Call Us What We Carry: List 4

by Amanda Gorman
This collection of poetry reflects on more than a century's worth of American history, exploring a variety of topics including racism, the 1918 influenza pandemic, climate change, and the AIDS epidemic.

This list covers "Fury & Faith"–"Resolution."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
35 words 45 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. kenning
    a compound word serving as a metaphorical name for something
    From the beginning, the colonized are kennings.
    African American, Asian American, Native American
  2. magnanimous
    noble and generous in spirit
    Again & again, over & over,
    We will stride up every mountainside,
    Magnanimous & modest.
  3. modest
    humble in spirit or manner
    Again & again, over & over,
    We will stride up every mountainside,
    Magnanimous & modest.
  4. chauvinism
    fanatical patriotism
    A nation's cold pride will kill,
    Choke us on the very spot we shadow.
    This is also called Chauvin[ism].
  5. ravage
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
    R.I.P.
    Ravaged In Pandemic
    Rifled Innocent People.
    Razed Irreplaceable Persons.
  6. besiege
    surround so as to force to give up
    O how our beloveds are besieged.
    Despite how hard we've prayed,
    Anyone becomes prey
    When they do not
    Turn & run.
  7. strife
    bitter conflict; heated or violent dissension
    How do we pronounce you,
    Land & Strife?
  8. wariness
    the trait of being cautious and watchful
    We believe we can transform
    Without war or wariness.
  9. rosary
    a string of beads used in counting prayers
    A grandma on a porch fingers her rosaries.
  10. weather
    face and withstand with courage
    The question isn’t if we can weather this unknown,
    But how we will weather this unknown together.
  11. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    In suffering, we must find solidarity.
  12. consecrate
    give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause
    We inaugurate our dreams at the injury.
    We consecrate at the cut.
  13. wrought
    shaped to fit by altering the contours of a pliable mass
    But tomorrow isn’t revealed,
    Rather rendered, refined. Wrought.
    Remember that fate isn’t fought
    Against. It is fought for. Again
    & again.
  14. splay
    widen or spread apart
    Our hands splay toward some
    Hazy & far-flung happiness
  15. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    & we cleave open for some fragile
    Non-evil, no matter how brief:
    To touch,
    To meet,
    To human
    Again; a scatter of non-particular
    Wonders to be revisited.
  16. garner
    acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions
    Jan. 2020: Australia’s apocalyptic brushfire season garners international attention.
  17. indolent
    disinclined to work or exertion
    The hero rejects the summoning. They are indolent, intimidated, or both.
  18. denounce
    accuse or condemn openly as disgraceful
    In early January, the authorities had forced him to sign a statement denouncing his concerns as unfounded.
  19. unfounded
    without a basis in reason or fact
    In early January, the authorities had forced him to sign a statement denouncing his concerns as unfounded.
  20. disproportionate
    not corresponding in size, extent, or degree
    By March 26, the US has more reported infections than any other country, disproportionately killing people of color, the working class & the incarcerated.
  21. irrevocable
    incapable of being retracted
    Loss strikes, loud & irrevocable as a gunshot.
  22. clinical
    relating to or based on direct observation of patients
    Sandra Lindsay, a New York-based intensive care nurse, becomes the first person to receive a COVID vaccine in the US outside a clinical trial.
  23. inaugural
    occurring at or characteristic of a formal induction
    Amanda Gorman, a skinny Black girl descended from slaves, becomes the youngest inaugural poet in US history.
  24. invoke
    summon into action or bring into existence
    The sample is never simple, is always insufficient at invoking the insufferable.
  25. wax
    increase, rise, or advance
    Our eyes waxed wide with wonder.
  26. mired
    entangled or hindered
    Children understand:
    Even grime is a gift,
    Even what is mired is miraculous,
    What is marred is still marvelous.
  27. reckoning
    a time or act of being held accountable; a settling of accounts
    Time arcs into itself.
    It is not a repeat, but a reckoning.
  28. hubris
    overbearing pride or presumption
    The truth is, there is joy
    In discarding almost everything—
    Our rage, our wreckage,
    Our hubris, our hate,
    Our ghosts, our greed,
    Our wrath, our wars,
    On the beating shore.
  29. notion
    a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
    We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
    And the norms and notions of what “just is”
    Isn’t always justice.
  30. successor
    a person who inherits some title or office
    We, the successors of a country and a time
    Where a skinny Black girl,
    Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother,
    Can dream of becoming president,
    Only to find herself reciting for one.
  31. forge
    make out of components, often in an improvising manner
    But this doesn’t mean we're striving to form a union that is perfect.
    We are striving to forge our union with purpose,

    To compose a country committed
    To all cultures, colors, characters,
    And conditions of man.
  32. inception
    an event that is a beginning
    This is the era of just redemption.
    We feared it at its inception.
    We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
    Of such a terrifying hour.
  33. benevolent
    showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding
    We will not march back to what was,
    But move to what shall be:
    A country that is bruised but whole,
    Benevolent but bold,
    Fierce and free.
  34. inertia
    a disposition to remain inactive
    We will not be turned around,
    Or interrupted by intimidation,
    Because we know our inaction and inertia
    Will be the inheritance of the next generation.
  35. limn
    trace the shape of
    We will rise from the gold- limned hills of the West!
Created on Mon Mar 14 17:35:48 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Apr 08 17:56:10 EDT 2022)

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