pulling threads

If you'll come,
I'll show you in
A Daily Sketch
a lot of life

pulling threads
from the
Pattern

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For the erasure poem |commentary, the fellows at OED have given us the word 'gym' to start the new year. A happy 2011 to all.

gone by five

late december —
the king salmon sunset
gone by five

a brief flight

form + space
time for just a brief flight
Half afraid

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'cyberspace.'

it's a surprise

‘where am I going?’
‘It's a surprise.’

Comedies & Tragedies

the heart does look
and linger
and Day-dream

Life...so solemnly ridiculous

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The OED word of the day is 'search.'

the ticket

‘Hurray! Hurray!
Long live the Mystery!
this shout
fill'd the Heavens

Life...
a Wild jubilee
and A Solitude—
Everything
in grand confusion,
blindly joyous

the ticket was everything

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As usual, the erasure poem is based on the OED word of the day: 'hurrah | hurray.'

essence

In full celebration
of creativity and faith,
the new year's
Essence
steals up
and pinches you

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem |commentary is 'Kwanzaa.'

joyful

the Northwest landscape
Joyful with imagination

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is... 'putz.' PUTZ?!?!? On Christmas Eve? Really?? Putz??!!?

...Oh, I see. Putz, in the Pennsylvania German tradition, is an ornamental display representing the Nativity scene, traditionally placed under a Christmas tree. NOT to be confused with the noun/verb with the Yiddish etymology.

Or, as noted in the wiktionary entry, the Portuguese slang used to emphasize something that has gone wrong, as in "Putz, my battery is dead."

Gotta love the language. Happy holidays to all.

faith/love

Faith in Art /

week after week,
month after month,
urged on
by the ever-present hope
that perhaps
colors,
Poems
& spirit within
will see to it that
I'm painting with Love

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'knowledge.'

sanctuary

with ingenuity or wit
Poems
of deep wisdom,
suggest a Sanctuary,
a way of life.

Be better.

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'ingine.' No, that's not a typo of engine, it's a noun meaning genius or ingenuity. Per the citations, it was last used about the same time that last lunar eclipse occurred on the solstice -- in the 17th century.

enchant the gods

Live,
enchant the gods
in an Age
of Poetically
strange Creation

Do not fear
change
its motion
synonymous with growth

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem on Tuesday was 'metamorphosis.'

eclipse

at o-dark thirty
a solsticial eclipse —
midday nap

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Even if tonight had not been the first full lunar eclipse occurring on the (northern) winter solstice in 372 years, I would still have had to create my own poem. Today's OED word of the day is 'word,' the citations for which run about 19 pages. Tomorrow being the shortest day of the year, I'll hope for a shorter entry from the boys at Oxford.

tradition

the Christmas cookie jar —
tradition Sublime

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'language.'

sit daily

to live whole
open the door,
prefer nothing.

attention is the way to learn.

sit Daily.

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'classroom.' Aren't we always in one?

a new woman

December —
I come back a new woman
having seen the Sun

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Today's OED word of the day for the erasure poem was 'new.'

Sorcerer discovered

vocalizing
the great unwieldy
Holy Grail,

Poems One day
might be important
To distinguish
black from white
from reality

Sorcerer
Beyond the curtain,
discovered

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem |commentary was 'discover.'

mirth

Poems brought
a delicious Mirth
to Nature,
an indestructible
Spirit of ‘feast’,
a pure Love

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem |commentary was 'achievement.'

colored by tales

wand'ring
in a Paradise colored by Tales

Some unexperienc'd Fool
Eyes Mischievous India,

Loving at First Sight
in Poems not his own
his life in its new meaning

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Today's OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'explore.'

demands

Art Demands
the service of mind and heart.

simple subjects are good.

the desired end
[to look at familiar vistas
from a new angle]
is the breath of life

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'creative.'

Staying inside today, I'm still playing with images of Jaipur's Amber Fort. Trying to be creative...

second hand

There are times for silence:
to be attentive and to wait.

I have (yet) to learn all The truth of it.

This Writing is All second hand
But I can Sketch tonight.
The frequent practice of this exercise
must be a keen and deep Catechism.

success is a foregone conclusion.

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For this erasure poem | commentary, Sunday's OED word of the day is 'learn.'

rained in

rained in
my imagination plays
in mughal forts

halcyon years

later were the halcyon years,
and I was happy
(also) unaware

We had a little holiday in Florida
every year

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'techie.' Gee, yesterday WWW, now this. It's much easier to find poetry in Shakespeare citations than in quotes from Wired magazine...

in search of an idea

The World
quietly in search of an idea
to help

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is none other than "World Wide Web."

Grace

change,
naturally,
is embedded in any journey,

Grace
has safely brought us
to this day.

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'beginning.'

a red glove

december —
a red glove on
the path

attention

attention awakened,
I took up my Pen,
Where birds sang and rustled in the trees.

There is nothing like making a good start.

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem |commentary is 'start.'

the Song

understanding the Song
Is
in truth
The ultimate freedom;

perfect and absolute understanding

Serenity opens the door,
laughter a shortcut.

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem |commentary is 'enlightenment.'

she had longed for more

A wide road
for a fresh state of mind

How she had longed
for More
than living the life
of a 1950s TV show

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem|commentary is 'arrival.'

Marvel

Winter is here to stay.

Rest a little while and attend to
a Seattle woozy, reverbed sound
in the heart of December.

Marvel at the beauty.

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem |commentary was 'digital.'

resolutely Independent

Poems …and Other Thoughts
inspired by Life
gave the crowd
a taste of Music
imagined in excitement,
a sound that's champagniness

warm sweet air,
light and bright and exhilarating,
Adventures in Good Words
coming from the heart
of a life resolutely Independent

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The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'champagne.' Cheers!

December

December
With great restraint quietly
waited for the Moon

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The online OED word of the day for the erasure poem is lift-off.

FYI, it seems the Oxford boys have changed their website format. The word of the day is now linked from the home page.