
want to murder them!
next: metro
Not in California--
the metro runs empty here.
Cars are who we are.
next: ego
As Satre never said
"I have no ego to show you
therefore I am not ."
Next: OCD
I've locked the back door.
I've checked three times; but is it
still locked? I'll just check.
next: memory
The mists of past days
Come clearly to mind when forced.
Not always so good.
next: recipes
I don't cook a dish
if it takes too long to read
the damned recipe.
next: sandwich
Possibilities
are endless between slices
of the staff of life.
next: sheaves
They look so pretty,
dotting the mown field. Who'd guess
how heavy they are?
next: rooks
Soaring aloft or
moving only slowly up
the chess board. You pick.
next: botox
Shot full of toxins?
Smile pretty. Oh, that's right, you can't.
How unattractive.
next: trends
Like friends who walk fast,
I only recognise trends
once they've passed me by.
next: 2026
How fortuitous
a new year to mess up and
utterly despoil.
Next: Cynical.
A cynic knows the price
of everything and the
value of nothing.
next: optimist
Rose colored glasses
make the world seem cheery and
bright. At least for some.
next: mystery
The world seemed full of
mysteries when we were young.
Not quite so much now.
next: new phone
I've kept my land line,
I'd do without a cell phone,
the world won't let me.
next: apps
Shameful admission:
I'm not entirely sure what
an app really is!
next: old age
We want to live long
and yet somehow escape from
the curse of aging.
next: bonfire
Flames stabbing the dark;
sparks shooting at the night sky.
Who's got marshmallows?
next: songbird
Tiny but mighty
With warbling notes issued forth
Looking for a mate.
next: canary in a coal mine
Cough, cough. Methane! Die!
But I've warned several miners,
did not die in vain.
Next word: catastrophe
When does disaster
turn to catastrophe? When
it hurts me, of course!
next: stained glass window
Colored bits of glass
placed into prisons of lead
Beautiful light show.
next: the backspace key
Everyone mistypes
sometimes. Without the backspace
key, where would we be?
next: suburbs
The big city is
Too much, too loud, too busy
But it has the jobs.
next: Dr. Who
Seemed worth watching when
I was twelve. But that's more than
sixty years ago.
next: Boxing Day
UK: Boxing Day
US: Day after Christmas
or Leftover Day.
next: old friends
New friends are fun, like
fashionable new shoes. But
old friends are comfy.
next: New Year fireworks
Bang, bang. Ooooh, pretty
But way too ephemeral
to last very long.
next: resolutions
My resolution
is to make none for New Year
but I may well fail.
Next: Fickleness
I used to change my
mind a lot. Then I didn't.
Now I do again.
next: steadfastness
Stubbornness perhaps
Maybe determination
Dependable. Yes.
next: fortune teller
Gypsy Meg with glass
ball and cards. In fact, Mavis
Watts from down the street.
next: candyfloss (cotton candy?)
Sugar spun to floss,
twirled on the end of a stick,
gone in a sweet flash.
next: Yogurt
"Buy milk every day:
it has to be fresh." Except
sometimes it doesn't.
next: nuts
Cashew and almonds
are nuts. However, peanuts
are not nuts. So odd.
next: champagne
Bought for the bubbles.
Expensive, for something you
can't actually drink
next: hot chocolate (with or without marshmallows)
A hug in a mug
flashing a 'V' to a diet
no real shame in it.
Next: Pencil
Cut back on pencils,
you don't need thirty-seven
sayeth our leader.
next: duh
Get out your graters.
Sliced cheese a con. Make Amer-
ica grate again.
next: nightclub
Loud music, bar fights?
No thanks, I'd rather stay home
and dance while I cook.
next: vinaigrette
Good with pasta. And
once popular for keeping
the Black Death at bay.
next: mushrooms
Fun little fungi
making the meals stretch farther
and adding flavor.
next: lasagna
A layer-cake with
meat and cheese and tomatoes.
Extremely tasty.
next: favourite book
Cracked spine, bent page
Marks and notes, memories of
all the time spent here.
next: braggarts
Why, they wonder, can't
the world take them at their own
valuation? Please?
next: round pegs in square holes
If only the world
could accommodate all folks
nothing new would come.
next: fountain pen
Unique among tools
for writing, the fountain pen
pumps its inky blood.
next: voice-mail
I missed your call so
you left a message for me
now I ignore that.
next: cold rain
More penetrating
than a big-bucks analyst:
rain, and an east wind.
next: basket-weaving
Reed comes in sizes
and colors. Flat or round all
must be wet to weave.
next: knees
my sister actually teaches basket weaving and so I've been taught and made baskets
I've been stuck helping her organize her stock of reed
the making is more fun than the sorting
My dad had a go once. It was occupational therapy after an operation. He made one really nice waste-paper basket, and never did it again.
The best part of a
well-turned leg. But mine are just
where lower limbs bend.
next: icicles
Check the overhang
before you walk out under
frozen stilettos.
next: frozen rivers
Eliza could make
it across the Ohio
But you should not try.
next: onions
Easier to see
the cell-structure of onions
than anything else.
next: sage (in any of its senses)
Parsley, rosemary,
sage, and thyme said Garfunkle
and once friend, Simon.
next: peaches
"A peaches-and-cream
complexion". What, sticky and
rancid in the sun?
next: statue
Marble or copper
immoveable, beautiful
and a work of art.
next: triumph
The Arc de Triomphe:
does anyone remember
the reason it stands?
next: symbolic
"It's symbolic of
something or other." But who
now knows or cares what?
next: ritual
Pose like this, hands up,
say the specific, magic
words. And then - something.
next: marshmallows
Spear with a fork and
hold over the bonfire for
sticky, ashy mess.
next: snowdrops
Delicate and white
braving the winter cold and
defying the snow.
next: hungry
My horse shouts when he's
hungry. Of course, he shouts a
lot, on principle.
next: silence
Sitting in silence
traffic goes by, heat is on
Silence just isn't.
next: ruby
A gem the colour
of heart's blood: shine a light through
and rose-tint a room.
next: tiger
As cat's go, this one
is really not a house pet.
It's far more lethal.
next: crocodile
Smile for camera!
No one needs to know what else
those teeth are good for.
next: soft toys
Teddy bears and such
are soft and adorable.
Don't give them to dogs.
next: time
Time is elastic,
but it won't always stretch out
to suit your own needs.
Next: Motion
Coming back always
feels quicker than going. Why?
The known road shorter?
next: best china
Saving the China
Holding back the very best
limits joy for now.
next: cannot
Cannot confers a
finality. Will not leaves
room for argument.
next: home with a cold
Misery, sneezing
coughs, and boxes of tissues
it is just a cold.
next: mittens
Cosy to wear, and
easier to knit than gloves;
but hard to turn key!
next: winter sunset
Sunny afternoon
not for whole afternoon
sunset comes early.
next: hot cocoa
Bedtime ritual.
Heat milk, add cocoa, honey
optional. Good night!
next: family album
Who are these people
in faded daguerreotypes
dead now for so long.
next: symphony
Making music all
at the same time, together:
co-operative.
next: convenience store
I just need one thing
so I stop for a quick shop
and buy fifteen things.
next: highly-processed food
It's time to ask why
if there are more numbers in
food than there is food.
next: fizzy drinks
Medicinal drinks
migrated from prescription
to fun in the sun.
next: dental floss
One more essential
for health. How on earth did we
manage to evolve?
next: window-cleaning
It's foggy out there.
No it isn't. The windows
are really dirty.
next: antimacassar
Linen covers to
protect your chairs from hair-oil.
Not from your aunty.
next: Aunty
Aunts can be scary
but Aunties are fun, rebels,
breaking conventions.
Next: Uncles
Proper uncles come
with moustaches, and button-
up brown cardigans.
next: sky-diving
Why would anyone
leap from a perfectly safe
plane? There's no reason.
next: credit card
"It's not real money. I
can splash out a bit." But the
bank reckons it's real.
next: savings account
Set aside for a
rainy day. It never rains
but it pours. All gone.
next: blizzard
No horizon, no
middle distance, no close-up.
Snow erases all.
next: thaw
Thaw has taken on
new meaning in city streets
protesters suggest.
next: wilderness
Go to wilderness
for renewal. But don't build
a McDonalds there.
next: burger
Not a roast or steak
but ground up stuff formed into
a hockey puck. Yum?
next: potatoes
Best thing ever to
come from the Americas?
Discuss (over chips).
next: tomato sauce
Best canned in glass jars
home-grown, ripened on the vine,
garlic and basil.
next olives
Meant to look cool on
a cocktail stick. Just as soon
have an umbrella.
next: umbrella
Steve Martin, The Jerk,
drank himself stiff on cocktails
with pink umbrellas.
next: comedians
God preserve us all
from men who think they're funny!
Wit is unstudied.
next: classical music
The beautiful notes
the chords, the rhythms, the sound
flow gloriously.
next: jazz
Jazz: hard to define,
easy to listen to, not
so easy to play.
next: canoe
Hollow out a log
or buy one already made.
Paddle your own one.
next: silken scarves
Silken scarves are so
much sexier than wool ones,
but not so toasty.
next: coat-hanger
A wire coat hanger
can break into locked cars,
but don't advertise.
Next word: Whistle
I once could whistle,
but with age comes loosened lips,
quite literally.
next: sunk ships
'When my ship comes in.'
But if its' sunk think again
Maybe a shore job?
Next word: Neighbours.
Good fences make good
neighbours. My farming neighbour
makes good(ish) fences.
next: sheep
Sheep: independent
thinkers compared to some who
buy the party line.
next: Honey bees
Bees make honey. They
also underpin the whole
world's agriculture.
next: Ursa Major
Commonly known as
the Great Bear floating above us,
A constellation.
Next word: Roofers
A thatched roof is
beautiful but very hard
to maintain long term.
next: marbles
Elgin played marbles,
but the Greeks were sore losers
and want them all back.
next: cave paintings
Aerosols sprayed on
shop fronts is vandalism, but
charcoal in caves, art.
Next word: Chips
There never was a
carpenter who didn't get
the nickname of Chips.
next: saw
Homophonic fun:
I saw the sea, and a saw
all from my see-saw.
next: bow
Six feet of English
yew, and a cloth-yard shaft: fire
enough and win wars.
next: approval
Please say you like me.
Pretty please. I am unsure
of my own self worth.
next: insecurity
Complex modern world
makes folk feel insecure for
not knowing all things.
next: ferry
I'm here. How to get
to there, across this water?
Someone comes to help.
next: fairy
It's probably marsh
gas. Or distant headlights. But
maybe a fairy?
When the world gives you
lemons, make lemonade. But
when you get nothing?
next: whimsy
(Like it, Chick! Sorry - brain fog.)
I'm too old to wear
pink, or chiffon, or pig-tails.
I was born too old.
NEXT: forgetfulness
Do you remember?
A game my sisters and I
often play. Not well.
next: normal
I am quite normal.
For me. Since I am one and
unique, it's my call.
next: binoculars
Look out to the stars
No, not that far. Get closer
See that over there?
next: iambic pentameter
Shakespeare thought in it.
Iambic pentameter,
a cantering horse.
next: owl
In 'Ampshire wolves 'owl.
But posh folks sound capitals,
educating wolves.
Next word: Oblique
Not facing and not
sideways. but some angled mess -
forty-five degrees.
next: pill boxes
Useful for keeping
earrings in. Medication? -
not so much chez moi.
next: Eiffel Tower
Today, quite esteemed
But when building it - hated
National treasure.
next: Panama Canal
The eastern end is
further west than the western
end. Damn useful, though.
next: Niagara Falls
The glorious side
is known as the Horseshoe Falls.
That's the famous one.
next: tic tac toe
Say this haiku to February
Love is in the air
But so is influenza
Wash your filthy hands.
thought I would share
We call it Noughts And
Crosses! Start right and you can
avoid losing game.
next: wine
Maiden's Milk was cheap,
Panther's Piss was a wild card,
Blue Nun virtuous.
Next word: Reckless.
There's courage, there's risk
and there's recklessness. Guess which
is much the most fun.
next: rush hour
Now stuck in rush hour
everyone rushing no one
going anywhere.
next: private jet
Skip the queues, the Sky
Lounge, the other passengers?
You would if you could.
next: horse and cart
Clip clop down the lane.
Go at a sedate speed, and
hope for no horse pee.
next: steam engine
Nostalgia on wheels!
But when steam engines were new
they changed the whole world.
next: flag
Waving the white flag.
Waving the national flag.
Checkered, red, or green.
next: car racing
Adrenalin rush,
driving around and around,
going nowhere fast.
next: hero
Made in a moment,
the call that makes a hero
or else a coward.
next: funicular
Counterbalanced, a
funicular railway runs
on tracks up steep slopes.
Next word: Cossack
Ukrainian guards
on horseback, controlled martial skills
Still needed today.
next: submarines
Perfectly safe if
you don't open the window
to see where you are.
next: trawler
The expectation
of ocean travel is not
like reality.
next: the tides
I don't know why I always picture fishing trawlers fighting the large, crashing waves, but that's the picture in my mind.
I think they do, quite a bit. Fish aren't stupid: they make for the places it'll be hardest to catch them.
I sat on a beach
in the Med, waiting for tide.
I could be there yet.
next: Atlantis
Long lost paradise.
Sunk under the waves and gone
but for memory.
next: lucky penny
A horse dealer will
often give one with a sale.
Mine came with Luck Pound!
next: camel
Teatime question is:
one lump or two, but camels
have one hump or two.
next: igloo
Houses built of ice,
to keep the Inuit warm.
How does that make sense?
next: dome
A thousand tons of
masonry kept aloft by
nothing but theory.
next: quiche
First make a pie crust
then don't fill it with sweet stuff
but use eggs instead.
next: lasagna
Rubbery pasta,
thick, wide, heavily layered,
goes down like a brick.
next: mandala
Kaleidoscopic
colours, mesmeric; but hard
to see point of it.
next: rainbow
Roy G. Biv - seven
was the spiritual number
so six would not work.
next: oil lamp
Whales and whalers died
to light our pre-electric
middle-class houses.
next: dolphin
A dolphin joined in,
looped through waves between surfers.
playful, fun to watch.
next: companions
A good companion
is a book; but a dog is
better at fetching.
next: jug
Roman amphora
sounds much classier than the
common whiskey jug.
next: edit
I wrote these words. Then
I rewrote them. Several
times. Still not finished.
next: rejection
I must do better
I will not give up--ever!
Someday I'll get there.
next: uphill
Last time I rode a
bicycle, all the flat roads
became oddly steep.
next: ice-skating
Seen Bambi on ice?
