Digital Art by Kat Myrman 2016
Saints and sinners twain,
live and die by passion’s flame,
here or hereafter.~kat – 8 February 2016
(Saints and sinners twain, live and die by passion’s flame. / Live and die by passion’s flame, here or hereafter.)
This haiku was inspired by Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge prompt words “Gem” (or “Saint” from the Thesaurus) and “Flame”. If you would like read other haiku or enter your own, click HERE.
Photo Credit: TJ Paris
A treasured timepiece,
he gave it to his grandson
then kicked the bucket!kat ~ 7 February 2016
Oops! I missed last week’s challenge…”Bucket” so I did a combo this week! Two Prompts then: “Watch” (Timepiece) and “Bucket. Thanks to TJ for faithfully hosting this weekly challenge even though some of are out to lunch! I’m blaming it on the groundhog! 😊
If you would like to read other haiku or enter your own, click HERE.
Happy Friday to you! Today’s Word of the Day from dictionary.com is another one of those dinosaur words. It is a word that appeared in the early 17th century and had a fairly good run of it until the 20th century. One might even say that “Nugatory” is a nugatory word.
So why am I spending an entire post on this nugatory word? Why do I spend any Friday, for that matter, on a nugatory quest in pursuit of interesting anecdotes for nugatory words? (I’m not sure I like this word…it doesn’t roll off the tongue like some words do…perhaps this is why it has gone the way of the dodo!)
And yet here we are. One might say, I pursue these words on a dare. And this is true. I am determined to see it through, this challenge I set for myself to write a haiku based on dictionary.com’s word of the day. Or you might say it is because I have a haiku to write. But I certainly don’t need the added aggravation of trying to fit a long-in-syllable, obsolete word into a haiku when there are plenty of reasonable prompts available to me.
The thing is, when Thursday evening comes, my excitement grows in anticipation of Friday’s word drop. Sometimes I even wait up until midnight to have a look. (Note: the Word of the Day doesn’t post at 00:00:01…just an FYI if you’re interested. Sometimes it doesn’t post for HOURS after midnight.) But it is the surprise of it and the challenge of it that gives me joy! It matters not to me how nugatory a word may be…even if the nugatory word is in fact “nugatory”!
Because words…beautiful words in all their forms, quirks and origins have value in the role that they have played in defining how we have evolved over time. If you don’t believe me, consult the Urban Dictionary to be enlightened.
I admit, I do love reading dictionaries for FUN! And I also love writing Haiku. So what’s not to love about this nugatory weekly practice?! I can’t think of anything! 🙂
Have a great weekend! And if you dare, snuggle up with a good book, like um…a dictionary or an encyclopedia if you’re really looking for something deep! 🙂
From a simple Google Search I found this definition:
nu·ga·to·ry ˈn(y)o͞oɡəˌtôrē/adjective
adjective: nugatory
1-of no value or importance. “a nugatory and pointless observation”
synonyms: worthless, unimportant, inconsequential, valueless, trifling, trivial,
insignificant, meaningless “a nugatory observation”2-useless; futile.”the teacher shortages will render nugatory the hopes of
implementing the new curriculum” synonyms: futile, useless, vain, unavailing,
null, invalid “the shortages will render our hopes nugatory”Origin
early 17th century: from Latin nugatorius, from nugari ‘to trifle,’ from nugae ‘jests.’
Nugatory Haiku
nobody listened
her thoughts were nugatory
they assumed…what fools!
we dismiss cursive
as a nugatory form
scorned like the dodo.
it’s nugatory
the way some candidates stump
as if they will win.
kat ~ 5 February 2016
Happy Friday! Today’s Word of the Day from Dictionary.com is Zenith! It originates from the Arabic “samt (ar-ra’s)” meaning “path (over one’s head)”
As I often do when working with words, consulting a Thesaurus helps me understand the nuances of a word. Here are a few synonyms for the word Zenith: highest point, high point, crowning point, height, top, acme, peak, pinnacle, apex, apogee, crown, crest, summit, climax, culmination, prime, meridian.
I also recently discovered another cool tool in Google that allows me to produce a word translated into various languages. The word Zenith has a variety of interesting translations…in Italian, there are three words: zenit, apice and culmine; in Spanish, cenit, apogeo, cumbre, cima and auge; and my new favorite language, German, zenit and Gipfelpunkt! Wow! Being afraid of heights I get dizzy just thinking about it!
In its various translations and definitions zenith represents the pinnacle, apex or high point. There’s just one problem. Gravity. What goes up eventually reaches the highest high it can go and then, well you know.
I suppose the trick to surviving the zeniths in one’s life is learning to scale the thrilling climb to the top and ultimate plunge as if riding a roller coaster. The track doesn’t end at the bottom. It curves around, reaches a few more pinnacles, and does a loop de loop before settling slowly to a smooth stop, leaving the rider exhilarated and breathless!
I don’t know if I’ve reached the ultimate zenith in my life, but I think it’s more about the journey up and back down. The dizzying view from the pinnacle only lasts for a second!
Here’s the Haiku!
Reaching one’s zenith…
It’s truly a triumph!
But then it’s downhill!
kat ~ 29 January 2016
Haiku Horizons presents us this week with the prompt: Sleep. Here are a few thoughts. Read other haiku or add your own HERE.
We say, “I’ve Lost Sleep.”
as if it’s a thing one finds
misplaced like car keys.
Sleepers do not dream.
They wait in obscurity
some dreamers to find.
To sleep anywhere…
Some find it to be a gift
Narcoleptics curse.
~kat – 25 January 2016
like mercury colliding... 