Neighborhood Odes: List 3

by Gary Soto
This poetry collection celebrates the ordinary events and everyday objects that make a neighborhood special.

This list covers "Ode to Fireworks"–"Ode to the Mayor," or pages 46–65 of the 1992 Harcourt edition.

Here are links to our lists for the collection: List 1, List 2, List 3

Here is a link to our list for Seventh Grade by Gary Soto.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sparkler
    firework that burns slowly and throws out a shower of sparks
    I'm a diablito
    with a sparkler.
  2. banshee
    a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
    We get three seconds
    of pinwheels, whistling banshees,
    some cones and pyramids
    that stink but won't work
    Here, banshees, in addition to pinwheels, cones, and pyramids, are all types of fireworks that can be noisy, colorful, stinky, or smoky.
  3. crumble
    break or fall apart into fragments
    I touch
    the ash, and the snake crumbles
  4. vein
    a blood vessel that carries blood toward the heart
    His face reddens,
    and a blue vein
    deepens on his neck
  5. strain
    exert much effort or energy
    He grunts and strains
  6. flex
    exhibit the strength of
    He flexes his biceps,
    and apples show up in his arms.
  7. tier
    one of two or more layers one atop another
    For Marfa,
    it's the lace dress,
    the cake with
    its three tiers
  8. armada
    a large fleet
    The pink punch
    with its armada of ice cubes
    An armada is usually a large fleet of ships equipped for war. