I like a whole lip-smacking smorgasbord of words,
such as preposterous and scrumptious,
sumptuous and curious,
roiling, rambunctious and trumpeting,
priapic, satyric and seraphic,
satyriasis and mimesis. Now this mimesis is the imitative
representation of nature and behavior in art and literature,
which is a pretentious way of trying to say what us writers do.
But hey, we don't just mimic things,
we can be sagacious and salacious, too.
Accordingly, I also like *******, which has a liquid sound,
and I'm not being facetious to suggest that
******* has a close connection to callipygous.
Then, for those who are suspicious of the libidinous,
I also like curmudgeonly and bodacious,
loquacious, precocious and pulchritudinous,
lubricious and fugacious,
scripturient, radiance, iridescence and magnificence,
lissome, lithe and languid (but not too limp),
shimmering and diaphanous, effulgent and evanescent,
flamboyant, fandango and flibbertigibbet,
(although this is difficult to say when you’re drunk),
voluptuous and vertiginous, slithery, **** and glistening.
And when I include crepuscular, strumpet and strawberry,
I may as well add whipped cream
as well, because this can be laid on in dollops,
and dollops is really an excellent word
along with slurping and *******, too.
Actually, I'm very flexible about words,
because in my lexicon, low moaning noises are OK, too.
These sounds come from the chord of creation
which is a sort of reverberation from the time of
primordial ooze, which I would like to squish between my toes.
Then there's protozoa, spermatozoa and also
wriggling flagella everywhere. So there.
But words don't even need to make sense,
because sweet nothings can say everything,
and heavy breathing can be ******,
even rhapsodic, ending in delirium.
Titillating should be in here too, because we all need
some tintinnabulation and tickling of the senses sometimes.
I've also decided that fecund is my second favorite word after love.
Fecund sounds abrupt, but it buds magnificently
in ******* and bellies to burgeon in absolute abundance,
everywhere. This brings me to *******, which I like, too.
I'm also partial to proud words, including bold, bulging and
brazen, along with a bit of swaggering braggadocio.
Then I like some big words, like brobdingnagian,
although I hope I'm not sesquipedalian.
Salivate is a word to celebrate as well,
along with onomatopoeia that helps choose some words here.
Drooling is highly evocative, too,
and it's not being provocative to observe that
even weapons drool when they're in the wrong hands.
And I shouldn't leave out *******, as you would expect,
because ****** is a sort of rippling word
that rhymes with spasm. Both sound deceptively simple,
but by golly, they can be intensely gripping.
And really, it's alright to writhe to this occasion
because all of us writers should endeavor
to have some good writhing in our oeuvre.
Even some bad writhing can be lots of fun, too.
But I almost forgot to mention yearning and burning (with desire)
and vulviform, velvet and venerous.
Yippee, yee har and hollerin' along with other exclamations
of exhortatory exuberance should be in this index, too.
Now. The words I don’t like include no, can’t, never,
stop and mustn’t. Also, irascible and intractable,
unmentionable, ineffable, inexpressible, incoherent,
immutable, impotent and impossible.
Then I don't like importune and misfortune,
and I don't know who thought up unthinkable,
because this is an oxymoron.
Inscrutable is also a complete cop out,
especially when there's no such word as scrutable.
Gawping, gaping, cavernous and cretinous, obsequious,
grovelling, pursed lips, circuitous,
obfuscation and isolation, unpalatable,
cruelty, tyranny and hypocrisy,
should also get the heave-**.
And I definitely don't like parsimonious and mendicant,
which are miserable words.
Quitting doesn't get there either,
and shut the **** up and ******* should also be taboo.
Also, hopeless is, really, well, it's hopeless
because it denies hope, and hope is buoyant and boundless.
I mean, sometimes hope is all we have.
But the word I dislike most is ****,
because this is an insulting word, and
to be taxonomical,
the negative score of this word is astronomical.
Hate is also right up there on this list. Hate is abominable
because it tries to destroy love, and love is indomitable.
Indomitable
is the
mightiest
word
of them all.
Yeah. So there.

Mike T Minehan

I remember
the me I was from
traces
I trip over daily
Brief flashes
of the insight
and ability to
share
that made me
someone of value.

Moments of vocal
clarity
that put together
two and two
and it always
came out
four.

Flashes of satyric
humor
that nailed its
subject
to the floor
and walked on it.

A momentarily
brimming mind
with all the
pieces
in their places.

But then
the fog rolls
in again
banishing
the clarity
blanketing the
ardor
making it
impossible
to be the one
I used to be.

Perhaps one
day
I won’t recall-
I’ll learn
to love the
fogginess
And find
the peace
that’s currently
eluding me.
            ljm

This world’s a spindle,
No chance here, no accident,
And choice? Zero.
You could be a thread,
Woven tight in the fabric,
Spun in the common ball,
Or a bowstring, drawn for war, sharp and feral.

This is for those who’ve long
Resisted belief like it’s cult-born.
And it seems,
I’m fated to flee or
Die as a heretic torn.

Them worldview’s a cage,
It traps minds in a mesh,
Twists of pipes, feeding gas.
Them creed’s a false religion,
Woven tight like a textile rag,
A veil.
They learned its name, but missed the meaning,
Is this what you’ve been chasing, unveiling?

I clutch in my hand a note that says
I hold back my mind, yet the heart
Craves to break past these walls.
This city grows tired of despot’s reign,
Cuts deep, seeking cause and effect,
Not all’s lost, after all.
Everywhere, a satyric dance,
Inaction under the guise of faith and icons’ call.
Even a miracle balm won’t save it all.

It’s all intertwined,
Yet alone we stand, in our flesh confined,
We live, and so shall we fall.
We’ll nourish this city, become its fuel,
Strengthen its walls.
But for now,
We’ll slip shades into their black-and-white,
Hues and colors to overrule.
Bishops are strong, but we’re a legion, tall.
Though some of us are seen as cranks,
Conspiracy theorists, misunderstood,
But if you want to hide something,
Hide it in plain sight,
And lead them astray, lost in the woods.
That’s how I escaped,
Think on it, if you could.