There's a lesson to be learned.
water should be wet!
next word: Disco balls.
Shards of spinning light:
just what a bunch of drunks need
to keep them upright!
next: dictionary
How do you spell that?
Look it up! But wait, you have
to know how to spell.
next: encyclopedia
All the world's a stage,
and herein is the cast list.
Everything you need.
next: tide tables
When the tide is low
we go to the beach to see
our local sand art.
https://twistedsifter.com/2013/12/andres-amador-sand-beach-art/
next: fleeting
Here it is, right here
Hurry, come see it right now.
Whoops, already gone.
next: nebula
A smear of star-stuff
waiting for gravity to
turn it into suns.
next: nova
Twinkle little star
Stay calm there! No need to boom.
Twinkle brightly, star.
next: space travel
Settlement on Mars?
How would we terraform it?
Fix the one we've got.
next: solar
A way of farming
sunlight. Panels on the roof,
or cropless acres.
next: desert
Very full of life
but not very much water
so life on the edge.
next: meerkats
For some reason, folk
find them cute. But have you seen
the teeth on those things?
next: snake
Ever since Eden
They've had a reputation
But maybe Eve lied?
Next:cults
Here is a new path
to salvation. Send money.
Sex with leader - good!
next: Aesop
Not so much fables
as proverbs: heavy on the
old morality.
next: advice
Can I ask you this?
Will you substantiate my
brilliant opinion?
next: nail file
Good for removing
small batteries; not very good
at filing my nails.
next: coat-hanger
In a museum,
the last wire coat-hangar--
where we can curse it.
next: saturnine
"Tending to be cold,
grim, bitter and gloomy," says
the dictionary.
next: jovial
Santa, is jovial
allegedly, but could be
a hypertensive.
Next word: Myth
What you believe is
faith; what others may choose to
believe, myth. Really?
next: tolerance
Mystery revealed
only through analogy,
each culture its own.
next: grand design
Grand design? Maybe.
Drawn with a Spirograph, and
a stuttering pen.
Next word: Wedding.
Two people forging
an eternal union or
just a big party.
next: ice skating
To glide gracefully
seems as though it would be fun
until you try it.
next: disappointment
Nothing quite lives up
to its billing. So embrace
the disappointment.
next: encouragement
You Go Girl, they say
But sometimes it's hard to go.
But you can go, girl.
next: holding hands
When there are no words
left which will help, just hold hands.
There's comfort in it.
next: applause
What is this nonsense?
Why slap your hands together?
Appreciation.
next: Chicken noodle soup
Chicken noodle soup,
not like the traditional,
more vegetables.
next: eggplant/aubergine (choose one)
Best with Parmesan
And perhaps some linguini
and a crusty roll.
next: tacos
Better than pizza,
fish, cheese, with guacamole
on corn tortillas.
next: street food
I ate camel stew
in the square at Marrakech.
Not so different.
next: taxi/cab
I can remember
time before Uber and Lyft
Yellow, checkered, black.
next: fish and chips
Fast food? Quicker to
raid freezer and cook than drive
into town and queue!
next: birdsong
In the early morn
the delight song comes through
The ducks make some noise.
next: feng shui
Comes with fairy lights,
glitter dust and mindfulness.
Just move the damn couch!
next: double yellow lines (or whatever stops you parking your car in your part of the world)
Oh look! A free spot.
Oh damn! We can't use this one.
So we keep looking.
next: parking meter
Glad you said what it was. Over here, double yellow lines mean no passing. We just post signs here saying no parking and you can't park in front of a fire hydrant ever.
Feed the monster and
run. It will be hungry again
all too soon, and bite.
next: windmill
Something to tilt at
for we dreamy quixotic types.
Otherwise, just heritage.
Next word: Micro-wave
Now that is fast food.
Not always the tastiest,
but good as back-up.
next: X-rays
What do you look like?
They say that what's inside counts.
Oooh, look. Broken bone!
next: vitamins
Take what you need. Take
too much, and all you get is
expensive urine.
next: green vegetables
Peas or broccoli
asparagus or pole beans
should promote good health.
next: radishes
Add some colour to
salad, and a bit of crunch.
Not good for gallstones!
next: baked potato
Behold the great spud.
Served hot boiled, fried, or baked.
Best when served as chips.
or for you different talker, it works with crisps, too.
next: bells
Bells walk beside us:
weddings, deaths, great national
events; friends at door.
next: reading lamp
Comfy chair, end table,
cup of tea and a great book.
Let there be light! Please.
next: courage
"Every man would be
a coward if he durst." It's
easier to fight.
next: knowledge
Until our last breath
may we continue to learn,
it keeps us youthful.
next: lunar new year
The year of the horse.
I'm from the year of dragon
A special one, too.
(Really, I'm the 60 year iteration of the dragon, the great Chinese symbol. I had no idea until my Chinese boss told me so. The birth rate supposedly traditionally rose for a dragon baby but rose wildly for that 60 year special to do.)
next: fallacy
My great-grandmother
thought her epilepsy was
caused by a pork pie.
next: dragon
Where does that fire start?
Does it give indigestion?
Poor, little dragon.
next: damsel
Damsels are distressed
and other cliche beliefs.
Strong women prevail.
next: cosmos
Everything that is,
and ever was, and ever
will be: the cosmos.
next: pulsar
Spinning and spinning
Faster and ever faster
Really hard to see.
next: baseball
By any other
name a rose would smell as sweet:
same goes for rounders.
next: golf
hahahahahahahahaha
Take this funny stick
and then hit the little ball
into the far hole.
next: whales
Masters of the sea,
from surface to the abyss -
whales patrol it all.
next: coral atoll
The building up of
coral takes a long time
before it peeks out.
next: jellyfish
An ingredient
in brain-booster supplements?
Jellyfish? No way.
next: memories
We see the past through
filters. Less hardship and more
pleasure. Can't blame us!
next: anticipation
What are your plans now?
Oh, that sounds so wonderful
I bet you can't wait!
next: disappointment
Life is what happens
when you're busy making plans.
Often second best.
next: acceptance
Acceptance is best
when there's nothing to be done.
Reject bitterness.
next: best pet ever
My dog was the best.
My sister's dog was the best.
Pam's cat was the best.
next: porcupine
Difference between
porcupine and White House? With
porc, pricks on outside.
next: supermarket
Farmers, shopkeepers,
what the founders expected,
not corporations.
next: windmills
Tilting here and there
Large arms waving through the air
Quaintly still useful.
next: sand castles
Fortress on the shore.
Master of all I survey -
until tide comes in.
next: measles
Fever on the rise-
Fine red rash, behind the ears
Cough shadows the room.
Next theme: chocolate
Flavors abound but
some are better than others
And ONE is the best.
next: hiccups
My dog gets hiccups.
I can cure them for her by
making her startle.
next: camp-fire
In the olden days,
stories by tribal elders
around the campfires.
next: history
Remember the past,
or risk repeating it. And
that means warts and all.
next: ski-lift
To go up the hill,
Chairlift tied to cable
and enjoy the frosted beauty
Next theme- Fiction
Tell me a story
In a book, it can be lies
That is called fiction.
next: junk drawer
A place for every-
thing. Except things that don't
fit. They go in here.
next: marshmallow
White sugared fluffy-
Filled with warm syrup sweetness
To bake and enjoy
Next theme- Sun
Burning brightly up
in the sky, hydrogen and
helium light up.
next: the moon
Reflected glory.
But without the moon,
the earth would struggle.
next: umbrella
A bit of a bodge.
Creates the illusion of dry.
Just redirects wet,
Next word: Fireplace
Focus of a room.
But the actual warmth comes
from central heating.
next: frying pan
Iron pan browns slow,
Sizzling eggs, bacon, pancakes
Sautéing scents rise.
Next theme: Pop(music genre).
Michael Jackson was
said to be the King of Pop
Elvis disagreed.
next: notepad
I keep a note-pad
to remind me where things are.
Now, where's the note-pad?
next: fountain pen
Quote from: Spell Chick on February 25, 2026, 04:21:51 PMMichael Jackson was
said to be the King of Pop
Elvis disagreed.
damn
I expected more, but its a 5/7/5 3 line piece....and nailed it!
next: notepad
The ink blogs are part
of the charm. But the streaking
is just annoying.
next: napping
Rest my tired brain,
Head sinks into soft pillow
Drifting into dreams
Next theme- fireworks
Chrysanthemums of
flame jolt the night sky. Below,
children weave sparklers.
next: spring flowers
Forsythia and
Daffodils, tulips, pansies
All make spring worth it.
next: disaster
Worse than misfortune,
better than catastrophe;
worst of all when mine!
next: new job
Tried retail sales once.
It felt manipulative,
making sales quotas.
next: resign
If they're going to sack
you, jump the gun! Looks better
on your resume'.
next: roller-skates
Ice skating looks so
graceful but it's so damn cold.
Get a better way.
next: home improvement project
It will look better
when it's done. Needs to: costing
an arm and a leg!
next: bank loan
Got any money
to lend a poor soul, kind sir?
Ha! This is a bank.
next: jonquil
Yellow as sunshine,
heart-warming after winter -
the rush daffodil.
next: crocuses
Bravely fighting snow
the delicate crocus pops
into early spring.
next: waterfalls
White water falling:
a thing of beauty, unless
you're a tired salmon.
next: sweet tooth
No more Snickers bars.
choc'late, caramel, nougat,
they are addictive.
next: watermelon
Before farming got
to the watermelon
It was mostly white.
next: witch's cauldron
"When shall we three meet
again?" "Not till I've given
this cauldron a scrub."
next: breakfast
The important meal,
'tis said by nutritionists,
breaking the night's fast.
next: magazines
Sounds so harmless, yes?
"Where's my magazine?" But not
when said by gunman.
next: extravagance
Social influence
predates social media
but all way too much.
next: top hat
Gentlemen wore them,
but they went out of fashion,
now Slash revived them.
next: guitars
Not as easy to
play as they look. Put ear-plugs
in and just look cool.
next: music-box
Open the lid and
a ballerina pops up
Tinny music runs.
next: merry-go-round
The gallopers go
round on predictable paths.
Real horses don't, much.
next: mowing the lawn
Back and forth and back
again, making a pattern
of new-mown grass smell.
next: red wine
Red wine with red meat,
white wine with fish. Or, just drink
whatever you like.
next: insomnia
If I fall asleep
six hours of sleep, but now
only three hours left.
next: tacos
Fish tacos are best
with fried cabbage and cumin
in corn tortillas.
next: family recipe(s)
Mom made it this way
therefore I do as well, kids
go with tradition.
next: delay
What makes trains run late?
Traffic jams? Detours? Getting
behind a funeral?
next: questions
What do you know now?
With proper questions you can
know more afterwards.
next: oratory
Oral Histories
among those who did not write
advanced our cultures.
next: shaman
Some bloke in one more
funny hat, claiming to know
The Answers. Yeah, right.
next: cherry blossom
Pink, beautiful, and
delicate. Not sure why they
are so important.
next: lilacs
"Just now the lilacs
are in bloom"... Soon enough they
will be memory.
next: castle
Seen as romantic.
But cold, drafty, dank, and dark
in reality.
next: cathedral
A gathering place
intended to inspire awe,
they are beautiful.
next: rock formations
Some look like witches,
some like elephants; but all
act as time machines.
next: pub quiz
a place where pedants
come to blows or darkly sulk
and get shown the door.
Next word: Ignorance
=====
A mate at tech college got banned from a local pub because he won the meat prize three weeks on the trot. The regulars turned on him because 'You don't even need the prize, But there's poor families here who really do."
His response of 'Well, perhaps they shouldn't spend al their Giro (benefits) on beer." didn't go down too well.
His biggest fear was that his girlfriend would suddenly turn vegan and leave him to tackle a freezer full of meat all on his own.
It's now what we know
that's an issue, but what we
"know" that is all wrong.
next: easter bunny
We thank the Great Egg
that pet shops no longer sell
bunnies at Easter.
next: baby animals
Baby animals,
like other children, are cute
but I don't want one.
next: friendship
Camaraderie is
the basis for a friendship.
Proximity helps.
next: daisy
The guy who cuts my
lawn thinks they're weeds. I won't let
him blitz them. He sulks.
next: window-cleaning
Too many windows,
love the view of the valley
but are they worth it?
next: lazy
It's not laziness.
I prefer cerebral to
physical pursuits.
next: word games
Puzzles, cyphers, and
such are good exercise for the
most important brain.
next: sonnets
Shakespeare wrote sonnets.
Perhaps if he'd travelled more
he'd have done haiku.
next: cowboys
They ride horses, right?
Out on the range - giddy up
Not just in movies.
next: stampede
Hush, hush, whisper who
dares. Startle these steers and we're
all just bloody smears!
next: pomposity
Haughty, superior
At least in theory. Really
Frightened half to death.
next: telescope
Shrink the universe
to a manageable size.
Spy on nesting birds.
next: microscope
To freak yourself out
see what lives inside your body.
Fascinating, but...
Next Word: Family.
Siblings and parents
children and then grandchildren
the worst is in-laws.
next: international
Good fences make good
neighbours. A sea border is
the best fence of all.
next: dolphin
Yes, dolphins do smile,
who wouldn't if they could live
a life in the sea?
next: whale songs
Humpbacks are the stars.
Think of the Three Tenors, with
throats like concert halls.
next: mermaids
Fabled sea creatures
but still an alluring legend.
Bloody awkward though.
Next Word: Logical.
Thinking clearly is
clearly not very popular.
Fuzzy thinking is.
next: flamboyant
Covered in rhinestones,
Elvis impersonators
look ridiculous.
next: conspiracies
Occam's Razor: if
it seems improbable, it
likely wasn't so.
next: paradox
There is no conflict
in a holistic world view,
both statements are true.
next: either/or
Computer coding
has if/then/else running rules.
Life is shades of gray.
next: nursery rhymes
"Jack and Jill went up
the hill." Nursery rhymes aren't
exactly gripping.
next: panic
Falling down and then
breaking your crown can be a
bit panic making.
next: tornado
"There's a tornado
coming!" "I know. Sit still while
I do your filling."
next: thunder
It never thunders
in Southern California.
Strangely, I miss it.
next: excitement
"Wheeeee" screams the child so
excitedly. "Whoa" says the
on-the-hook adult.
next: wisteria
Named after Caspar
Wistar, and so commonly
misspelt. But lovely.
next: fireplace
Romantic perhaps,
but fireplaces are not
efficient heaters.
next: awestruck
AWE once was a word
meaning frightful and scary.
Not so much today.
next: allergies
Peanuts can kill you,
strawberries can make you itch;
hay just makes you sneeze.
next: croquet
A funny mallet.
