SIN-o-NYMS, 3i

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (i): rapaciousness

Rapaciousness—now there’s a word

To raise a dire alarm,

For few things in this life of ours

Can cause a greater harm.

I picture someone—mad, insane—

Who drools with so much greed

That every single thing in life

Surrenders to this creed.

And such a person, so I think,

Will soon be overthrown—

By friends, by life, by circumstance—

And then will die alone.

SIN-o-NYMS, 3h

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (e): mercenariness

I’ve read that mercenariness

Is on the rise so much with us.

We do things just for money—or

A little fame will do. We pour

All effort into public shows

Of all we own. And we attempt

To make sure everybody knows

That we are owners. Such contempt!

SIN-o-NYMS, 3g

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (g): greediness

The hunger we call greediness

Is one so hard to sate—

No matter what you do acquire,

Those passions don’t abate.

And then you need another thing—

The hunger rages on—

So when you look to see the date,

You find your life is gone.

SIN-o-NYMS, 3f

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (f): graspingness

Her graspingness alarmed her friends—

They worried for her very soul.

A trait like this just never ends—

When things comprise your only goal.

They held an intervention, and

She laughed so hard she had to cough.

“Oh, people, you don’t understand!”

And then she quickly bought them off.

SIN-o-NYMS, 3e

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (e): cupidity

I now condemn cupidity—

Except, of course, for you and me.

I really love much money—wealth—

And I acquire it with much stealth.

Oh, I sneak here, and I sneak there,

Removing things with clever flair.

I’ll hack a bank account, of course,

And pick a pocket—subtle force.

And as for you? I’ve changed my mind.

All wealth’s for me—not for your kind!

SIN-o-NYMS, 3d

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (d): covetousness

Yes, my covetousness had grown past normal bounds—

I now crave an estate; I crave horses and hounds.

And I think that a yacht would be awesome, don’t you?

I could sail all the seas—oh, yes, that’s what I’d do!

And in fact I believe (so my cravings have grown)

That I’d like to possess all the things that you own.

Oh, it’s not that I’m jealous—oh, no, I’m restrained.

It’s just owning all things is how I’m entertained!

SIN-o-NYMS, 3c

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (c): avidity

A strong surge of avidity

Surged through and motivated me.

I ran out to that Best Buy store—

Bought many things—then bought some more.

I took all home—but had no room—

And felt a thick’ning cloud of gloom.

Then—storage units!—what a thought!

A place for everything I’ve bought!

And now, of course (blush on my face),

I’ve filled each unit in that place!

SIN-o-NYMS, 3b

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (b): avarice

The avarice that I feel now

Is surging through me like a stream—

A racing one—a laser beam!

I really need a fat cash cow.

Oh, I just love a lot of stuff—

Like houses, clothes, and fancy cars—

And dates with slinky movie stars.

The funds I have? Oh, not enough!

SIN-o-NYMS, 3a

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Greed (a): acquisitiveness

See, acquisitiveness can be a such a bad trait—

For you care about things—yes, a thirst you can’t sate.

For just owning a thing can just never suffice,

So you keep buying things—and you don’t mind the price.

At the end of your life you have mountains of things,

But you never have felt what true happiness brings.

Oh, true happiness, yes—you’ll not know what you’ve lost—

For your soul’s been consumed by your things—oh, the cost!

SIN-0-NYMS, 2c

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Gluttony (c): overindulgence

Yes, my overindulgence has had a great price—

And, for one thing, I’m no longer fit.

Yes, instead I just nap, then I find stuff to eat—

And my pants just this morning, well, split.

But I can’t seem to help it—this bingeing on food.

I just see a sweet treat and must eat.

But perhaps, down the road, with my sanity back,

I’ll return to fresh fruit and whole wheat!?

SIN-o-NYMS, 2b

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Gluttony (b): immoderation

Immoderation he displayed

Disgusted all the friends he’d made.

They watched him eat a mega-meal,

Inhale dessert—a major deal.

Then outside in the parking lot

He ate a Prius (which was not

The wisest thing he ever ate—

Despite its mileage—really great).

I saw him eat a boa—whole—

The finish with a barber’s pole.

Then he got eaten, head to toe.

He’d met up with a T-Rex, Yo!

SIN-o-NYMS, 2a

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Gluttony (a): overeating

Your overeating has results—

Perhaps you’ll have a heart attack?

Perhaps you must endure insults?

(You love to bolt a big Big Mac!)

Of course, we’re “wired” to overeat—

It’s how ancestors stayed alive:

The starve-and-gorge (repeat, repeat).

Yes, nearly starve and then revive!

SIN-o-NYMS, 1e

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Envy (e): resentment

I felt resentment when she won

That prize that should, of course, been mine!

No way she’ll get a valentine—

No, not from me—no, nothing! None!

I earned that Nobel Prize—so why

Would they award the thing to her?

Oh, prizes are not what they were!

And I’m now a resentful guy!

SIN-o-NYMS, 1d

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Envy (d): jealousy

It’s hard to smother jealousy

When it moves  through you endlessly—

At least, this has been true for me.

What made me jealous when a kid?

Oh, all those kids for all they did

Much better than I could. I slid

Into that fabled goo of green—

That all of you have prob’ly seen—

And so, at times, I was so mean.

But time went on—and I … matured—

Or so myself I so assured.

But I can’t say that I was cured!

For one day, when this guy in class

Was … never mind.

SIN-o-NYMS 1c

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Envy (c): invidiousness

Oh, his worst quality was invidiousness—

Jim was jealous of everyone—jealous of us!

And this envy was deep—yes, as deep as the sea—

And the whole thing got worse—it was insanity!

Then the dude won the Lotto—such good news for Jim—

And so all of the rest of us now envied him!

SIN-o-NYMS, 1b

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Envy (b): green-eyed monster*

The green-eyed monster visited

Othello, fatally.

Poor Desdemona learned too late

How rough a guy can be.

And later, learning his mistake,

Othello took his knife:

A stab, some final words, and then—

An end to his sad life.

*Iago utters this phrase in Othello (3.3).

SIN-o-NYMS, 1a

Lines Based on Synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins

SEVEN DEADLY SINS: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Envy (a): covetousness

Oh, your covetousness you now wear like a coat—

And the whole world can see it—it’s nothing remote.

See, I know that you want everything that I own—

From my house to my car to my wife to my phone.

(I would not ever—ever—surrender my phone,

But it showed I was eager—yes, that was my tone!)

So, well, anyway, friend, what I own is now yours—
For all things evanesce, but a friendship endures!

SIN-o-NYMS: The Beginning

A new series based on synonyms for the Seven Deadly Sins: envy, gluttony, greed or avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath

Before We Begin

So before we begin our verse journey to Sin,

I should say a few words in defense

Of myself—I’m not bad but just curious, see,

And I hope that this makes perfect sense.

We will journey through sins—yes, the deadliest ones--

All the ones that can ruin your nights—

And each day I will write some ridiculous lines

About wrongs and (of course) about rights.

And I hope that you find this amusing—not strange—

And I hope that you’ll journey with me

Through the bad things we seem so determined to do—

Oh, the failures of humanity!

Junior Words: The End

A High School Teacher’s Final List

Finale

We’ve traveled down a wordy road

By which we did explore

The vocab words I used to teach—

I trust it was no bore.

For me, it brought back memories

Of times I much enjoyed—

And memories are one good way

That all of us stay buoyed.

But now it’s time we must move on—

Some other plans now reign—

And in my next post I’ll present

Some verses to explain.

Junior Words, 100

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #20: (i) craven, (j) blandishment

He was a craven—not a doubt

(He knew what fear was all about.)

And not a single blandishment

Could make that craven cur repent.

And so he hid throughout his days—

Would not abandon milquetoast ways.

Until he finally faced a threat—

And didn’t even break a sweat!

Junior Words, 99

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #20: (g) arcane, (h) mollify

Your reasons sound a bit arcane—

For why you want to mollify

That bully on the playground. Why

Must you do this? It sounds insane!

To mollify a bully makes

That bully much more dangerous—

To you, to me, to all of us!

This is among your worst mistakes!

Junior Words, 98

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #20: (e) antediluvian, (f) irascible

And so Noah—in antediluvian days—

Was irascible often in all sorts of ways.

See, he loved the sweet sound of the rain on the land—

And it didn’t come often enough—was this planned?

But then one day he heard that most worrisome voice,

And he then had to build, for he hadn’t a choice.

Soon he’d built that huge ark—and the animals came—

And the world as he’d known it was never the same.

Junior Words, 97

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #20: (c) fecund, (d) fustian

His best ideas were fecund, so

He shared them with the world, you know?

But fustian writers ruined all

With bloated language (no words small).

And so his fecund thoughts just died—

Yes, killed by prose not clarified.

Junior Words, 96

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #20: (a) exacerbate, (b) execrable

Oh, you know—don’t you know?—that it’s execrable

To revert to your simian state?

It’s a way you alarm all your family and friends—

And a way to exacerbate*

All the problems you have in your world and your life—

Oh, the heartache! The headache and such!

So it’s better by far, if you listen to me,

Not to act like a monkey too much!

*the rhythm of this line ain’t right, I know

Junior Words, 95

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #19: (i) soporific, (j) enervated

“That teacher’s soporific, Yo.

And I feel enervated when

At last it’s over—time to go.

How can I go to class again?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” his friend replied.

“He’s really not a boring creep.

Besides—in class I haven’t died—

I really have just gone to sleep!”

Junior Words, 94

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #19: (g) recondite, (h) sedulous

If you are always sedulous,

You won’t need to be recondite.

You’ll get your work done—little fuss—

And folks will fathom what you write.

Junior Words, 93

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #19: (e) exiguous, (f) propitious

The evidence? Exiguous.

The witnesses? Not one.

The signs are not propitious for

Forgiving what you’ve done.

So—were I you?—I’d move away—

And I would do it soon.

The cops, I’ve heard, are on the way—

And then, for you, high noon!

Junior Words, 92

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #19: (c) malediction, (d) rictus

Your malediction must have worked,

For I am lying dead.

You see my rictus? It’s your fault

That bullet’s in my head.

Junior Words, 91

A High School Teacher’s Final List

List #19: (a) encomium, (b) inscrutable

Don’t wait for an encomium—

For it perhaps might never come.

And not to be inscrutable—

But sometimes when your plate is full,

Some others just cannot bring praise—

But they’ll rebuke your leaner days.