One Word: mute

brass shine
polished by sleeve dangle
arm extended
mute in hand

One Word: yoga

she is a junkie.
daily toting her mat around
she no longer needs blocks
has long since discarded the strap
she is a yoga junkie.
full lotus, pigeon pose, fish pose
vinyasa, vinyasa, vinyasa
hands pressed together in front
hands pressed together in back--WOAH
she is a yoga junkie

One Word: tofu

Cradled in a plastic chair
Reminiscent of 70's sci-fi
Caffeine helps keep me there
Nerdy jokes keep making me smile
My mind is like tofu
Soaking up flavors
Medical kung-fu
Excellent student behavior

One Word: export

type, type, type, type important stuff, tab
peck number, type words, peck number, tab
type, type, type, type more important stuff, enter
equal sign
pause, scan, (oh that's where they put it!)
click pull down menu
select function
click to select column
click to select column
enter
control S
click pull down menu, scan
(there it is)
click export
click format
wait

One Word: option

Every time you hear a bell ring
I've lost another muse.
Shovel air past my vocal chords,
heaps of coal to stoke fires.
Power steam engines of poetry
that fall upon deaf ears.
It's the same pain
as falling out of love.
Train whistle wails and sobs
silently without option.
Chuff-chuff-chuff down invisible tracks
to hollow, gutted ghost towns,
packed with dessicated tumbleweeds
and oil deprived hinges.

One Word: major

major chords & minor chords
diminution & attenuation
oh wait, it's augmentation
(i knew it was one of those "A" words)
picking out melodious concepts
strumming beautiful ideas
from a tangle of strings
stretched vulnerable over frets

One Word: spot

clearly demarcated edges curve infinitely
but if you zoom in close enough
frayed edges of color begin to emerge
pixelated crop circles creep out from the page

One Word: powder

reminiscing about her former roommate's face powder
how she used to leave all over the room--so goth
reminiscing about the alternative music
how she tolerated it with her old roommate
but, i would definitely have to wear earplugs
sadly, she was stuck with me now
and i was a poor replacement for all that face powder

One Word: bamboo

I followed my big brother, not wanting to be called "baby"
Detesting the thought of being uncool and left behind
I tried to be tough, quiet, and I tried to keep up
But my two years younger legs were not quick enough
Sticky mud, teasing, grabbed my shoe and held on tight
I left my shoes amongst the bright celery green bamboo pipes
My brother got in trouble, and would never let me follow again.

One Word: latch

stop trimming the hedge, let branches grow wild
slam green garden gates, toss out brass latch keys
let your hair grow long, cascade down your back
let curtains hang closed, stay here together
oblivious to earth revolutions
found in each other

One Word: system

defense fortress implosion
secluded lonely world dissolved
multi-solitude-system failure
outed, walnut shell cracked
kernel picked out, exquisite
lost to (WOW!) strong arms and
(Mmmmmm!) stubble roughened cheek and chin
heart falling through steam
billowed up through
gritty subway ventilation grates
homeless men and their cardboard
warmed by unfaltering adoration

One Word: burst

my dad called it a cloudburst
he laughed when we finally made it home
hair drenched, sneakers squishy
jean jacket soaked and heavy with sky torrents
it was the last day of school
gravity pulled rain, mixed with pelting hail
sunshine spotlight illuminated us
running down the hill towards home

One Word: flavor

Honeydew. Or perhaps cantaloupe.
Pale green sugar flavored kisses.
Or perhaps, orange-pink nectar kisses
stolen from sun-warmed fuzzy bees.
Oh, there was definitely a moment when they turned the corner
and didn't start down the second set of stairs...
His kisses were sticky black grape flavored.
Pressed up against the concrete. Plum.
Soft, magnetic Opium--Indeed.

One Word: figure

diagram sketched of innards
figure labeled with components
represent once secret inner workings
complex dog machinery

One Word: tower

stairs curl up inside the tower, golden Shirley Temple locks
little girl fingers intertwined with red brick walls
arms intertwined, spin with dizzy merriment, keep time
with the lighthouse beam perched up top
scream "ashes, ashes, we all fall down!"

One Word: ship

asbestos applied, metal folded & pounded & heated
love affairs floating on ships over oceans
cotton string tatted into intricate pattern contortions
reflect the dramatic cardiovascular twists and turns
mimic the splashes and waves from seas parted by bolts

One Word: coat

a fine layer of grease coats your tongue
when you eat fresh mutton roasted over an open fire
who knows how much grease would still be there
if the fire hadn't burned it away
and you can only get it off with cold soda pop
sugary acid and caffeine dissolving mutton fat
washing it down your throat