Use a pendulum swing to
knock ball through wickets.
next: laundry
Time to do laundry
when the clothes climb out of the
basket on their own!
next: pyramid
The Egyptian way
of trying to live forever
hung on the pharaoh.
next: north star
You can always find
north on a clear night. Then head
anywhere else, fast.
next: Orion
You can belt it out -
making up pictures in the
night sky is stupid.
next: astrology
A pseudo science
which still sometimes hits the mark.
I'd rather read palms.
Next word: Moonlight
Cancer is my sign,
no planet rules over me,
I am a moon child.
next: tarot
Look at the pretty
pictures telling a story
that's certainly wrong.
next: hypnotism
"Watch my watch. You are
feeling sleepy." Not really,
just bored half to death.
next: jigsaw
Does doing puzzles
maintain cognitive sharpness
as much as dancing?
next: rhythm
Catholic mums teach it
but know a daily chemical
is reliable.
Then this extra one just leapt out of nowhere, so I decided to let it run.
Abstinence works best,
but instinct can be a bugger.
A powerful over-ride.
Next word: Crocodile
In Australia they
weird alligators and
and some odd hunters.
next: conservation
Help preserve threatened
wildlife: pickle a squirrel,
or make otter jam.
next: zebra
What is black and white
and red all over? It is
a sunburned zebra.
next: lemur
Ring-tailed, red-ruffed, or
with a funny finger: a
primitive primate.
next: final exams
One final question
as this learning process ends,
did I do my best?
next: ambition
Wanting is not the
same as earning accolades
or any other perks.
next: essays
Essays, as a rule,
require more words than any damn
haiku will accept.
Next word: Verbosity.
The less people have
to say, the more words they seem
to need to say it!
next: gestures
Communication
is non-verbal when fingers
deliver the message.
Next word: Philanthropy
Doing good for good's
sake makes everyone feel good,
both ends of the deal.
next: avarice
"Mine" screams avarice
even when it is looking at
what is really yours.
next: sloth (either kind)
An improbable
film-star, Sid the Sloth made lots
of us feel kinship.
next: bubbles
Doing the fan dance
is a real tease when instead,
it's done with bubbles.
next: unlikely
Fourteen million
to one odds; but still people
do the lottery.
next: greenhouse
Heat generated
by concentrated sunshine
grows some vegetables.
next: prizes
Always nice to be
recognised. If missed, pretend
it doesn't matter.
next: electric kettle
It's time for some tea.
First to get some hot water
then tea and a cup.
next: alarm clock
Internal alarms
that wake us way too early
make us sleep deprived.
next: sunrise
So, a wolf swallowed
the sun last night. Now it's back.
From which end of wolf?
next: solar eclipse
There's the yellow dot
eaten now with nightfall soon
here and then DAY time!
next: pussy willow
Early spring, and the
buds on the willow grow fur.
Catkins will follow.
next: hay-making
How many meanings
are implied in the sayings
about making hay?
next: those big round bales
If memory serves,
there are twenty small square bales
in a big round one.
next: ploughing
It's contemplative
with horses and slow patience.
Less so with tractors.
Next word: Canals.
What gets longer the
more you cut it? A canal.
(Early navvies' joke.)
next: narrowboat
At six foot and ten
and up to seventy-two
long- live on canals.
next: cruise ship
As you might be able to guess, I had to look up what a narrowboat was.
Sorry, Chick. The main thing to remember about narrowboats is that they're not longships, which were Viking raiding vessels.
Far-away places
with strange-sounding names: make them
come to you on cruise.
next: beach holiday
All year long they save
vacation time and money
to come to this beach.
next: where you live
Home is where the heart
finds the loo in darkness
and knows where snacks are.
next: monastery
Monastic movement
in the Egyptian Desert.
Extreme withdrawal.
next: crowds
If you think three's a
crowd, you're agoraphobic
or else you are me.
next: identity theft
I'm me, I tell you.
That other one is not me.
Trust me. I AM me.
next: stopwatch
See the seconds flow!
I might have done something good
but for watching this.
next: seagull
Sky rats steal your food
all while you enjoy the beach
or at least, try to.
next: emu
What good did it do
to evolve past dinosaur
but then be flightless?
Penguins, ostriches,
emus, kiwis, still have wings,
but none of them fly.
next: potential
The world's your oyster.
Shuck it and dive in! Alas,
disappointment waits.
next: gravity
The ponderous weight
The soft pull of attraction
Trip, and you fall down.
next: dictionary
Every word in the
language, all in one book. But
quite unreadable.
next: bedtime story
A fable for children.
Or a smooth seductive chat line
to lure a bed mate.
Next word. Morning.
Sunset and sunrise
are getting close together
alarm bells go off.
next: classical music
Contemporary
composers like Phillip Glass
spin me into space.
next: tympany
Any child can bang
a drum. Takes a musician
to play a drum well.
next: violin
The bow drawn across
the funny box held beneath
your chin, makes music.
next: tuba
Basically, a brass
horn. Imagine a trumpet
on steroids: tuba.
next: cornflowers
Bachelor buttons,
cornflowers--by either name
are beautiful blue.
next: single
Being single means
no one to share the problems
only marriage brings.
next: divorce
Cleave to each other.
But if dreaming of cleavers
perhaps you should part.
next: diary
Who was the nut who,
years ago, thought this vital
enough to record?!!
next: power-cut
A large earth-mover
struck an Arizona line,
Southern Cal went dark.
(true story, just as we were about to land all systems at the airport failed and the Pilot announced after we'd landed he had to do it on sight.) https://www.powermag.com/blackout-leaves-southwest-in-the-dark/
next: overspecialization
I know this not that
Just this particular thing
and only this thing.
next: pilot
Pilot of "Pinta"
kept Slocum safe on voyage.
Too busy next time.
(A brief explanation: Joshua Slocum made the first solo round-the-world voyage in the 1890s. Early in the trip he fell dangerously ill and was unable to sail his boat "Spray". He hallucinated that someone came on board, introduced himself as the pilot of Columbus's ship "Pinta", and said he'd sail "Spray" until Slocum recovered. Some days later Slocum was sufficiently improved to come on deck. He found "Spray" was still sailing, and still on course. They went on to complete the voyage successfully. Unhappily, an attempt to repeat it in 1909 ended abruptly, probably under the bows of a unsuspecting and much larger ship.)
next: ghost
Apparitions are
difficult to document
but are still believed.
next: marshmallows
Light bonfire, thread a
marshmallow on stick, look what
you get: sticky mess.
next: hotel
All I want to know--
is there a breakfast buffet?
Coffee in the room?
next: clean sheets
Great mystery of
our time: why would clean sheets be
colder than old ones?
next: country walk
Lovely scenery
Clean, fresh air and sense of calm
Get home - muddy shoes.
next: uber eats
I've never eaten
an uber and don't plan to.
I'll go get take-out.
next: misunderstanding
When a man says his
wife doesn't understand him,
she totally does.
next: optimism
Thinks are looking up.
Even if it seems they aren't.
Keep calm and move on.
next: pessimism
You will never be
disappointed if you cling
to pessimism.
next: realistic
Rain falls, then the sun
shines. Both are good. Anyway,
it's out of my hands.
next: jewellery
Oooh, look at the stuff
that glitters and shines as it
gets in your own way.
next: pocket watch
Ah, those were the days!
When time meant a watch on chain,
not an app on phone.
next: umbrella
A sudden rainstorm,
my umbrella is back home
so I'll just get wet.
next: insects
Tiny little bug
so damn annoying all the
summer season long.
next: ice cream cone
Sprinkles, or a flake?
Life's just full of decisions,
all of great import!
next: sun-screen
Noel Coward told
us what happens to ones who
defy mid-day sun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMlyT_Sb7sg
Next topic: The English ;-)
Across the big pond
There are islands off the coast
Where they talk funny.
next: humor
Like some wines, humour
doesn't travel well. Trump? We
still don't get the joke.
next: wine
Our whiner-in-chief:
he only amuses those
who failed to mature.
(sorry for the homophone)
next: wine again
Dry cooking sherry,
if you don't drink alcohol,
has resveratrol.
next: grapes
(Homophone is good. If open to misunderstanding...)
Associated
with wrath. But why? They make wine,
cheer up invalids.
next: antiques
Antique or vintage
are both ways to express age
so, I am vintage.
next: spiral
Like a staircase, a
snail-shell, or a decaying
orbit, twisting round.
next: DNA
DNA reveals
neanderthals among us.
I think I know some.
next: ancestors
The ones I stand with
when the modern world seems mad.
But not all change sucks.
Next word: Skillet.
Cooks use a skillet.
That's about all I know. And
that I don't have one.
next: casserole
In Minnesota
the running joke is "hot dish"
strange meat and canned soup.
next: Haute cuisine
Is it fair enough
to describe airline food as
haute cuisine? Why not?
next: jet-lag
Here's a brand new place
flew overnight to arrive
now too tired to see.
next: zen
Something to do with
raking gravel, and looking
after motorbikes.
next: Orion's Belt
Hunter in night sky
Must not have been very good.
Known for his damn belt.
next: supernova
Biggest bang since The
Big Bang! With stars, the bigger
they are, the louder.
next: comet
Halley found one that
returns again and again.
It brackets Mark Twain.
next: backspace key
Provides second chance
with word processer, cleaner than
Tipp-Ex on paper.
Next word: Correction
There are few mistakes
that cannot be corrected
by apologies.
next: humble
When people say, "In
my humble opinion",
at least they're half right.
next: haggis
Heart, liver, and lungs
onion, oatmeal and suet
are said to make food.
next: sliders
What does "sliders" mean:
how many you can get down
your gullet at once?
next: disgusting
A sense of disgust
seems to be a human trait.
Others just avoid.
next: photography
Is it really art?
Yes, perhaps more than painting
for realism.
next: abstract art
A line here and there
canvases splashed with color
What does it all mean?
next: covered bridges
What exactly is
the point? It's all right to get
wet on either side?
next: duck
Quack, poop all over.
Bend knees, squish head to shoulders.
Somehow, both are duck.
next: goose
Christmas bird but not
turkey, or prod someone's arse:
these two are both goose.
next: ostrich
Large and ungainly
Unable to fly or to
bury head in sand.
next: mosquito
Whoever thought up
mosquitoes? Nasty whine and -
yes - malaria.
next: birthday
Another year 'round
means another year older.
Wisdom optional.
next: otters
Otters get a good
Press, thanks to Maxwell. Beware,
though - lots of sharp teeth!
next: sea-plane
Great Plains: inland sea,
or plane that lands on water?
That's English for you.
next: speech
Hear ye! And hear ye!
I have something new to say.
Can you please listen?
next: recipes
I've never found one
that couldn't use a little
extra this and that.
next: beans
How many beans make
five? A bean, a bean, a bean,
a bean and two halves.
next: circus
Under the Big Top
Amazing things can happen.
If you have the cash.
next: azure
The colour of sky.
No, not black, grey or khaki -
sky ought to be blue.
next: sapphire
Sapphire sounds as if
it refers to fire hues,
but it is just blue.
next: pearl
Irritate oysters
and you get pearls. Doesn't work
with people, sadly.
next: octopus
You bad, spineless thing!
Waving your eight legs around
And squirting out lights.
next: pillow talk
Starring Doris Day
the perpetual virgin,
"pillow talk" indeed!
next: silent film
Black and white and gray
jerking movements and wide eyes
Then put up some text.
next: art deco
Crisp and angular,
favoured style of cinema
designers - art deco.
next: speed limits
Hey, you crazy kid!
Calm down, you're not saving time,
you are risking lives.
next: maturity
Desirable at times
but a drag at some others.
Comes with age they say.
Next word: Responsible.
It is all your fault!
Not responsibility
but just angry blame.
next: tiara
French revolution
made tiara a quick route
to the guillotine.
next: wedding ring
A circle of love
To express eternity
until the divorce.
next: donuts
Hole in the middle
is vital. Without it, where
would calories go?
next: cheese-rolling (another strange English custom, Chick)
A great idea!
Roll a cheese round down a hill.
(That's called sarcasm.)
BTW I've recently learned some things about haiku. If it's not nature oriented it's a senyu.
next: birdsong
Well, a cheese is part of nature. Particularly if you leave it long enough.
There's one in my tree,
shouting right now: "This is mine!
Scram! I want to fuck!"
(this, of course, refers to the birdsong, not the cheese)
next: word games
Vocabulary,
usage, grammar, and a quick wit:
needed for word games.
next: galaxy
I looked up senyu and it is a comic/manga thing
Senryu is the non-nature oriented haiku thing
Senryu is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer morae (or on) in total. However, senryu tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryu are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious.
You think the Solar
System's big? The Milky Way
galaxy's just huge.
next: universe
We talk about it
as if we can understand
the cosmic vastness.
next: limitations
Yeah--typo, I meant senryu
Motto: "My cob can."
Better motto: "My cob could
if he wanted to."
next: thatched cottage
The skill of making
a roof of thatch is barely
in today's world.
next: churning butter
Centrifugal force
separates the heavy cream
stirred just so: BUTTER!
next: taffy
Traditional way
to make taffy involves a
nail in the back door.
next: dance
Step this way then that
gently swaying back and forth
don't step on my toes.
next: kaleidoscope
Hours spent looking
through a turning tube, mirrored bits
tumbling, endless shapes.
next: gyroscope
The more it spins, the
more it stands still. Rather like
a teenager, then.
next: telescope
Where? I don't see it.
Tubes and mirrors and some magic.
Wow! I see it now.
next: honeycomb
Bees can engineer
a network of hexagrams,
all little ampules.
next: spider webs
Spread across a field,
sun-catching on autumn morn...
gossamer, not webs.
next: badger
If you don't have badgers, they're tough, opinionated black-and-white mustelids that don't step aside for anyone, including trucks.
We have them
That is not a cat
it does not act like a cat.
It's meaner than cats.
next: volcano
Mother Earth's pimples.
When she squeezes them, you should
keep a safe distance!
next: anchor
Drifting far away
is often a bad result.
So drop your anchor.
next: cinnamon
My pot came from a
friend, who ordered rather too
much from Amazon!
next: sunflowers
Kansas is known for
sunflowers, but I didn't
see any while there.
next: obelisk
Stone needle stitching
the sky. Egyptians came up
with the idea.
next: stone circle
fyi: The Red Lion in Avebury, Wiltshire, is the only pub in the world situated inside a neolithic stone circle.
