Wordbirds, 18

This new series—“Wordbirds”—arises from a journey I am taking through my Webster’s 3rd Dictionary. What I’m doing: I look on the first page for each letter, and the first word that flies up at me (because I don’t know it, because I just think it’s interesting, etc.) becomes the subject for that day’s doggerel. I will move through letter z, then work my way back again, the second time using the last page of each letter’s section of Webster's. Let’s see what happens ...

Words that flew into my life from Webster’s 3^rd …

rubulistic adj.

characterized by railing or pettifoggery

That rubulistic SOB—

Oh, what an awful pain he was!—

Why did he always rail at me?

I knew it couldn't be because

I earned such frequent foul disdain.

He acted as a bully does—

He tried to smear my life with stain—

To get inside my troubled brain—

He's really not hard to explain.