Wishes

Perhaps I am a wiseacre, a foolish choice as mates
trying to reify 'love' while ours slowly deteriorates
but I'll keep blowing loose dandelion seeds to save our fates.

Wiseacre (noun)

one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness

Merriam-Webster

deteriorate (verb)

to become worse as time passes

to make (something) worse

Britannica

Reify (verb)

to convert into or regard as a concrete things

dictionary.com

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.

Disintermediating Faith

Knees against hard wood, consecrated whispers to inculcate
brought only hollowness to my soul. Futzing within hard wood,
lucullan, adroit, and wild connected my soul to the cosmos.

Disintermediate (verb)

remove or cut down on the use of intermediaries between suppliers and buyers

remove money from a bank to invest directly in the stock market, eliminating the need of an intermediary such as a lender or broker

stop acting as a broker or intermediary between borrowers and investors in the stock market

vocabulary.com

inculcate (verb)

teach and impress upon by frequent repetitions or admonitions; instill

New York Times

Futz (verb)

Originally Australian, now chiefly North American. To occupy oneself in an ineffectual or trifling way; to mess about, to waste time; to fiddle or tinker with something.

Oxford English Dictionary

Lucullan (adjective)

marked by lavishness and richness; sumptuous

dictionary.com

Adroit (adjective)

having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations

Merriam-Webster

Cosmos (noun)

 the universe considered as a harmonious and orderly system

harmony; order

any complete and orderly system

Collins

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.

For Want of a Corporate Parasol

Perennially we excavate jargonized balderdash:
strategy mixed with straw, direction encrusted with fawning,
Flailing disorientation augmented with syllables

parasol (noun)

a handheld collapsible source of shade

New York Times

excavate (verb)

to uncover (something) by digging away and removing the earth that covers it

to dig a large hole in (something), to form (a hole, tunnel, etc.) by digging, to dig out and remove (dirt, soil, etc.)

Britannica

Jargonize (verb)

express, translate, or use a word or phrase with technical or specialized language

vocabulary.com

Balderdash (noun)

senseless talk or writing; nonsense

Collins

Fawn (verb)

to court favor by a cringing or flattering manner

to show affection —used especially of a dog

Merriam-Webster

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.

April Fool’s

Alamak!  Curses and brumal winds take away all dear.
Your whispers of thaw are gratuitous, fictitious.
This day makes fools of any who believe in spring's blessings.

Alamak (interjection)

Malaysian and Singaporean colloquial. Expressing surprise, shock, dismay, or outrage.

Oxford-English Dictionary

Brumal (adjective)

characteristic of or relating to winter

vocabulary.com

gratuitous (adjective)

unnecessary and unwarranted

without cause

New York Times

fictitious (adjective)

not true or real

Britannica

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.

Only the Most Important Things

I knew him once proud but life is a shroud.
His bearing genteel hid flaws time won't heal:
infomania caused insomnia,
inconspicuous irresponsiveness,
deeds equitable not reputable,
clothes spotted and torn, his hat tired and worn.

Genteel (adjective)

having an aristocratic quality or flavor : stylish, of or relating to the gentry or upper class, elegant or graceful in manner, appearance, or shape, free from vulgarity or rudeness : polite

maintaining or striving to maintain the appearance of superior or middle-class social status or respectability, marked by false delicacy, prudery, or affectation

conventionally or insipidly pretty

Merriam-Webster

Infomania (noun)

excessive enthusiasm for gaining knowledge

dictionary.com

inconspicuous (adjective)

not very easy to see or notice : not conspicuous

Britannica

equitable (adjective)

fair to all parties as dictated by reason and conscience

New York Times

Masnavi: Each line is 10 syllables with the middle rhyming with the end

Detritivores Please

We tend to divagate towards 
oblivion, eventually.
A predilection for signboards,
tenacity as potentially,
hope an unforgiving banshee.
When I go I've only two requests:
clemency when I spoke beastly,
my body given back to the pests.

Oblivion (noun)

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

the condition or state of being forgotten or unknown

the state of being destroyed

Merriam-Webster

Divagate (verb)

to wander or stray

dictionary.com

Tenacity (noun)

very determined and do not give up easily

Collins

Detritivore (noun)

an organism (such as a fungus or an insect) that feeds on dead plant or animal material

vocabulary.com

clemency (noun)

leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice

good weather with comfortable temperatures

New York Times

Huitain: 8-line stanza with ababbcbc rhyme scheme and 8 to 10 syllables per line

Memory Lost

His only useful skill was an ability to cadge hearts.
I fell for his fervent personality and easy smile.
Leaving a scintilla of regret under him and an oak tree

Cadge (verb)

to obtain (something) for free often by persuading or imposing on another : sponge

to take, use, or borrow (something) without acknowledgment

Merriam-Webster

Fervent (adjective)

having or showing great warmth or enthusiasm

dictionary.com

Scintilla (noun)

a minute particle; spark; trace

Collins

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.

Motivated by money or pride?

I expected they would lavish me with fiscal whimsy.
But bonuses were meager; expectations unclear but enforced.
So now I am quiescent awaiting applications' response.

Lavish … with (phrasal verb)

to give (someone or something) a large amount of (something)

Britannica

Fiscal (adjective)

of or relating to taxation, public revenues, or public debt

of or relating to financial matters

Merriam-Webster

Whimsy (noun)

an odd or sudden fancy; whim

curious, quaint, or fanciful humor

something odd or whimsical, as an art object, piece of writing, etc.

Collins

Quiescent (adjective)

inactive or motionless

dictionary.com

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.

Why I Don’t Read the News

Awash in turpitude, we turn prosocial impulse back to dross.
My Weltzchmerz is uncontained, uncontainable, williwaw:
Freezing solid my open heart while blowing free my soft hope.

Turpitude (noun)

Depravity or baseness, or an instance of this

WordSmith

Prosocial (adjective)

relating to positive or helpful behavior that benefits a group of people

vocabulary.com

Dross (noun)

metallurgy : the scum or unwanted material that forms on the surface of molten metal

waste or foreign matter : impurity

something that is base (see base entry 3 sense 1), trivial, or inferior

Merriam-Webster

Weltschmerz (noun)

sadness or melancholy at the evils of the world; world-weariness

Collins

Williwaw (noun)

a violent squall that blows in near-polar latitudes

dictionary.com

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.

Ending in Beauty

Love isn't exemplary; it's learning to be boring together.
But in every transition you fall sheer away from me.
Please don't lapidify "us" so all that remains is dust.

exemplary (adjective)

worthy of imitation

being or serving as an illustration of a type

serving to warn

New York Times

transition (noun)

a change from one state or condition to another

Britannica

Sheer (adjective)

so thin as to be transparent

unmixed with anything else

extending down or up very steeply

WordReference

Lapidify (verb)

to turn into stone

dictionary.com

Sijo: Three lines with 14-16 syllables per line.