Ancient peoples thought
large stones in big circles was
pleasing to the gods.
next: mud puddle
Jump in mud puddle
in wellies. Your feet will stay
dry. Not rest of you.
next: jet stream
Look up at those stripes!
when they form crisscross patterns,
time to get worried.
next: crash
(Er - those are actually contrails. The jet stream is a high-level, high speed atmospheric air current.)
I had right-of-way!
You were in the wrong! Sadly,
we're equally dead.
next: snoring dog
My dear and darling
pet dog is sleeping so sound
and making such sounds.
next: potatoes
No meal is complete
without spuds. Except breakfast,
of course; also tea.
next: cherry tree
The blossoms are quite
beautiful, until they fall.
Fruit is always good.
next: Ferris wheel
Travelling so far
to go nowhere at all. But
it makes your heart soar.
next: coconut shy
The man on the shy
hates those who can throw straight.
Blows smoke in your eyes.
Next word: Carnival
The roar of the grease-
paint, the smell of the crowd: all
the fun of the fair.
next: putting up a tent
I'm so glad Gyppo stepped in. I was going to have to look up whatever the hell coconut shy was because I had no idea.
Put that pole there, no
wait, put that other one there.
Let's get a hotel.
next: silk
The loveliest thing
against your skin; until you
think, "Spider's bottom"!
next: cynic
I've outsmarted them,
by pretending to agree
I'll get what I want.
next: dishonesty
Truth will set you free.
Dishonesty will get you
every other thing.
next: lecture
Someone standing up
and talking. Lots of info.
But more in a book.
next: coffee
Elixir of gods
Necessary for my life
Liquid sanity.
next: whiskey
The source of wisdom,
and great love of thy brethren:
whiskey, late at night.
next: abstinence
Abstinence: it leaves
a great deal to be desired.
(Same with chastity.)
next: cold-water swimming
I'll just dip my toe--
nope! Not in that ice-water,
I'm too old and cold.
next: directions
Look, Marco Polo
no north/south stuff and tell me
Turn at McDonald's.
next: globe
A ball of bright light
or a replica of Earth,
globes do fascinate.
next geography
Why can no one read
a map anymore?
Tells you everything.
next: history
That was then so long
ago or maybe just now.
It's all in the past.
next: Latin
With all the things to
know, what do they teach to kids?
A long-dead language!
next: cookery programmes
Great British Bake Off
and all the other spin offs
don't improve baking.
next: olives
Dull little trees stretch
to the horizon, making
sour fruit full of oil.
next: pineapple
Not pine, not apple
Once considered luxury
Too much burns your mouth.
next: wallet
A wallet, how quaint.
Do you still carry money?
I only use cards.
next: improvisation
Improvise this: the
network's down, and you've got a
full basket. Cash, please?
next: weekend
Waiting for weekends?
Retirees no longer care,
all days are the same.
next: excitement
I remember when
seeking excitement was the
goal. Please, let me sleep.
next: rodeo
Here we go again,
this ain't my first rodeo
and won't be my last.
next; Broncos
It's not the first buck
floors you, or even the next.
After that, hang on!
next: ski-jumping
Slats of wood on feet
mountains of snow at the front
slide and jump downhill.
next: sky diving
Trust your parachute?
The person who folded it
makes the difference.
next: fitted sheets
Look for ones with the
elastic across the top.
They stay put better.
next: apple pie
Apples, cinnamon,
nutmeg, sugar, and pie crust.
American as ...
next: Jell-o
This is jelly, right?
Favourite of kids'
parties, and folk with sore throats.
(Adding port improves.)
next: lemon meringue
Jell-o is a flavored gelatin packet where you just add water, first hot, then cold.
Tart and refreshing
whipped egg whites browned on top
a delicious treat.
next: chocolate chip cookie
My friend makes these. Calls
them Surprise biscuits. Surprise
is finding choc chip.
next: butter
Better with butter
is not just some old saying,
it's a truism.
next: asparagus
Tasty, but a bit
of a pain to prepare right.
Not all edible.
next: Vikings
Vikings - warriors
of the Nordic lands. Made quite
a big impression.
next: JS Bach
I asked girl in the
music shop for Bach. "J. S.,"
she yawned, "or Offen?"
next: pun
A play on words that
when done correctly, induce
at least a loud groan.
next: bucket list
You know you're getting
old when your bucket list turns
to a Fuck it list!
next: pantomime dame
(In case you don't have these, it's a man pretending to be an old woman for the amusement of small children. Go figure.)
Not just men in drag
but those playing old women
to a child's delight.
I had no idea what they were, but ...
next: detective
DNA's my friend.
Luminol works a treat. But
so does asking round.
next: afternoon tea
(Another peculiarly English custom, Chick?)
Yeah. Over here we just continue to eat all day. Mid-morning snack. After lunch snack. Mid-afternoon snack. Etc. and on and on.
American's pretend
to indulge in High Tea by
having Tea Houses.
next: clotted cream
Clotted cream is banned.
Louis Pasteur would agree.
It sounds terrible.
next: junk food
The Chinese merchant
fleet relies heavily on
supplies of junk food.
next: baked beans
Slogan. 'Beanz means Heinz'.
Now recalled in Brit folklore
more as Beanz Meanz Fartz.
Next prompt: Health Food shop
Can life eternal
be achieved with supplements?
Nothing's forever.
next: ego
I think, therefore am.
Though not, as I tend to think,
a gift to mankind.
next: shyness
Who me? Really? No!
I cannot tolerate that
type of fleeting fame.
next: speed bump
"Sleeping policemen"?
The bane of motorists' lives.
Inverted potholes.
next: potholes
This spring saw many
AI generated pix
of potholes as lakes.
next: electricity
Taming lightning to
heat a kettle, restart a
heart or watch TV.
next: inventor
Here's a lot of junk.
I bet I can make something
useful from it all.
next: atoms
Every bit of you
was once a part of a star.
Makes you feel special?
next: compass
North, south, east, and west
are just the cardinal points.
three, fifty-six more.
next: prism
Things that are broken,
like the light through a prism,
are more beautiful.
next: street fair
Mostly colourful
tat; but sometimes a diamond
winking in its ear.
next: marching band
Brass, winds, and drum corps
move through the streets spreading sound
for better or worse.
next: tuba
There's something jolly
about a big, fat tuba,
the back row OOOMPA!
next: piccolo
Tinny little flute,
piping away gamely in
the orchestral storm.
next: conductor
Waving the wand and
pointing hither and yon the
leader makes music.
next: river
Keep standing on the
bridge, and the bodies of all
enemies pass through.
next: seaweed
Kelp forests swaying
in the current seems lovely.
But stinks when in food.
next: Linzer tart
Fruit, shortbread and nuts:
a Linzertorte from old
Austria. Want some?
next: medicine
Local pharmacists
sometimes know more than doctors
about side effects.
next: flowering trees
The blooms all come out.
Sneezing and then more sneezing.
Very beautiful.
next: campfire
Campfire under stars.
Coughing, and under-cooked food.
Somehow, seems worth it.
next: tabby cat
Perhaps camouflage,
now we find stripes on a cat
makes them loveable.
next: desert tortoise
In the Mojave
sea creatures have their own house
to try to stay cool.
next: wading pool
Too far from the beach,
plastic pond and tap-water
make a substitute.
next: sun-glasses
The sun is so bright
I should shield my tender eyes
with colored plastic.
next: parasol
An umbrella for
when there is no chance of rain.
Pretty in pictures.
next: sandals
Barefoot in summer.
worn with socks in the winter,
sandals all year long.
Next: fashion
All the latest trends
pass me by. Always have done.
They're clothes, not ego.
next: optimism
Positive outlook
Even when times are not good
Makes life more pleasant.
next: plot twists
Light at the end of
the tunnel turns out to be
an on-coming train.
next: sheep dog
In sheep dog trials
none are ever found guilty.
Suspicious, or what ;-)
Next word: Planetarium
Under a half-dome
a starry sky, projected,
still fills with wonder.
next: trompe l'oeil
Clever paint deceives
the eye, plants forests in the
wealthy dining room.
next: chandelier
A Chandelier's fun
for rogues to swing upon. Beats
recessed LEDs.
Next word: Safety.
TV presenters
must wear life-vests to report
from a damp pavement.
next: summer evening
Soft breeze, shining stars
temps are warm and the air is
filled with goddam bugs.
next: harvest moon
Jim always dropped his
breeks at the hay-making. It
was a harvest moon.
next: moths
"To the flame" they say
But there is no evidence
saying moths like flames.
next: thunderstorm
Clouds bumping? Sonic
shockwave from lightning? Or God
dropping his tin tray?
next: snoring
Thundrous sounds come forth
toss and turn while trying to
ignore the "breathing".
next: lily of the valley
Scented but toxic,
lily of the valley - kin
to asparagus.
next: bridal bouquet
Do brides still throw them?
Do her bridesmaids still compete
to catch with high hopes?
next: greed
Dear Lord, give people
everywhere all they want; but
me first, if you please.
next: apologising
Sorry for existing.
I really must apologise,
but no-ones listening.
Next word: Futile.
The futility
of resistance is coming
from the Borg. Beware.
next: space travel
Inner-space travel
is cheap, easy and doesn't
involve suitcases.
next: door knocker
I'm in the bathroom,
some stranger is at my door.
Sign this petition.
next: homicidal
There are some urges
that are meant to be followed.
And others are not.
next: speeding ticket
It was more fun when
they had to catch you to write
a speeding ticket!
next: ATM
A 'hole in the wall'
which returns your own money
if the numbers right.
Next word: Supper
Last meal of the day.
Might as well make it nice one.
Where's the chocolate spread?
next: bit-coin
An old jingle says:
shave and a haircut six bits.
Bit-coin not the same.
next: unexplained
Who has the answer?
Where can I find correctness?
Seems like a lost cause.
next: lamplight
A soft yellow glow
or bright white with a mantle.
Electric's too harsh.
Next word: Inconvenient.
Not what I require.
Or, not where I require it.
Not working for me.
next: cancelled flight
I'm going away
Checking the board and wait - no
Not going right now.
next: waiting
This line is a queue.
It's how civilised people
deal with modern life.
next: origami
Nimble fingers fold
paper in fantastic shapes,
imitate nature.
next: creativity
Here is some old stuff
the goal right now is to make
it into new stuff.
next: playwright
Putting words into
other people's mouths, letting
them take the glory.
next: actor
I'm her and then her
memorizing lines and steps
but who is "me" now?
next: Post-it note
They tried to make strong
glue. Failed. Made weak glue, perfect
for short-term Post-Its!
next: ring-binder
I'll get organized,
got three-ring binders last June,
perhaps tomorrow.
next: good intentions
You must avoid them
as they pave the road to hell,
so why volunteer?
Next word: Choice
Left or right - or wrong?
Choose. You'll probably never
know how well you chose.
next: folding deck-chair
Unfold. Have a seat.
Seat collapses, or else it's
just bad to sit in.
next: fedora
Remember Zorro?
He wore a black fedorra
or some flat-brim hat
next: whips
A friend offered me
some whips. What kind of a friend?!!
Seems they're infant trees.
next: old pets
Puppies and kittens
are nice, but a lot of work.
Old pets are just nice.
next: strawberry jam
Lots of jams are nice.
But fresh scones just call for jam
bursting with strawberries.
next: weeping willows
The saddest of trees
whipping back and forth in grief
or just drooping there.
next: olive tree
Does the olive tree
suffer after harvesting
shaken tree syndrome?
next: corporate farming
Well-fed, warm, lots of
company; but are dairy
cows called Daisy now?
next: texting
Communication
is now instantaneous
spelled incorrectly
next: auto correct
A blue pencil in
a monkey's paw: changing text
without knowing why.
next: ginger beer
Non-alcoholic
ginger beer is not the same
thing as ginger ale.
next: road trip
Fill the tank and drive
the destination is not
the important part.
next: chandelier
Dripping crystal beads,
a million light shards shimmer,
spider paradise.
next: washing windows
My sight is fading.
Can hardly see the garden.
Oh - windows need wash!
next: mascara
Bat your eyelashes
they said, it makes you sexy
mine are too stubby.
next: fractals
The Mandelbrot Set
feels like diving into a
Black Hole, but forever.
next: comet
The end of the world
foretold in literature,
a comet appears.
next: soothsayers
I see the future
but not very clearly so
I often see wrong.
next: crystal ball
Crystal balls might work,
but ouija boards are more fun
with friends and laughter.
next: social life
With friends as with cloth:
it's not the width that counts but
the sheer quality.
next: erecting a tent
The poles go inside
usually, but not always.
Lightweights can vary.
Next word: Typewriters.
Clickity, clack, clack
Letters, then words soon appear
Damn! Spelling mistake.
next: pencils
To be much use, a
pencil needs sharpening with
a very sharp knife.
next: razor-blade
Some guy named Occam
tried to simplify our lives
using razor blades.
next: platitudes
"It'll be all right."
"Rome wasn't built in a day."
"Hope springs eternal."
next: making a will
I leave this awful
undesired thing to my
favorite daughter.
next: Grand Canyon
A hole in the ground:
so deep and long it's well worth
travelling to see.
next: Tower of London
Where are the princes?
Where's the moat and the tigers?
Still it's impressive.
next: Mount Kilimanjaro
For a sense of space,
a mountain in the background,
Kilimanjaro.
next: mockingbird
Lets drink Tequila,
get wild, then go with guns to
kill a mocking bird.
Next word: Octopus.
An octopus could
knit four jumpers at once if
it could knit at all.
next: lobster
Holding tanks, claws tied
waiting to be freed, only
to be someone's meal.
next: farm fresh
"Farm fresh" means nothing.
You want free range, buy free range.
Our food earns our care.
next: hedgerow
Narrow wildlife haven.
Walk slowly, quietly, amazed
by what you will see.
Next word: Stealth.
Stealth is what bombers
and leopards have in common.
Hard to see coming.
next: elections
Keep the wolf away
by voting for the safe hands,
the least of the bad.
Next word: Futility.
Whatever's the point?
The world's going to hell in
a hand cart. I'll watch.
next: leadership
"Follow me" he said
and then led us off a cliff.
And we went along.
Next: ice cream cone
and I wrote a brilliant Haiku about a hedgerow and must have closed the window instead of posting the damn thing
Ahh. If you find it, post it anyway.
Ice-berg in reverse:
most ice-cream on top, nothing
but air in the cone.
next: a day at the races
Zoom, zoom of clip clop
Things go fast in a circle
And then someone wins.
next: badminton
Best three-phase event
in the world! Three diff'rent ways
to fall off a horse!
next: broken bone
Most of the time a
cast is sufficient, sometimes
plates and screws added.
next: roller coaster
Slow up and fast down.
Somehow, the thing stays on the
rails - usually.
next: panic
Here is a mildly
scary thing. My brain goes nuts.
