An observed word
infrequently heard
can isolate
or implicate
the visionary
thin with worry
in a dastardly plot
which will get him shot

In an absurd dream
or possibly a vision
I saw this thin line of words
all lower case
illegible
except for one word
isolated in capitals

It was my name

Tenderly drawing a book
from its place on the shelf
noting the decrepit
state of its spine
pages so yellowed
as to be almost orange

I steep myself
in the tiny print
and antique wording
and pray for the grace
to fathom is depths
and grasp its meaning

Poetic proclivities
or a taste for rhyme
won't make a poet
all of the time

But discussing the subject
revising the plan
makes a prize-winner
from an also-ran

On a painter's easel
is a double portrait
just a sketch at present

The artist feels he hasn't
got the sense yet of his sitters
or of their relationship

What was the grievance
causing such a ferment?
Was there a fracture
behind the smooth facade?

The painter pondered

and went on with his painting

Five-Word competition
challenges poets
to include each one
meaningfully

"A stitch in time saves nine"
is proverbial
"Inchworm measuring the marigolds"
is a song

Snippets remembered
from days long gone by
built by a poet
intuiting a story
imagining an ending

a prize-winner