TODAY WORD - PELTON

The Word of the Day for July 6 is:

peloton \pel-uh-TAHN\ noun
: the main body of riders in a bicycle race

Example sentence:
"The first major splits occur in the peloton at about the 110-mile
mark, where many riders find they can no longer keep up." (Michael
Barry, The New York Times, September 26, 2008)

Did you know?
If you've ever watched the Tour de France on television, you've seen
the peloton, the brightly colored pack of riders making up the central
group. You may have also gained some inadvertent insight into the word
itself, which as you may have guessed is French in origin. In French,
"peloton" literally means "ball," but it is most often used with the
meaning "group." It's frequently used in the bicycling context, just
as in English, but it can also refer to a group in a marathon or other
sporting event. French "peloton" can also mean "squad" or "platoon,"
and since we've told you that you probably won't be too surprised to
learn that it is also the source of our word "platoon."

HUSH - A TIKULI POETRY

Hush

She stood on the edge
overlooking the valley.
Her elegant frame silhouetted
in the moonlit night.
Her intense eyes,
Pregnant with grief and pain.
Her gaze,
Penetrating into the quite lugubrious abyss.
The maelstrom inside her,
resounding in the stillness of the night.
Nothing is moving, not even the dewdrops
hanging precariously from the leaves.
A small cub rests in peace
cuddled between her paws.
It’s body cold as ice.
They had been there together
just one night
both mother and child.
Slowly she slumps beside the lifeless child
and licks the furry body.
Tucking it closer with her paws
she embraces it for One last time.
The forest watches quiescent.

- A poem by Tikuli.