Adrenaline flood.
next: lapdog
"Lapdog" is a broad
definition. Mine is a
damn great shepweiler!
next: cow-parsley
(if you don't have this, it's a roadside plant that covers the verges in frothy cream flowers at this time of year)
A deceptive name,
cow parley is not the green
in the butter sauce.
next: potatoes
Food-group of the gods.
Add salt and butter for an
eating sensation.
next: turnip
A bugger to prep
but usually well worth the effort
to add to a stew.
Next word: Marrow,
Highly nutritious
Grocery stores do not stock
it here anymore.
next: Sir David Attenborough
I loved King Charles's and Prince William's tribute to him
One outstanding thing:
Sir David Attenborough--
seven syllables.
next: superficial
Everything doesn't
have to be profound. Sometimes
superficial works.
next: factory
Long hours and low pay,
days in Ole's factory
go by too slowly.
next: scent
With candles, it's good
however, in the bathroom
it is not so good.
next: assessment
My mother would put NSG on students' papers when they were Not So Good but it wasn't going into a grading book or part of the grading process. She taught 6-8 grades.
Why do we always
compare ourselves to others?
It's fine to be you.
next: velvet
I don't fancy you
but I'll stroke your velvet dress.
A tactile overload.
Next word: Writer.
Semi-colon or
comma: does it matter? If
you're a writer, yes!
next: reader
An essential part
of our trade. Symbiotic
relationship? Yes.
next word: Sculptor.
The guy who made the
Venus de Milo couldn't
get the hang of arms.
next: bamboo
Is this a tree or
is this some wild growing weed?
Three feet a day! WOW!
next: baobab
Long-living tree stores
water in trunk. First ones grew
in Madagascar.
next: volcano
The one by my house,
has crumbled on the west side,
extinct lava stacks.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=8DhPd4n2&id=4BEC964EB817DAF3201C048F1BA79031C364EDB1&thid=OIP.8DhPd4n2bK_jLav2AeOLiQHaEK&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.nbclosangeles.com%2f2024%2f12%2fGettyImages-155351816.jpg%3fquality%3d85%26strip%3dall%26fit%3d5616%252C3744%26w%3d1575%26h%3d886%26crop%3d1&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.f0384f7789f66cafe32dabf601e38b89%3frik%3dse1kwzGQpxuPBA%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=886&expw=1575&q=calavera+extinct+volcano+carlsbad+ca&mode=overlay&FORM=IQFRBA&ck=189D8B35150BCE5BF9C2E25C8923073F&selectedIndex=0&idpp=serp&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
(Sorry about that monster link) I can see that "hill" from my back yard.
next: extinct
What was once alive
is now, not. Volcanoes or
entire species gone.
next: extravaganza
Quote from: indar9 on May 14, 2026, 10:59:42 PMThe one by my house,
has crumbled on the west side,
extinct lava stacks.
The ultimate one-up-manship in garden features?
Extravaganza:
almost a one-word Haiku.
Means Over the top.
next: jury trial
A panel of peers
But who is really like me
Can they really judge?
next: utter disappointment
I just brewed a pot of coffee, put milk in my cup, added the coffee, and got lumpy coffee. The milk had soured. I was utterly disappointed and very sad. But I had more creamer in the house and now have my coffee and will not commit any criminal acts.
Worse things happen at
sea; but no milk when you want
coffee? Pretty bad!
next: appetite
I am so hungry
What do I want to eat now?
Perhaps, all the food.
next: dieting
Refuse to do it.
Conventional wisdom says
you should, but ignore!
next: jogging
Sprinting at slow speed
is just as stupid as when
you try to go fast.
next: escargot
A snail by any
other name would be just as
disgusting to eat.
next: flat tyre
The ultimate one-up-manship in garden features?
Now that you mention it, it is more interesting than a pot of roses.
Call it what it is,
a slimy slug in a shell.
Save the butter sauce.
next: brain fog
OK I got a warning someone posted an answer to this one but sometimes a person has to post hers anyway because she had fun writing it
Works for me, Indar.
Calling it Brain Fog
describes rather than explains
this wool-gathering.
next: sky-diving
With a parachute
it can be repeatable.
Without it is not.
Next word: Neighbours.
Mine (bless him) watches
for morning movement as proof
I survived the night.
next: catching a cold
Sounds like I chased it
but infectious diseases
are the predators.
next: sneeze
Ah Ah Ah Ah choo!
Water droplets filled with germs
spray across the room.
next: orchestral music
Henry Mancini
was popular in my day
thanks to Moon River.
next: rock star
Had a mild fondness
for Meat Loaf; otherwise the
genre passed me by.
next: hot-water bottle
The aches and pains come
the cold winds blow, I want
hot water bottles.
Next: rumination
Thoughtfully chewing
breakfast, peanut butter toast,
what good have I done?
next: future
I can read future
in tea-leaves! They say,
clearly: "Make more tea!"
next: Bigfoot
Everyone now has
a camera with them and
no Bigfoot photos.
next: drawer
About once a month
I refold all my T-shirts
but they defy me.
next: maintenance
Divorcees could once
hope to live like queens on it.
Not so much today.
next: pub-crawl
My great niece had fun
in her new city, but now
has a broken foot.
next: carelessness
Consists more of not
thinking than not caring. But
results much the same.
next: malice
To plan for evil
to make harmful arrangements
is really not good.
next: guitar
Harder to play well
than it looks. But easy to
make some music with.
next: drums
Drums are the star of
the percussion family.
Kettledrums are huge.
next: floppy disk
Stereo, eight track,
vinyl albums, floppy disks,
they've all come and gone.
next: change
We tend to fear change.
It could make things worse. But most
change makes things better.
next: stagnation
The pond is scummy
While the river is clean and pure
At least it once was.
next: glacier
Snowflakes are airy
and light, until they gang up
in a glacier.
next: avalanche
One little rock falls
and knocks over another
then they all fall down.
next: hourglass
The pinch-point in the
middle keeps the sand flowing
steadily downward.
next: coal-fire
Remember coal bins
and octopus furnaces
in every basement?
next: climate
The weather today
and all the many others
make up the climate.
next: trolley
It takes real skill to
design a shopping trolley
that won't travel straight!
next: check-out
One-stop euthanasia.
The Exit supermarket aisle.
The checkout lady smiles.
Next word: Trampoline.
Trampoline sex is
the biggest bang for your buck.
Or so I've been told.
next: gravestones
Names and then dates
are displayed for all to see.
Life is in the dash.
next: fountain
"Water can't run up-
hill." That's what they tell us. Well,
tell the fountain that.
next: paradox
Two opposing things,
statements or states of being,
somehow, are both true.
next: oxymoron
Jumbo shrimp, old news
Juxtaposition makes for
very odd phrases.
next: hyperbole
Hyperbole is quite
the worst thing in the whole world,
excepting nothing!
next: positivity
Oh, this will be great!
Those few disasters are not
to be noticed, right?
next: pond
From above, a pool
of greenish water and weeds.
From below, the world.
next: goldfish
Little cheese crackers
or the glint of golden carp,
both in a glass bowl.
next: domesticate
To civilise or
tame; to teach good manners; to
make socially fit.
next: heat-wave
They're predicting record temperatures for May, for all of the UK. Except - guess what - right here!
Temps are going up
but I've been in Phoenix in
July, so too bad.
next: flower arrangement
It was 117 degrees F the day my shoes were melting to the sidewalk while I waited for a traffic light to change. After that, I realized I had to sort of march when I was stopped so the shoes could survive.
Yeah, that's pretty warm. Here they get excited if your icecream melts before you can finish it.
Lilies at the back,
for height; daisies at the front;
some gypsophila.
next: visit to optician
E is at the top
Middle: the normal letters
Who knows? at the base.
next: knight
Listen up, girly,
no one riding a white horse
will come to save you.
next: self-sufficiency
Everything you want,
you can have. On condition
you can pay for it.
next: peacock
Their unearthly screech
belies the iridescent colors
that so attract us.
next: monochromatic
All the shades of gray
Allowed us to have clear pictures
Prior to color.
next: watercolors
A delicate wash
of hues serenely blending.
Don't make a mistake!
next: a blown fuse
Doing all the things
And everything is working
Bam! Now it is not.
next: hoarding
A world-class hoarder
even keeps copies of books
on how not to hoard.
next: spring-clean
Washing the windows
might take until next August.
I'll clean the floors then.
next: step ladders
All my horses had
to learn about step-ladders
since I wrecked my knee.
next: pot-holes
The pavement is smooth.
And then, suddenly, it's not.
Not ever again.
next: bug spray
Spring is when every
bug in the country makes for
my ankles. Bug-spray!
next: DIY
Home repairs are hard
when you don't know how it works.
First break. Then call, help.
next: hammer
Also known as the
bodger's screwdriver. "If in
doubt, bash with hammer!"
next: bridge
I'm going to exercise the occasional privilege of answering a previous prompt. Patti's 'hammer' triggered this one.
When I'm really old
a titanium war-hammer will pass
as a walking stick.
=====
And Jo's bridge.
A structure crossing
a ravine, a river, or
allegedly, a foot.
Next word: Signs
Written or printed
The words send out a message
Sometimes, it's useful.
next: deck of cards
Quote from: Gyppo on May 25, 2026, 10:27:08 PMWhen I'm really old
a titanium war-hammer will pass
as a walking stick.
A really old man tottering down the high street with a titanium war-hammer will quickly find himself talking to men in white coats.
Someone found a good
use for royalty, heading up
each suit in card deck.
next: poker (in any sense)
Deal out the five cards
Choose to trade some of them in
Still lose the money.
Next: popcorn
Those air corn poppers
are an outrage to snacking.
Oil over a flame.
next: heart
We blame our heart
for so many problems. Not
fair: it's just a pump.
next: inflation
Huff and puff and huff
some more and the balloon will
slowly get bigger.
next: gasping
We talk of "catching
our breath". Mine's very fit,
always stays ahead.
next: fairy-lights
Small and twinkling lights
Are supposed to remind us
of small, twinkling folks.
next: spotlight
Turn the spotlight on
some unknown, watch what happens:
stardom, or red face!
next: car-wash
The automatic
car wash with rolling brushes
can make one dizzy.
next: honey bees
First came wasps, then bees.
Many different kinds of bees.
Some, make honey.
next: white gloves
Just like Jackie O,
a pastel knit suit, white gloves
and a pill-box hat.
next: fabric
From chiffon to tweed,
every weight of fabric for
every use. Choose well.
next: ball sports
Almost all are round
But then there is American
football and rugby.
next: dentures
They come out at night,
like stars, and glow in a disco's
ultra-violet light.
Next word: Haiku. (Which sounds like the call of a pigeon from a very tall tree.)
Traditionally,
each line is a complete phrase,
that imparts insight.
next: poetic license
Poetry is hard
Both to write and understand.
So there are some tricks.
next: plumbing
You've got a small leak,
it's no time for denial.
Quick! Call the plumber!
next: overcharged
Too much! I recall
what it cost last time! But that
was then, this is now.
next: close shave
Take it off! All off!
The shaving cream ad also
played stripper music.
Next: advertisements
Not exactly a
lie, but not whole truth either:
adman's concoction.
next: typewriter (remember them?)
Click, click, click PING swipe
rrrrrratchet and the carriage comes
back and click, click, click.
next: VCR tapes
Before DVDs
there were VCRs. Before
that, guy with paint-box.
next: oak tree
Massive trees grow old.
Starting from a small acorn
and then - living long.
next: Queen Anne's Lace
Umbellifera;
close kin to cow parsley, but
with a nicer name.
next: mountain ash
A flutter of leaves
followed by bright orange berries
that hang in clusters.
next: mushrooms
All types of mushrooms
Are edible. Some only
edible one time.
next: hummus
Quote from: Spell Chick on May 31, 2026, 12:57:46 AMAll types of mushrooms
Are edible. Some only
edible one time.
Like it, Chick!
A bit like eating
the packet it comes in, with
added condiments.
next: market day
Make a shopping list
Leave it sitting back at home
Try to remember.
next: Zeus
Chief among the gods,
lord of Olympus - but not
a faithful husband.
next: Helen of Troy
She was beautiful
The most beautiful woman
in the world, they say,
next: Thor
The God of War; and
carpenters. Why else would he
carry a hammer?
next: Pegasus
Famous winged white horse
more plausible than Slepnir,
cursed with eight legs.
Next word: Mythology
If a man tells lies,
he's a liar. If enough
people do, it's myth.
next: truth
Truth is subjective--
my belief system is mine,
yours might not agree.
next: hallucinations
Here's reality
But I don't like it at all
So here's something else.
next: Narcissus
I am so pretty
I think I'll spend my whole day
looking at myself.
next: reflection
That mirror image
might be me; on reflection,
it might be a copy.
next: echo
The hills are alive
with the sound of my own voice
ringing back to me.
next: lullaby
Mother croons sleep
to a baby. Enjoy: soon
it'll pull faces.
next: criticism
Here is a problem.
This is how you should do that.
Say the non-doing.
next: praise
We worship that which
we cannot see. We expect
more from those we can.
next: equality
We pay lip service
to ideals never achieved,
like equality.
next: inspiration
Oh, my. Look at that!
I would love to have/be that.
I'll try, and achieve.
next: garden hose
Devil in rubber!
Put away in tidy coils,
still comes out knotted!
next: applause
What is the sound of
one hand clapping? Depends on
what's in other hand.
next: honey
Term of endearment,
the life's work of honeybees,
or a warm color.
next: herbs
Stars in a kitchen
garden, weeds in a lawn, week's
wage in a health shop.
next: school play
They all so dang cute
That little one crying is mine
Pictures for later.
next: blackmail
You did WHAT? And thought
no one would know? Best cough up
if that's what you want.
next: kleptomania
kleptomania,
posh word for stealing, lawyers
excuse for the rich.
next word: Bullshit.
Sentence beginning
"In my humble opinion"
likely to be this.
next: sincerity
I really mean it
with all my heart and my soul
please believe in me.
next: nuance
A shade of meaning.
Not intended to deceive,
but listen closely.
next: water-wheel
A garden delight,
also an ancient method
of milling the crop.
next: riverboat
Some boats are meant for
oceans. And some are for lakes.
Others, for rivers.
next: cruises
World travel is hard.
Sitting on a deck while the
world slips by - easy.
next: Norwegian fjords
Glaciers were once here
Now there are mountains and cliffs
Water runs through them.
next: desert dunes
Outlaw dune buggies,
they tear up fragile systems
and hurt the wildlife.
next: toys
No lover of dolls,
I wanted toy animals.
