The Ballad of a Sweet Unnamed Maiden (8 of 16)

The palaver of warriors at their drink
Voracious in their want of praise
Missed the tiny hairy worm slink.
Like chilblains it grew to a brilliant blaze.

Chilblain (noun)

an inflammatory swelling or sore caused by exposure (as of the feet or hands) to cold

Merriam-Webster

Palaver (noun and verb)

noun: loud and confused and empty talk, flattery intended to persuade

verb: speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly, have a lengthy discussion, usually between people of different backgrounds, influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

The New York Times

Voracious (adjective)

An eager approach to an activity; Wanting or devouring great quantities of something or somebody

WordThink

The Ballad of a Sweet Unnamed Maiden (7 of 16)

Conan found the bone.
Insular, impermutable fool
Conan broke the bone.
Harrowing act so cruel

Harrowing (adjective)

extremely distressing

The New York Times

Impermutable (adjective)

Not liable to change; incapable of being changed; constant.

Oxford English Dictionary

Insular (adjective)

ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or people outside a person’s own experience. Lacking contact with other people.

WordThink

The Ballad of a Sweet Unnamed Maiden (6 of 16)

Anthropology will trace this line
Through sobriquet of majesty and refinement 
And find only gewgaw remains of the once fine 
Bullies and villains sending innocence to consignment

Anthropogony (noun)

An account or theory of the origin of humanity

Oxford English Dictionary

Gewgaw (noun)

showy jewelry or an ornament on clothing that serves no purpose

The New York Times

Sobriquet (noun)

a descriptive name or epithet : nickname

Merriam-Webster

The Ballad of a Sweet Unnamed Maiden (4 of 16)

Now a lugubrious phantasm, she was once a base
Hag.  Famous man and his sycophant sent
To destroy.  They couldn’t even look upon her face,
An arrow through her to leave her body rent.

Lugubrious (adjective)

Looking or sounding sad and dismal; mournful.

WordThink

Phantasm (noun)

a product of fantasy: as a : delusive appearance : illusion, ghost, specter, a figment of the imagination, a mental representation of a real object

Merriam Webster

Sycophant (noun)

a person who tries to please someone else in order to gain a personal advantage

The New York Times

The Ballad of a Sweet Unnamed Maiden (3 of 16)

 She sought a respite from the evil of man
 Pontificating sinners, wagging fingers,
 Faithless friends, drunk father armed with rattan,
 From this society she ran.  Yet still she lingers.

Pontificate (verb)

To speak or behave in a pompous or dogmatic manner. 

WordThink

Rattan (noun)

The thin pliable stems of a palm, used to make furniture

Lexico

Respite (noun)

a period of temporary delay; an interval of rest or relief

Merriam Webster

The Ballad of a Sweet Unnamed Maiden (2 of 16)

 Upon a dreary crag I met an angry maiden
 Ignominy stained even her requiescat
 Lackadaisical in stance, eyes grief laden,
 Abandoned by society, upon the ground she spat.

Ignominy (noun)

a state of dishonor

The New York Times

Lackadaisical (adjective)

lacking life, spirit, or zest : languid

Merriam Webster

Requiescat (noun)

a wish or prayer for the repose of the dead.

Dictionary.com

The Ballad of a Sweet Unnamed Maiden (1 of 16)

Used in a ballad (a lyrical tale set in mythology)

Please forgive this brief vignette
uttered from my tear soaked lip
Undulating in my breast, beset
With my macabre apocalypse

Macabre (adjective)

gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible

Dictionary.com

Undulate (verb)

to form or move in waves : fluctuate; to rise and fall in volume, pitch, or cadence; to present a wavy appearance

Merriam-Webster

Vignette (noun)

a brief literary description; a small illustrative sketch, sometimes placed at the beginning of chapters in books; photograph whose edges shade off gradually

New York Times

Flower Fading (final)

Bon vivant dressed only in gold brocade
Comprised each soiree in envy and greed.
Remarks soft and incendiary plead
To gravitas he lacked, solipsism his aid.

Fiduciary need her troubles laid
With jowls grieving in heavy deed.
Spoonersims stumble his speech, consternation freed
Her Noachian demands turned him afraid. 

Numinous yet slovenly she was clad
Coruscating shift twisted around her hips
A psychotronic display belying his fate 

Her hand moved towards him, eyes mad
Proditomania too late pressed shut his lips
What he thought mistook for need in her eyes was hate.

Flower Fading (5 of 5)

Used in an Italian Sonnet day 5
(abba-abba-cde-cde)

Coruscating shift twisted around her hips
A psychotronic display belying his fate

Her hand moved towards him, eyes mad
Proditomania too late pressed shut his lips
What he thought mistook for need in her eyes was hate.

Coruscate (verb)

to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes : sparkle; to be brilliant or showy in technique or style

Merriam-Webster

Psychotronic (adjective)

of or relating to a genre of usually low-budget movies that includes horror, fantasy, science-fiction, and underground films

Dictionary.com

Proditomania (noun)

the feeling or the belief that everyone around is out to get you.

A Word a Day