a cloud

A mischievous
troublesome
Poem
By the cuff
led along,
And settled
In the night.

Rhyme Was tricky
and fitly described
as a Cloud that tormented her

. . . . . . . .

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

I thought it appropriate to end the set of San Diego sketches where they started, at the iconic Santa Fe Depot.

have fun

You need to have fun.
If you have fun
you complete drawings
as cute as a little red wagon
and I think real Zen
in Expressing delight …bravo!

. . . . . . .

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

candor

candor has wings
in the presence of the ordinary/
Light obeying morning

. . . . . . .

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

Mondays

an idea on which
people project their
fantasies and aspirations

Mondays

A fusion of ecstasy and the worst mood

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is "Madchester." Admitting you never heard of the word indicates that you, like me, were musically unhip in the 80s.

tradition

at the heart
of tradition
Memories
promising
everything
to everyone
can only be
individual

. . . . . . .

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

heavenly

outdoors,
in a Heavenly state

I can taste
the memory of Summer
& more

. . . . . . . .

The appropriate OED word of the day, with leftovers on the menu, for the erasure poem| commentary is "s'more."

Today's factoid from the Balboa Park ranger is that there is only one palm species native to San Diego County. It is not pictured here :)

stuffed

Cookery 
is a November Life Style

The main attraction is
stuffed
into America
on the big day

. . . . . . . .

Not missing a trick, the OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is ‘turducken.’

Happy Thanksgiving to all, with a special shout out to the family runners!

style

style
marked by sensational
handling

the Star

A quick glance
might make you think
it's far-fetched

. . . . . . .

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

sci-fi

in a different cosmos
Nothing Is Always Absolute
and everything on the Internet
is really good —

we like sci-fi

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'Sturgeon's Law.'

flamenco

flamenco
hasn't even had lunch yet
at 2pm

. . . . . . 

I should have known better than to attend a flamenco matinee. But Copley Hall (1929), built in Spanish baroque style, is a helluva good show in itself.

travels

travels can't disappoint

After all
it isn't every day an Adventure may develop

Wanderlust is A Freedom
just one of many

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'round-the-world.'

logic yielding to spirit

one of the things I like 
is interesting new ways
to use a Sketch Book

inventiveness is a Playground,
and the best advantage to produce the richest results

Who knows what power may result
from logic yielding to spirit

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'economize.'

It's all happening Saturday mornings at Little Italy's mercato, including good live music to sketch by.

love exhales

the feeling
of being able to touch
a person's best

Love exhales

. . . . . . . .

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

Pictured are some of the 45 foot winged-sail catamarans racing in the America's Cup World Series on San Diego Bay this week.

spare time

Saturday …
the time needed
4 spare-time

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is the communists' icky concept of 'Saturdaying.'

The picture is of the Coronado Boathouse (1887), which becomes much more amusing when you know it was built as a dry run for the Hotel Del.  Put together a hotel architect who specialized in trestle bridges and a work crew of 300 Chinese, brought down on the paddlewheeler from SF, with no interpreter, and you can see why they wanted to make sure they could actually DO this. The boathouse contains every architectural feature of the hotel.

the wheels of progress

The wheels of progress  
Turn idly

They like nothing
better than the Sun

I can play that game

. . . . . . . .

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

If you ever happen to be in Coronado, Nancy Cobb's Walking Tour is probably the most amusing & fascinating historical presentation I've ever heard. Afterwards, you can, of course, cotch at the Hotel Del like I did :)

USS Makin Island

The OED word of the day is 'ointer,' used as a surname for a dealer in lard. Not a lot there.

The sketch was done yesterday, as I witnessed the maiden deployment of the amphibious assault ship Makin Island, the hybrid "Prius of the Navy."  Next to me a family was videotaping:  "There  goes Chris, leaving on his first voyage... it's pretty emotional..."

real or invented

real or invented design…

There are different
opinions
as to the value
in the end

. . . . . . . .

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

The picture is an invented design of the view from the 18th floor... or a throwback to 60s madras shorts!

locavores

farmer's market —
locavores hunting and gathering
free samples

feeling wobbly

Poems are popular
If you are feeling wobbly
in your relationship
with life

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'rose-tinted.'

11.11.11

while present
and Playing
with the whole of Life,
Time turned
and warmly shook me
by the hand

11.11.11 —Well!

. . . . . . . .

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

a strong desire

the greatest Verses
depend upon a strong desire
to celebrate this Day

. . . . . . . .

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

The sketch was done in Old Town, where a lot of guys were worshiping at the Church of the Immaculate  '57 Chevy. Talk about strong desires...

750 poems

750 Poems
To loll away the day,
To look at Life and
Listen in the night
and fan the flow,
Day by Day

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for this 750th poem | commentary is 'punkah.'

the first time

the first time
on a clear day,
a wide expanse of winter is special

. . . . . . . .

Today's bizarre and unusable word of the day was biospelaeology (known only to those who actually do study living things in caves).

So,  I have taken the liberty of instead erasing a poem from Wikipedia's Cabrillo National Monument text. Thanks to my cousin Jeannie and Ken for taking me out there today!

haven't a clue

It's showtime.

We paint a bit,
get a rhythm going,
inspired by a thing—
a collage just came.

We ourselves
haven't a clue
as to why.

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is the verb 'vibe.'  For example: Lunch outside on the terrace of the Prado was vibing nicely.

the Dance

an abstract pattern,
imperfect, fleeting

as our senses grasp
the Dance

. . . . . . . .

After ridiculously brief ones, today's OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'idea.'  About 9,989 words erased!

piece of cake

color with
brilliant
composition
Simple light and
the best use
of talent
and Innovations

Yah!

If it doesn't
go horribly wrong,
then it's a Piece of Cake

. . . . . . . .

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

If only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun, then only AWOL conventioneers and snowbirds have coffee outside in the morning.

umbrellas

hot and sunny to
cool and rainy —
same umbrellas
different function

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day is 'misdeedy,' with about four words in two citations, so unusable for a poem, but very usable to describe today: rain in San Diego is misdeedy.

sketching

sketching alongside
a busking saxophonist —
double the grooves

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day was sabermetrics. There may be poetry in baseball, but a distinct lack of it in this word.

The first of what will probably be many sketches from Balboa Park.

color

color...
I could hardly
count on both hands

Look at it.
I myself a flutter in delight.

Azure, beautiful
as one would expect,
and Gaudy.

Where's November /
Nothing could depart more outrageously from the norm than
Painting Watercolors in Pink, and a little peacock blue.

It is sweet.

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem|commentary is 'popinjay.' What I would have erased on a rainy day in Seattle would have left a wildly different poem, of that I have no doubt.

the last drop

in a way,
I squeezed
the last drop
out of the thing

. . . . . . . .

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

From pines to palms: this month's blog comes to you from San Diego.