Horses, dogs, giraffe.
next: bedtime story
Soothing tales for children,
or pre-seduction spiel
for older play-mates.
next word. Silver-tongued
"Always had a way
with words," they say. "End up in
Number Ten, or gaol."
next: fear
Adrenaline surge
flooding the fearful body
but it was nothing.
next: embarrassment
The blush begins at
the ankles, and works its way
all the way upwards.
next: impertinence
Snobbish or classist
Just who do you think you are?
Wellllll, I think I can.
next: tuba
Could be used as a
metallic urinal if
sufficiently pissed.
(Based on a lengthy 'shaggy dog' joke.)
next word (why not?: Shaggy Dog.
My first dog was called
Shaggy. All right, he was just
a toy, but much loved.
next: mouse
Son brought his pet home.
A boa constrictor! God!
The mouse was dinner.
next: predator/prey
What goes round, comes round.
Hunter or hunted, it pays
you to keep moving.
next: crown
Heavy old coinage
worth five shillings or twenty
five pence. Real money.
Next word: Cereal.
Wheat, oats and barley
are the staple cereals
of the British Isles.
next: ambulance
Wheat, sorghum, oats, rice
cereals all, but no box
or cartoon logo.
next: waffles
Get a faster ride
to the hospital and then
wait for your turn. Great!
next: waffles
Waffle with honey:
the perfect mid-morning snack.
Dog gets last corner.
next: UFO
Way up in the sky
What is that? I do not know!
Unidentified.
next: picnic
A summer picnic:
nature's way of giving wasps
food and exercise.
next: a summer shower
Gentle rain dripping
slowly down the windowpane
as I sip coffee.
next: gladiators
Salute Caesar and
die. But we'd rather it was
the other way round.
next: alarm clock
What use alarm clocks
now that I have Alexa
to mind my schedule?
next: circadian rhythm
Sleep, wake; sleep some more;
time to get up; and now it's
bedtime again. Life.
next: jet-lag
Speeding all over
Across continents, time zones
I am so tired.
next: Mother Goose
It's a pantomime,
isn't it? Or the mum to
a gang of goslings.
next: Cinderella
The original
was a different story,
Disney got it wrong.
https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Sat-Ashes/dp/1120983029
next: heroine
What's a hero need?
A heroine beside him.
Both invincible.
next: group project
This is group project.
I will provide brain power,
you will do the work.
next: teddy bear
A children's plush toy
named to honor President
Teddy Roosevelt.
next: sportsmanship
Sportsmanship goes out
the window when too much cash
is on the table.
next: Charles Darwin
Galapagos birds
with distinct habitats showed
Darwin evidence.
next: black holes
Where is it going,
all that light and energy,
sucked to the other?
next: mystery
Who dun it? is not
usually as interesting
as why it was dun.
next: library
New worlds, ideas,
entertain, provoke, challenge,
all in written form.
next: newspaper
No news is good news,
they say. They've never struggled
to fill a front page!
next: New Year's Eve
Auld Lang Syne is sung
To say "goodbye" and "hello"
Hope springs eternal.
next: summer solstice
The sun stands still, then
the days start to shorten; but
weather can improve.
next: autumn equinox
Between the Tropics
of Cancer and Capricorn
Lies the equator.
As the sun passes
Change in weather; leaves turning
Autumn has arrived.
next: Great Wall of China
It's visible from space,
they say. They're wrong. It's still
damn spectacular.
next: Grand Canyon
A trip to the edge
is only the beginning
of taking it in.
next: overwhelmed
Vast and expansive
Gigantic and emotional
It is just too much.
next: serenity
Nothing troubles me.
Emotions, high and low, leave
me untouched. Poor me.
next: an orange
Encased in armor
also with stringy white stuff
Hard to get to orange.
next: gel pens
Handle like biro,
flow like a good fountain pen;
have been known to leak.
next: chalk
White chunks for hopscotch,
later in life, colorful
pastels on paper.
next: landscapes
The great outdoors or
earth tones placed on a canvas
can be quite soothing.
next: top hat
For why? To make you
look seven feet tall? People
know the difference!
next: trainers
Workout clothes include
headbands and sports bras. Also
you need proper shoes.
next: pearl necklace
Wear a pearl necklace
during times of great outrage
for something to clutch.
next: patterns
Knitting patterns are
made to keep the whole arcane
business quite obscure.
next: e-banking
One once had to go
to deposit or remove
money. Not so now.
next: drive through
Coffee, fast foods, banks,
pharmacies offer drive throughs.
Alas, not bathrooms.
next: convenience stores
Anything beats a
big supermarket! Too much
food, noise, and people.
next: planting a tree
To plant a tree, you
must believe in a future
trees can grow into.
next: barbed wire fence
Once men laid hedges.
Now they drive posts and nail wire.
Beauty takes too long.
next: sign-post
To help find our way
there is a Sign Post Forest.
How lost we would be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sign_Post_Forest
next: bottles
Ten of them, green, on
a wall. One falls off. Nine now.
Pretty boring song.
next: Irish pub
There's Guinness for all
folk songs sung in the background
laughter and stories.
next: soccer/football
Weeks of tedium.
Men running after a ball.
Oh please, hang me now!
next: archery
Circles in circles
Sticks with pointy tips are aimed
Hope for the middle.
next: strawberries
The only reason
to endure a Summer Of
Sport; barely worth it.
next: cream
Whipped, frothed, or clotted
with or without some sugar
makes other stuff good.
next: sorbet
Can't decide between
ice-cream and ice-lolly? So
have sorbet, it's both.
next: judge
Who am I to judge
the motives of that poor man
angry at the world?
next: emergency room
Everyone with a
bit of a cough, go home. Leave
ER for real sick.
next: caravan
Camels cross deserts
all in a single file line.
Or someone's RV.
Next: touchpad
I stroke a pad, and
someone thousands of miles off
sees my chess move. Wow!
next: launch pad
Touch pad to launch pad,
calculations in between--
mind-boggling complex.
next: Darwin
Obsessive, detailed,
consumed by doubt, afraid
to publish. World shift.
next: Einstein
Relative unknown
to relativity giant:
not bad for a clerk!
next: office job
Secretary was
used for administrative
assistant. More prestige.
next: slot machines
People travel all
day to seaside, to feed time
and money to slots!
next: crab
Approaching sideways,
understandable with crabs,
not politicians.
next: obtuse
Not really acute.
Not just geometry, but
mental prowess, too.
Next: flames
Pretty to look at,
easy to produce; but not
always to control.
next: fire engine/tender/appliance (depending on where you live)
My son's dream was to
Drive the fire engine. Now he does.
With sirens blaring.
next: career
Career decisions
don't always end up as planned,
sometimes fate steps in.
next: solstice
When the sun stands still
the year is half over, or
ready to begin.
next: equinox
Vernal, autumnal
latitude and longitude
lots and lots of lines.
next: nightfall
Quietest time of
the day. You would think that night
would fall with a bang.
next: daisies
Loves me, loves me not
games played with daisy petals
no secrets revealed.
next: adage
Might have a moral,
a point, or a sting in the
tail. Or just a joke.
next: a pun
They make others groan
but that's just part of the fun
of making a pun.
next: punch line
Be careful, if you
ask Gyppo about a punch-
line, to stand well back.
next: friendship
Hearts touching other
hearts, even from a distance.
Friends are everywhere.
next: salt
Adds savour to an
egg, or chips; but best in the
boundless great salt sea.
next: seaweed
There's a kelp forest,
Monterey Aquarium,
on my bucket list.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=monerey%20aquarium%20kelp%20forest&mid=79717E7FE08953E3A74F79717E7FE08953E3A74F&ajaxhist=0
next: underwater
Fish have no word for
water. But then, fish aren't known
as great orators.
next: coral
A color inspired
by a living colony
of sea animals.
next: chartreuse
Carthusian monks
secret recipe from plants
makes herbal liqueur.
It's an actual monk's recipe from 1605 for Green Chartreuse
next: brewery
You'd think monks would have lofter ambitions than making booze!
Our government could
not organise a piss-up
in a brewery.
next: magnolia
Booze, wine, champagne, beer, ale.
It was a bunch of frat boys!
The south is famous
for magnolias. But I like
mimosa better.
next: gingko
Last scion of an
ancient family, gingko
grows wild in China.
next: China
There's the good china,
or The Good Earth by Pearl Buck,
one word, two subjects.
next: labels
What name is this thing?
Does this name define or does
it really limit?
next: union
Linda would know, but in my mind the jingle "Look for the union label" is screaming right now.
Little union bug,
who remembers what it means?
fair labor standards.
next: reunion
Old enough to remember the jingle, don't remember the last time I saw the bug.
It's been ages! Let's
get together again! It
will be fun! Maybe...
next: disappointment
All the hopes/dreams
gone. Awful reality
remains all the time.
next: misery
Unhappiness like
a fog in the brain, sucking
all joy out of life.
next: elation
Electrical charge
Dopamine surge through your brain
So much happiness.
next: comfort
Hot chocolate, a
hug and a dog: best forms of
comfort known to man.
next: ill-fitting shoes
They hurt and they pinch
causing blisters and crying.
Just get some that fit.
next: silk
Who'd think something so
classy and expensive comes
from insect's bottom?
next: umbrella
My own little roof
to protect from both sunshine
and rain, but not wind.
next: hairbrush
"Forty strokes a day,"
my mother said. I don't come
close. It seems enough.
next: perfectionists
Perfection is said
to be the enemy of
the good/good enough.
next: passable
Strive for perfection
if you must; but recognise
when you're close enough
next: motorway/interstate/autobahn
Paved, smooth lanes zip through
covered with cars and buses
and trucks. Speed. Always speed.
next: racetrack
Intolerable
noise, acrid smell of burning;
ambulance nearby.
next: a walk in the country
Pastoral beauty
Wild animals and flowers
Flies and mosquitoes.
next: low tide
Secret world of the
sea-bed reveals itself at
low tide. Mud, mostly.
next: octopus
A clever bugger,
can unscrew jar lids to reach
a meal inside it.
Next word: Conflagration.
Something hypnotic
about fire. Makes arson look
a real temptation.
next: patchwork quilt
Pieces of fabric
come together as art form.
A quilt is produced.
next: needlepoint
Stabbing the canvas,
tiny stitches, row after
row, painting picture.
next: mist
Tiny water drops
wafting lazily through air.
If too dense - a cloud.
next: scorpion
Like little lobsters
with pinchers and antennas,
but not edible.
next: oysters
These are supposed to
be edible: I remain
wholly unconvinced.
next: strawberries
The bigger they get,
the less flavorful they are.
Bred for eye appeal.
next: heritage
Holy ancestors
might not be exactly pure
and yet, they are ours.
next: funeral
Reverent garbage
disposal. Say last goodbye
while it can be heard.
next: sky-scraper
Hope for structural
integrity, because if
it falls down, big boom.
next: bar of soap
Too dry, won't lather;
too wet, can't keep hold of it;
goes slimy, cracks, both.
next: hair colourant
Gave up years ago.
Youthfully colored hair won't
hide eighty-some years.
next: wisdom
First, know thyself. Then,
know what's around you. Then you'll
know what needs doing.
next: mantra
Repeating the phrase
alters nothing, but somehow
people thinks it does.
next: meditation
Used to be enough
to think about stuff. Now we
have to meditate.
next: mindfulness
Whenever you trip
you are reminded to be
mindful of your state.
next: essay
Life stages go on
like a series of essays
based on survival.
next: recreation
The word means to make
anew, restore: why does it
lead to broken bones?
next: lobster
Lobster: description
applied to people like me
too long in the sun.
next: beach
The Little Blue Dot
is mostly water but the land
starts at the beaches.
next: seashells
Take that seashell off
your ear! You can't hear the sea
roar in a live crab!
next: sand
Teeny tiny bit
of the seafloor pushed to shore
to get caught in shoe.
next: moss
Look closely at a
sprig of moss. It's a forest
in microcosm.
next: ladder
Parallel rungs and
several platforms for feet
and you can climb high.
next: card stock
Thicker than writing
paper, thinner than paper-
board. Got its uses.
next: credit card
Here's a shiny thing
You cannot afford it now
But you can charge it.
next: investment portfolio
Warning: the value
of investments can go down.
No one believes it.
next: bit-coin
What is a block chain?
Why does it matter so much?
I don't understand!
next: expenses
Always having to
put hand in pocket! Good job
there's some money there.
next: pay-day
Regular paychecks
commission and royalties
gig work - all money.
next: swashbuckling
Did pirates know they
were meant to buckle swashes?
Did they own a swash?
next: cutlass
Cutlass?
Ideal home defence.
Use like a knife on steroids.
Moves burglars' bowels ;-)
Next: Trouble.
Smooth waters may run
deep and calm but real trouble
makes waves and bubbles.
next: punishment
Don't do the crime if
you can't do the time. Or have
someone else do it.
next: shark
Most sharks are harmless
but the ones that are not are
very much more harmful.
next: octopus
Everything eaten
by octopus has to pass
down tube through its brain!
also:
Given enough shoes,
octopus can River Dance
all on its ownsome.
next: window-cleaner
Windows should be clear
but instead they are covered
by grime, dirt, and streaks.
next: cherry pie
I can't tell a lie,
I ate the whole cherry pie
with ice cream on top.
next: fables
Irregular verb:
I write, you relate fables,
he, she or it lies.
next: adjectives
The unwritten rule
is hierarchical so
enhance with much care.
next: syntax
They tax everything
else, so I suppose...Oh. Yes.
It's spelt with a Y.
next: spelling
Correct/incorrect
T or S or A or I or
Help! Dictionary.
next: heat wave
Whenever it rains
we yearn for long, sunny days.
Until they arrive.
next: encouragement
Keep calm/carry on
you got this and you go girl
but sometimes, you don't.
next: delusion
I am world's greatest
writer. Delusion, or slight
exaggeration?
next: honesty
"I can't tell a lie"
George said, with hatchet in hand
Or so the myth goes.
next: bragging
In order to brag
you must fall short of your own
self-expectation.
next: anxiety
We used to just be
nervous with butterflies but
now - anxiety.
next: logic
No room for feelings.
Logic dictates our response.
What is "sympathy"?
next: robot
Mechanical man.
Positronic brain. AI.
No humanity.
next: mystery
A great mystery
leads to infinite answers,
not without answer.
next: creation
Long, long ago there
was nothing, which exploded.
