Definition 1. weak, ineffective 2. worthless, irresponsible In Context "Right or wrong, plenty of Twitter’s users view Dorsey as a feckless, spineless suit unwilling to address even the most basic problems plaguing his platform." Molloy, Parker, The Verge, "Roasting Jack Dorsey’s beard may be petty, but it’s also part of a time-honored tradition," 7 Sep. 2018
Lost Letter Tory Adkisson I watched as the white marble chipped, watched as the coast eddied with elegiac seafoam and two men plunged their hands into the deep recesses of a small, seaside cave. I held the silver letter opener to my breast like a sword. I didn’t know what I was protecting myself from. My friend, if you find this letter in Paris or Parnassus, remember how the statues of boys bent toward each other like Actaeon’s hounds bared themselves against their master’s throat—an interminable thirst for the flesh consuming their primitive minds. And remember me, sitting across from you [...]
The Paper Nautilus Marianne Moore For authorities whose hopes are shaped by mercenaries? Writers entrapped by teatime fame and by commuters’ comforts? Not for these the paper nautilus constructs her thin glass shell. Giving her perishable souvenir of hope, a dull white outside and smooth- edged inner surface glossy as the sea, the watchful maker of it guards it day and night; she scarcely eats until the eggs are hatched. Buried eight-fold in her eight arms, for she is in a sense a devil- fish, her glass ramshorn-cradled freight is hid but is not crushed. As Hercules, bitten by a crab [...]
afflatus (uh-FLEY-tuh s) Definition (Noun) 1. inspiration; an impelling mental force acting from within. 2. divine communication of knowledge. In Context "Then with an afflatus, words flow, whispered by my muse, into lines and stanzas." Peter E. William, Dreaming of Dreaming, 2005
Make/Do Divya Victor (Being an Occasional Poem for All Q&As Henceforth)For Jamal Cyrus and Tomás Morin, and all kith who make do to make work “Do you also make work that isn’t political?” I mean, do we make work about where and when we were raised: the three-whistle corner store the empty coke bottle trill the nickname that doesn’t nick us as we blow through customs with a toothpick smile and hell-no eyes, sweet fools greasing the bike chains for this day, always saying someone better fix this street light? Do we flicker at night when the kids are sleeping dim, [...]
expeditious (ek-SPE-ˈdi-shəs) Definition (Adjective) marked by or acting with prompt efficiency In Context "Finally, government officials have at least a reasonably strong interest in moderating discussion on their Facebook pages in an expeditious manner." David Kravets, "Politicians’ social media pages can be 1st Amendment forums, judge says," Ars Technica, 28 July 2017
bird-dog (BERD-dawg) Definition (Verb) 1. to watch closely 2. to seek out : follow, detect In Context "Also in line for a guaranteed budget is the new deputy inspector general for public safety charged with auditing police practices, identifying troubling trends, recommending changes to the police contract and bird-dogging the new multi-tiered accountability system." Fran Spielman, The Chicago Sun-Times, 4 Oct. 2016
Naïve Tim Seibles I love you but I don’t know you —Mennonite Woman When I was seven, I walked home with Dereck DeLarge, my arm slung over his skinny shoulders, after-school sun buffing our lunch boxes. So easy, that gesture, so light— the kind of love that lands like a leaf. It was 1963. We were two black boys whose snaggle-toothed grins held a thousand giggles. Remember? Remember wanting to play every minute, as if that was why we were born? Those hands that bring us shouting into this life must open like [...]
liminal (LĬM-ə-nəl) Definition (Adjective) Characterized by being on a boundary or threshold, especially by being transitional or intermediate between two states, situations, etc. In Context "Biologically and culturally, for the child-apprentice it was a liminal moment as he encountered the challenges of puberty at the same time that he abandoned (and was abandoned by) his natural family in order to enter an adoptive one." Steven Laurence Kaplan, The Bakers of Paris and the Bread Question: 1700-1775, 1996.
Walking Beside the Cemetery, Olivia Street, Key West Jacqueline Allen Trimble The City Cemetery was established in 1847 on “high ground, sixteen feet above sea level” in Key West following the disastrous hurricane of October 11, 1846, where the then beachside cemetery was unearthed due to the winds and seas. —“Historic Key West City Cemetery,” City of Key West Florida In Key West, the living surround the dead, who are the best neighbors silent and agreeable as well-swept porches. A fence that separates this [...]
