Author Archives: Miss Kitten

WOTD: interesting and/or funny words beginning with the letter B

Ballcock.

Stop it. Just stop it right now. I know, I know. I’m awful. But it’s not what you think, dammit! You’re the one with filthy mind. Shame on you. A ballcock is actually the most mundane object you can imagine. It’s a piece of plumbing equipment, a floating ball that controls the water level in a tank. So there.

The problem is that this perfectly innocent little word sounds very, very naughty, which is of course due to all the well known ribald associations of the words that make up this compound noun. Just reading this word causes the corners of one’s mouth to curl up in a smile.

And I think that’s wonderful. This word makes people happy.

No Longer Apart

And though my heart was cracked a little...

I came to you, not broken
But in pieces. Dismantled.
A big jigsaw puzzle
Of disassembled parts.
With “Contents Fragile”
Written on the box.
And though my heart
Was cracked a little
I wrapped it up well
Right before I left.
And it arrived intact.
It’s a good thing, too
Because the rest of me
Fell apart, and arrived
A messed up tangle.
But my heart was okay.
Slightly damaged, yes
But good enough
To give to you.

WOTD: harlot

Today’s word is one of those words that should be used more often. It’s basically an old fashioned word for prostitute or whore. I used it recently in a poem and now my fellow RM members are using it.

And why shouldn’t they? It’s a delightful word that describes so many people, not just the whores, prostitutes, hookers, call girls, escorts, courtesans and other assorted naughty ladies of the night.

For example: “I’d like a word with the harlots responsible for the latest Facebook layout. It’s truly dreadful.” See, you could substitute the word “cunts” or similar, but I think using the word harlots makes it much more colorful and interesting.

The word harlot for me conjures up an image of a slightly chubby flame-haired prostitute bulging out of black and red lingerie and with a black feather boa draped around her shoulders. There’s also tinny old-timey piano music playing in the background and a bunch of cowboys standing around a bar drinking corn liquor.

Yes, them. Those Wild West harlots are responsible for the latest Facebook layout disaster.

Cuteness should come with a warning…

Come hither...

A fat lump of cuteness
Lies purring on the bed.
With soft underbelly exposed.
Arms and legs outstretched
Like a shameless manipulative
Furry little harlot.
I’m caught in the tractor beam
Of its overwhelming and
Irresistible adorableness.
And my brain explodes
With a pink pop
Into cotton candy.

For more information read here.

The Teacher’s Lament

This was written during a time when I still took it personally when my students asked me if I minded if they blew off my lesson and left early. Now I’m not bothered as much. After all, I’m only a teacher, not a real human being with feelings.

You have some time today, I see.
Your teacher’s canceled Chemistry.
My class won’t start till three-thirty.
And would it be okay with me,
Since there’s some place you’d rather be,
You ask, I hope, facetiously,
Whether I would mind terribly,
If you skipped my class and left early.
I try not to take it personally,
But it’s very plain for me to see,
You don’t care about the class or me,
But I know you want me to agree,
And so I do, but quite sadly.

Resistance is Futile

With some assistance, in comes the river.
Right over the bank, with no resistance.
Blown by wind, it flows right in,
To the parking lot there. It doesn’t care,
If our stuff’s in the way, we have no say.
Nature goes where it wills, and in it fills.
As I watch I am thinking of how we’re so little.
Our greatness so brittle. Both old things and new.
Nature knocks it all down, pushes right through.

The Twin Towers Rebuilt

You may recall me mentioning my ever-so-brief career as a freelance journalist of sorts. A few years ago I was hired to write content for the now-defunct Grid World News blog, which reported on the virtual places and happenings in the online game Second Life. The following is an article I wrote for the sixth anniversary of 9/11. Please note that ‘Linden’ is the name of the fictional land in Second Life.

The Twin Towers Rebuilt
Rising above adversity and remembering the human tragedy of 9/11

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away from Linden, there were two giants – the tallest buildings in the land. They were the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, and they dwarfed everything around them. For many years they stood on that land as shining symbols of its wealth and power. Then one otherwise ordinary September morning, they were attacked and came crashing down in the most horrifyingly spectacular way. That day would forever after live in infamy. That day was 9/11.

After visiting Linden’s tribute to the Twin Towers called Twin Towers Rebuilt, it’s hard to know how to feel. Six years have passed, but for many of us the events of that tragic Tuesday are still fresh in our minds. The last live images we saw of the World Trade Center were of the towers collapsing like twin houses of cards while we sat glued to our TVs – our eyes wide and our hands covering our mouths. Therefore, to see them rebuilt with such meticulous attention to detail can leave one feeling unnerved, uneasy, and overwhelmed.

It’s even harder to know what to write. How can one even hope to capture in words the sheer enormity and the profundity of that day? The writer struggles to find the right words and none of them seem big enough. This is probably why there are no words at all in the 9/11 Memorial and hardly any in the rebuilt Twin Towers. Instead there are images – lots and lots of images, going along with the old idea that images speak much louder than words ever could. The memorial contains thousands of images of the faces of victims. On the observation decks of the rebuilt Twin Towers are dozens of images, most of which are of the towers in flames, but there are also some quite poignant and intimate images of people.

The Twin Towers Rebuilt doesn’t tell one how to feel or what to think. It does not judge, nor does it offer analysis or explanation. It has no political agenda, and it does not attempt to assign blame for what happened. It’s simply a reminder to all of us that people died that day, and that 9/11 was ultimately a human tragedy.