Rest is history.
next: genealogy
Mother, grandmother
Great, great, great, great grandmother
A long line of moms.
next: DNA
Never heard of it,
we once said it's in the blood,
but it's DNA.
next: spiral
A spiral staircase
lets you go up and down but
in a small footprint.
next: footprint
Walking across the
cooling lava flows leaves tracks
found much, much later.
next: fan
Bare-chested football
thug, or Japanese paper
cooler? Both are fans.
next: sumo wrestling
Large men in G-strings
grapple with each other to
see who is stronger.
next: erotic
Amazing what some
people find erotic! There's
nowt so queer as folk.
next: Persian rug
Colors and patterns.
My rugs were made in China.
Can the real ones fly?
next: empires
An empire on which
the sun never set, till it
did. Good? Bad? Or both?
next: desert island
Enough time stranded
on a desert island, you'll
learn how to catch fish.
next: invention
Necessity's child,
they say. Sometimes more like Heath
Robinson's nephew.
next: earthworm
What could grow without
earthworms breaking up the soil?
We owe them a lot.
next: dung beetles
Two kinds in my field:
big and little. All confused
when I clear horse shit.
next: wheelbarrow
Moving stuff by hand
becomes easier with help
from a wheelbarrow.
next: ice cube
Takes up more space than
liquid water. Doesn't seem
possible, does it?
next: science
Speculative science
is much more interesting
than science of hard facts.
next: sci-fi
Best brain exercise:
combines imagination
with good hard science.
next: chick-lit
Bare chested men and
heaving busom women make for
delightful reading?
next: true crime
Real life tragedies
are not suitable subject
for entertainment.
next: cool breeze
A hot summer night
full of crickets and chirping
is blessed with a breeze.
next: watermelon
Perfect summer treat:
mostly water, with a bit
of added sugar.
next: parasol
A dainty sunscreen,
colorful bit of whimsey
from the olden days.
next: pharmacy
When pharmacies mixed
their own tinctures, salves, and drugs
many people died.
next: spellcasting
Eye of newt, toe of
frog, left toenail of a black
cat. Add salt to taste.
next: virtue
I want to hit, bite,
scratch, claw, and/or maim. But I
say kind words instead.
next: vice
As carpenters say,
One man's vice is another
man's clamp. Oh, such wit!
next: tennis
Singles or doubles
on grass or clay or asphalt
it's all so boring.
next: badminton
With a small B, it's
boring too. With a big B,
it's world class event!
next: pageantry
Pomp and circumstance
can make something trivial
somehow, meaningful.
next: compass
Always points not-quite-
north. Use with skill, or it will
get you not-quite-home!
next: variation
Shades of difference.
Similar but unalike.
Not quite all the same.
next: prickly pear
There's good eating on
one of these, if you can just
get in the damn thing!
next: iced coffee
If you take a good
cup of splendid coffee and then
put it on ice - yuck!
next: banana split
Runny icecream and
mushy banana: one of
those guilty pleasures.
next: bluebottles (or whatever flying pest tries to spoil your local summer)
Pesky little things
nipping and buzzing and just
a pain in the butt.
Next: philosophy
I think, therefore I
am. At least, I think I am.
If it's me thinking.
next: pragmatism
In theory, theory and
practice are the same, but in
practice, they are not.
next: mindreading
"You haven't changed," she
said. "You still expect me to
read your silences."
next: frustration
I'm really trying
but that doesn't mean I can
improve anyway.
next: bouquet
Look at the pretty
flowers! Why would the bride want
to throw them away?
next: gardening
Planting is easy.
protecting, weeding, feeding,
that is the hard part.
next: racoons
Striped like a bandit,
tough as nails, one of the New
World's great survivors.
next: turkey
Benjamin Franklin
despised the bald eagle and
wanted the turkey.
next: squab
I thought it was a
firework. It turned out to be
a baby pigeon.
next: peacock
Men are romantics.
The tail plumage of peacocks
is simply romance.
next: albatross
Only comes ashore
to breed. Rides on the southern
wind. Sleeps on the wing.
next: South Pole
Lots of cute penguins
But no friendly Santa Claus.
Nor any cute elves.
next: seaplanes
Last kiss of the waves:
the pilot says, "This boat is
now an aeroplane."
next: log-burning stove
A Ben Franklin stove
lets you heat twice. Once to chop
and then when wood burns.
next: Japanese lantern
Something magical
about getting soft light from
a carved stone lantern.
next: gravel garden
Raked patterns suggest
natural land and water,
an understatement.
next: bower
Leafiness is the
essence of a bower. It's
just traditional.
next: balcony
Juliet stood there.
Royal Family pictures
also taken there.
next: World Cup
It's over! It's over! Who
won? Who cares? The damn thing is
finally over!
next: first job
A factory job
rarely leads to CEO
without connections.
next: self employed
My boss is so tough.
Expectations are so high.
Usually fails.
next: vacation
Can't be bothered. Since
folk come here on holiday,
I'll stay here as well.
next: laziness
Extreme lassitude
or perhaps just some burn out.
Not gonna do it.
next: inspiration
A lightbulb moment?
Inspiration doesn't come,
you have to chase it.
next: imagination
My fantasy world
filled with wonder and goodness
and heroine me.
next: imposter syndrome
I don't deserve this,
the fates have made a mistake:
I am not worthy.
next: affirmation
Yes. That is to say,
certainly. You bet. You want
it in writing? Yes!
next: pleading not guilty
I say I did not.
No proof to say that I did.
That's what I'm saying.
next: evidence
Absence of evi-
dence is not evidence of
absence, remember.
next: mnemonic
Michigan, Erie,
Superior, Huron, and
Ontario. HOMES.
next: memorize
Memorized data,
not at all spontaneous,
bores the audience.
next: fiery speech
Good speakers move an
audience. A great speaker
takes them all along.
next: hang-glider
Wings made from nylon
On an aluminum frame
And jump off a cliff.
next: white water rafting
All thrill of storm at
sea, without sea. Oars keep you
off rocks. Don't fall in.
next: rock-pooling
When the tide recedes,
starfish and anemones
cling in clear water.
next: sand dunes
The great dunes of the
Empty Quarter stretch further
than the eye can see.
next: camel
Just one hump or two
They don't store water, but fat
Ships of the desert.
next: reindeer
Rudolf et al are
females. Male reindeer don't have
antlers at Christmas.
next: hippopotamus
San Diego zoo
has underwater windows.
Watch the hippos poop.
next: murk
Is it foggy now?
Are my senses shutting down?
Ah - glasses need cleaned.
next: spectacles
Twenty/twenty gone.
Barely seeing anything
without some real help.
next: dentures
Too large, even and
white, and dentures can look like
a row of tombstones.
next: walking stick
At one time they were
elegant and designed but
now they are ugly.
next: stained glass window
When the sun comes out,
jewels fill the air and dance
across the parquet.
next: barbecue
Cooking over fire,
charcoal, propane, helps to burn
the hot dogs/ burgers.
next: corn on the cob
Easy to cook, nice
to eat; murder to eat in
polite company!
next: polite company
Chew with your mouth closed
Keep your elbows off table
Polite anywhere.
next: chocolate mousse
Almost worth being
a Believer, if Heaven
offers chocolate mousse.
next: moose
Ungainly creatures,
but symbols of the forest
along with black bear.
next: pelicans
Wonderful bird is
the pelican. Beak holds more
than his belly can.
next: feathers
Dinosaur feathers?
Some paleontologists
think it's possible.
next: t-rex
Huge scary lizard
The terror of the time frame.
Could not do push ups.
next: meteor
Quote from: Spell Chick on July 26, 2026, 11:57:28 PMHuge scary lizard
The terror of the time frame.
Could not do push ups.
Or use a knife and fork.
There are millions
of them out there. One with our
name written on it?
next: crocodile
Dundee had a man
who hunted crocs in movies
quiet successfully.
next: platypus
Body like a mole,
beak like a duck, poison spurs.
Couldn't make it up.
next: eagle
Soaring through the sky
spied food, wings spread, talons out
Dinner is now served.
next: ostrich
Last of the terror
birds. Gastornis he aint - still,
big for a chicken.
next: eggshell
Ecru or off-white.
Hundreds of terms for "not white"
and "eggshell" is one.
next: ersatz
Substitutes can be
good or bad; ersatz always
sounds poor substitute.
next: pastiche
Respectful hodgepodge
Some of this and some of that
But not parody.
next: forgery
Bank note is paper
acting as money. Forger
doubles the pretence.
next: serenity
Costa Serena,
the name of my neighborhood,
and mostly it is.
next: retirement
End of working life,
start of free time. Choose wisely,
then use it wisely.
next: hornet
There are regular bees
And then there are assault bees.
Two types: Wasps - Hornets.
next: swamp
Too thick to drink, too
thin to plough; with the added
attraction of snakes.
next: hovercraft
Gravity wins, but
apparently, not always.
Some craft just hover.
next: serendipity
There isn't always
a pattern. Sometimes it's just
the luck of the draw.
next: guitar
The number of strings
and electrified or not
somehow makes music.
next: whipped cream
Give the cow a good
shake, pour the result onto
strawberries. Oh yes.
next: melon
Honeydew - sweet green
Cantaloupe - less sweet and orange
Watermelon - red.
next: broccoli
Goes best with chicken.
Sprouts with beef, peas with lamb. Fish
for cauliflower.
(Actually, you can fish for cauliflower all day but you won't catch one.)
next: speed limits
My car goes real fast
And the road is smooth and straight
Still can't race ahead.
next: roundabout/traffic circle
Give way to traffic
coming from the right. Unless
you're not driving here.
next: slippers
Cold night time tootsies
need special shoes for reasons
no one understands.
next: chalice
You can't drink poison
from a cup, glass or tumbler:
must be a chalice.
next: laughter
Between real and faked
laughter is the entire world
of comedy. Ha!
next: spilled milk
You can cry over
spilt milk. Or you can fetch a
cloth and mop it up.
next: honey
Busy as a bee
pollinating and making
food for us and them.
next: jumping rope
Skipping: good for heart.
Hard on knees, ankles and brain.
So I never do.
next: crossword puzzles
Don't have the patience
for six down and three across
and no real meaning.
Next: line dance
You'd feel daft doing
it on your own. So why do
it seven abreast?
next: disco
Rotating glass ball
hanging overhead and loud
music all around.
next: waltz
One-two-three, one-two-
three... Looks pretty decorous
now, but once it shocked.
next: tambourine
One of Dylan's hits.
Harmonica and guitar
in folk tradition.
next: simplicity
Curlicues are out
And straight, clean lines are now in.
Minimalism rules.
next: downsizing
This was forever
home. Now it's too big. That's life.
Get something smaller.
next: fruit tree
Johnny Appleseed
man, myth, or maybe legend.
Peaches don't have that.
next: flamingo
When a flamingo
stands on one leg, half its brain
is sleeping, it seems.
next: a good night's sleep
Seven to eight hours
of uninterrupted sleep.
Good luck doing that.
next: sunrise
"It never brought too long
a day..." Clearly, poet was
never in Bacup.
next: mill
Pepper or wheat mill
Either way, big becomes small
and then usable.
next: waterwheel
Earliest form of
mechanisation. Let the
water do the work.
next: haystack
Used to be piles or
sheaves. Now it's rolled into big
circles and left out.
next: scarecrow
On the whole, crows take
more scaring than a straw man.
Useful as perch, though.
next: hedgerow
Shrubbery is nice
But walls or fences are, too.
And they do not die.
next: laundry
Who wore all these clothes?!!
Have I had burglars, who took
nowt but left laundry?
next: mammoth
Huge, wooly, massive tusks
stomping across the globe then
but not so much now.
next: snacking
Fresh raw broccoli
and carrots is not snacking,
it's deprivation.
next: homemade fudge
Now you're talking! Let's
hear it for the fudge, the best
home-made sugar rush.
next: celery
And then leave me this -
hairy stalks of tasteless yuck
without redemption.
next: mousse
Here's a thought: let's sell
them lots of air, with a bit
of chocolate round it!
next:mouse
Mickey and Minnie
are probably the two most
famous mice on Earth.
next: rat
No one likes rats. Odd:
they're so like us. They can live
almost anywhere.
next: home
Adventures are great,
exploring fun, new places.
Homecoming is best.
next: highways
Our ancestors trod
paths along ridge-lines, away
from trees, bogs, outlaws.
next: skinny-dipping
When younger it was
fun to go skinny dipping.
Now - a disaster.
next: cliff jumping
Those who jump off cliffs
are adrenalin junkies.
A high worth the risk?
next: sunflowers
Van Gogh liked them. Small
children do too. Most adults
find them bit vulgar.
next: rowing boat
Gently down the stream
We row, row, row our boats and
end up far from car.
next: portage
A simple word for
a massive bloody effort -
moving boat on land.
next: eclipse
In daytime the sun
shines bright unless the moon gets
in the way. Eclipse.
next: constellations
The dance of the stars
makes patterns in the night sky.
Drives experts crazy.
next: vinegar
Distilled or apple
Rice or malt or balsamic
They all taste bitter.
next: oil
Lubricate engine,
dress horse's hooves, fry chips. One
oil won't do all these.
next: door mat
It may say "Welcome"
but if you're a door to door
salesman, you are not.
next: boots
Made for walking? My
feet don't think so. They prefer
sandals, without socks.
next: high heels
First worn by rich men
well, at least, the shorter one.
Women took them on.
next: strand of pearls
Irritate oyster,
get strand of pearls for woman.
Don't irritate her!
next: weeping willow
By the water's edge
a row of weeping willows
reflects sadnesses.
next: projection
Flat surface with a bump.
Pictures blasted to the wall.
I think you are me.
next: insane/insanity
You have to define
sanity before you can
spot insanity.
next: hope
Wish upon a star
Believe in the very best
Hope springs eternal.
next: wheat field
Fix the sunshine in
a golden wave, then turn it
into nourishment.
next: avocado
Each fruit will contain
a prize, but it is stupid.
Always a damn ball.
next: toast
Food-group of the gods.
Good alone, or with topping.
Don't run out of bread!
next: downpour
Showers and light rain
are soothing, but thunderstorms
can cause some flooding.
next: triangles
Equilateral,
isosceles, or music
for the cack-handed.
next: violin
When in the hands of
a maestro, perfection, but
child's play is not that.
next: fuchsia
A splash of pink on
a green canvas. Favourite
shade of brides' mothers.
next: forget-me-not
Scorpion grasses
also called forget-me-not.
Delicate flowers.
next: sunflower
Giant daisy. Not
exactly subtle. Van Gogh
seemed to like them, though.
next: dog rose
Native to Europe
Parts of Africa and Asia.
Dog roses seem nice.
next: mantilla
Nothing says "Old Spain"
like a lace mantilla. Old
ladies' bit of bling.
next: brushing the dog
First you must convince
Then you must not pause or stop
Then you must vacuum,
next: reminiscing
"I remember when..."
Words that strike a chill into
a family's heart.
next: forgetfulness
Ooohhh, what was her name?
Right on the tip of my tongue.
But what was her name????
next: photojournalism
"A picture's worth a
thousand words." But without words,
could be anything.
next: Olympics
Masterful athletes
compete for gold, bronze, silver
and mesmerize all.
next: chimney sweep
There's a man in there,
behind the soot. You might not
see him till he smiles.
next: smile
A sneer might be a
smile but it doesn't reach eyes
and so, insincere.
next: laugh
The crowning human
achievement; unless you count
hyenas as well.
next: co-incidence
Coincidences,
Carl Jung says, are meaningful.
But what's the message?
next: message in a bottle
Bottle washed ashore.
Message inside read: "Send more
beer. This was the last."
next: marching band
Moving together
playing music while turning
all in unison.
next: parade
I never see a
parade without thinking, "Who
are they out to scare?"
next: bamboo
I wear bamboo socks,
they are exceedingly soft.
The poles prop up plants.
next: repurposed
"Unconventional
engineering" - using a
thing in a new way.
next: imagination
I've an idea
that may not comport with the
expectations now.
next: uranium
All the power of
the sun, condensed in small grey
granules. Take great care!
next: gravy
Cornstarch, arrowroot,
flour mixed into meat drippings -
pour over taters.
next: train
After a horse, a
train is maybe the best way
to see the country.
next: rhubarb
The leaves are nasty
But the stalk make for great pies
Mix with strawberries.
next: turnip
Drill hole through for string.
Don't bother eating yourself.
Horse will enjoy it.
next: cognac
Ferment some white grapes
Distill twice in copper pots
Age in oak barrels.
next: directions
guess who just looked up to make cognac
Very impressive, Chick! You could have a whole new career ahead of you.
Something in the male
brain precludes asking the way.
Would rather get lost.
next: lost
If it makes no sense
try turning the map around
so that north is up.
next: cool breeze
Relief in summer.
Three months on we're complaining
about the cold wind!
next: blackberries
Delicious in pies
But when the seeds get stuck in
your teeth, not so good.
next: apple pie
Ideally made by
mothers, apparently. Good
bakers do them too.
next: cinnamon
Try cinnamon sticks
in water on the wood stove.
The house smells yummy.
next: tortillas
Finger-food for the
fastidious. Eating
contents plus wrapper.
next: spiders
two
...cos I just had to deal with TWO giant ones!
Spinning silken webs
Used to catch prey or else to
Smack you in the face.
next: absence
Your absence makes my
heart grow fonder. So do me
a favour - stay away.
next: forgetfulness
I have learned so much
a lot of it went in storage.
That is my story.
(and I'm sticking to it)
next: rationale
Whoops---miscount
lots of it went in storage
What were you thinking?
Is there some reason for this?
Yes, but not a good one.
next: justification
To err is human.
I am a human: I have
papers. So I err.
next: punishment
A bad thing was done
The perpetrator - guilty
Punish or mercy?
next: crime
His parents see him
twice a year, through mesh. Should they
have raised him better?
next: feeding the birds
The bird feeder is
attacked by some clever squirrels.
That is annoying.
next: annoyance
It's irksome, the way
folk pretend to be annoyed
by the things I do.
next: ego
I'm not an egotist,
but vastly inferior folk will
accuse me of such.
Devious
Here is a plan, but
it may not follow all rules.
Do it anyway.
next: skulking
I am sensibly watchful. You
are a curtain twitcher. But
he, she or it skulks.
next: pirates
Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
was quite unlike Jack Sparrow.
Both are called pirates.
next: pillage
Not a nice habit.
Pillaging gets invading
armies a bad name.
next: common
Everywhere and all
the time, used by everyone.
Except the special.
next: harvest
"Too much corn to fit
in the barns! It's going to
be a disaster!"
next: farmers
Farmers feed the world
and get the least in profit
before middlemen.
next: dairies
My dad grew up on
a dairy farm. Left as soon
as he could manage.
next: ghost stories
Seem quite scary late
at night, whispering with friends.
Bunkum otherwise.
next: iceberg
Of all the types of
lettuce, iceberg is the least
flavorful, it's blah.
next: apiary
Bees make honeycomb.
Bee-keepers make hives, gathered
in an apiary.
next: leather belt
A strip of cowhide.
It can cinch in a waistline
or keep your pants up.
next: sandals
See my pedicure?
Isn't the polish pretty?
Sandals show it off.
next: nylon stockings
Trousers better for
keeping warm, bare skin to keep
cool. Don't like stockings.
next: autumn leaves
The crunch of fallen
leaves makes for a loud carpet.
But it's beautiful.
next: scythe
Takes time to learn the
rhythm, but surprisingly
effective. Ask Death.
next: second-hand book shop
Smell of old paper.
Some amazing finds. And some
not so amazing.
next: encyclopedia
Everything you'll need
to know, ever... The world turns:
now it's out of date.
next: picture book
B-A-L-L Ball
Or perhaps some manga thing
Pictures tell stories.
next: black swan
You can tell it's from
Australia because it's a
negative image.
next: rubber duck
James Veitch and his ducks
are a tremendous amount
of trouble for mates.
next: puffins
reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYOmtEcZ1lk
Clowns of the bird world.
Absurdly coloured bill makes
them hot stuff to mates.
next: tomato ketchup
Take some tomatoes
Seed them, cook them, condense them
Why add some sugar?
next: mustard
Colman made his dosh
out of the mustard that folk
left on side of plate.
next: garlic
Transylvania
The original vampire space
Ran out of garlic.
Next: silver bullet
How you stop a were-
wolf. As used in common speech,
touch of overkill.
next: swearing
Scatological
terms are often used to show
off stupidity.
next: tact
An undervalued
virtue, tact is the oil that
makes folk rub along.
next: forthright
Honesty is the
policy we say we like
until faults show up.
next: fortitude
Stand on the bridge long
enough, the bodies of all
enemies float by.
next: enemy
The saddest way to
gain an enemy is from
an old friend gone bad.
next: atonement
Asking forgiveness
is cheap. Putting things right is
harder, but better.
next: moustache
Post menopause is
a great time to start growing
a moustache. So sad.
next: trivia
What is the appeal
of the unimportant? Why
does it fascinate?
next: routine
Day to day to day
Always the same thing again
It does satisfy.
next: excitement
It's you! Where you been?
Haven't seen you for three whole
minutes! Dog biscuit?
next: train set
Round and round it goes
often circling Christmas trees
Too fast! Derailment.
next: treadmill
Cruel to people but
fun for hamsters? Get them a
Rubik's cube instead.
next: flat tyre
Going down the road
Then thumpity-thump-thump damn
Only three circles.
next: flatulence
People talk about
the four winds. Too much cabbage
and there's at least five!
next: insomnia
Lullabies soothing
the restless might sometime work.
But not so often.
next: foghorn
Rendered out-of-date
by GPS. Audible
once ten miles away.
next: cliffs
White Cliffs of Dover
Cliffs of Moher, or Hornelen
Most famous? Heathcliff.
next: iceberg
Never pick a fight
with an iceberg, even if
you are Titanic.
next: polar bear
They are not white, but
Transparent fur keeps them warm.
Who tested this fact?
next: taxidermy
Nearly as good as
the live thing; except to the
original beast.
next: ammonite
Coiled and spiral shells
Lived millions of years ago
Fossils found worldwide.
next: dinosaurs
Ruled the earth a lot
longer than we have. Too soon
for us to feel smug.
next: cinnamon
By itself, it's hot.
Mixed with some sugar, makes great
rolls. Best went frosted.
frosted = American for "iced"
next: curry
Curry makes goat taste
like beef. Sadly, it also
makes beef taste like goat.
next: cola
Coca-Cola once
contained actual cocaine.
Those were some weird days.
next: frappe
Iced coffee, milkshake
or pastry: all use the same
name. Makes shopping hard.
next: mogul
A business mogul
Sounds really quite impressive.
It could be Dad's cash.
next: ancestors
Seems all our forebears
came from same place. Africa
is in all our blood.
next: genes
Watson and Crick found
The double helix of gene
form of DNA.
next: jeans
A group of pockets
held together by denim:
universal wear.
next: air guitar
The music plays and
I play along, but with no
guitar anywhere.
next: disco
Lights, noise, and
mindless busyness. Appeals
to some, but not me.
next: storm clouds
Bruised cloud formation
Piles up along horizon
Ready for downpour.
next: spelunking
Made-up word for folk
who find speleology
too hard to pronounce.
next: stalagmites
Stalactites drip down
But rising from floors like a
Phoenix, stalagmites.
next: mailbox
Some mailboxes are
sharpened specially. Ask any
postie (or Gyppo!)
next: scandal
One person's scandal,
another's titillation,
within bounds, of course.
next: group hug
Oh no, not again!
He's going to want to hug us!
Can't he just be Boss?
next: Health & Safety
Online health advice--
modern-day snake-oil salesmen,
ridiculous cures.
next: dreams of flying
When I dream that I'm
able to fly, I take off
feet first. Go figure.
next: early mornings
Some mailboxes are
sharpened specially. Ask any
postie (or Gyppo!)
Or fitted with springs like a Victorian gamekeeper's Mantrap.
Right, handing back over to you haiku types.
Sunrise, warming temps
The day starts up once again
And I will waste it.
next: laziness
You are at leisure.
He, she or it is lazy.
I rest from labours.
next: horse-shoe
Hung by the front door
It is a wish for good luck
Or unlucky horse.
next: four leaf clover
How many people
fall off a cliff while looking
for four-leafed clover?
next: irony
Wrinkled clothes need help
to be smooth, but I have lost
my irony. HA!
next: simile
The difference is,
we like a simile more
than a metaphor.
next: figure of speech
The way we use words
can mean what the words don't say.
A figure of speech.
next: implied
"Implied" is not the
same as "inferred", no matter
how people use it.
next: context
What did you just say?
Here are the words and now YOU
must figure it out.
next: scenery
Our support network,
the landscape our ancestors
found and made to thrive.
next: garden bench
Sit in the stillness
appreciate the flowers
get stung by a bee.
next: hammock
I can't use hammocks
now. If low enough to get
in, I can't get out!
next: time flies
Tick and then a tock
and then tick-tock and tick-tock
but now tickticktick.
next: calendar
A day used to be
long, full of perils and hope.
Now, paper slip binned.
next: mackerel sky
Altocumulus
clouds, said to look like fish scales.
Not in the U. S.
next: hangnail
Annoying; but not
as annoying as people
who treat as tragic.
next: polytunnel
ps: You don't get mackerel skies, then, Chick? Continental v. maritime climate? So you won't know the saying:
Mackerel sky, mackerel sky -
never long wet, never long dry.
We had one yesterday morning that was pink!
Cut circle in half
slice it up then cover it
over with plastic.
next: greenhouse
We have that cloud stuff, we just don't have that name and I've never heard the couplet before. We are speaking different versions of English!
Perfect to grow your
tomatoes! Hope you like them
with every damn thing!
next: tree-house
Nestled in branches.
The idea is often
better than the house.
next: Etch-a-Sketch
Draw simple designs
in iron filings. Pencil
and paper work best.
next: darning
A hole in my sock
used to mean "fix that damn thing"
but now means "buy new".
next: silk stockings
Today, at Toastmasters, they were talking about poetry and I mentioned I wrote a haiku daily here. They asked me to create one on the spot. So I did. Pressure to perform!
Good on you, Chick. I bet they were impressed.
I don't have Betty
Grable's legs. I have Nora
Batty's legs. Socks fine.
next: hiking boots
Rough terrain, rocks, streams
all call for proper footwear.
Good socks also help.
next: mittens
Keep your fingers warm
in cold weather. Discourage
you from smoking, too.
next: hang-over
Too much alcohol
should never be confused with
a rock overhang.
next: corkscrew
"Straight as a corkscrew" -
no compliment, unless you're
a politician.
next: compliment
I easily give
compliments to others but
have trouble getting.
next: blushing
Rather charming in
a young girl. Not so much when
it's the menopause.
next: grey hair
Rather than admit
that my hair has turned gray, I
now call it silver.
next: platinum
Used in everything
from electronics to teeth:
shame there isn't more.
next: road-trip
"See the U. S. A.
in your Chevrolet" was an
old advertisement.
next: tea set
Made to be given
as a present rather than
used. We drink from mugs.
next: chess
Kings, queens, knights, bishops,
rooks, and all the pawns go back
into the same box.
next: Monopoly
"Monopoly" must
have been invented before
folk had things to do.
next: clumsy
Finesse is a thing
given to the graceful folks.
But none is for me.
next: lopsided
Sometimes my dog holds
her ears one up, one down; but
not always same ears!
next: high-rise buildings
Like rabbit warrens,
people are not meant to live
in rows and in stacks.
next: longevity
As life spans increase
"old age" becomes much older.
I'm nearly there, now.
next: waltz
Hard to believe, now,
that when introduced the waltz
was thought immoral!
next: birthday cake
"Blow out the candles"
we say to young children who
spit over the cake.
next: pecan pie
Keep it for those who
like nuts. Give me a lemon
meringue every time.
next: kiwi fruit
The skins are furry
The small seeds stick in your teeth
But the fruit tastes good.
next: dragon fruit
No idea what this
tastes like, but I like the name.
Should be hot, scaly.
next: tomato
... which is a fruit, though we don't treat it as one
Beefsteak or cherry
Roma, plum, paste, or heritage.
All are delightful.
next: kumquat
The name (dragon fruit) excited me, too. I bought one. It was a disappointment.
Very like orange,
but smaller: all the fun of
the pith for less fruit.
next: sausage roll
(for people who're sick of fruit)
Sausage in pastry
Commonwealth delicacy.
Not in the U. S.
next: Spam
Canned mystery meat,
Hawaiian delicacy.
Feed it to your dog.
next: spam again
"Monday you liked Spam.
Tuesday, Wednesday you liked Spam.
Now - Thursday - you don't?"
next: mushrooms
Choose them carefully,
or buy them at the grocers.
Healthy or deadly.
next: teeth
Mismatched teeth are bad
in cogs, wheels, or industry.
Otherwise, okay.
next: toothbrush
A kind of moustache
once popular; not so much
since 1940s.
next: goatee
Not by the hair on
my chinny chin chin. Women's
aging is so hard.
next: ghost
Revenant spirit,
declining death? Or just a
wind in the chimney?
next: chimney
Owning a fireplace
is great but don't forget to
open the damn flue.
next: smoke
No smoke without fire,
they say. It's an excuse for
a suspicious mind.
next: gullible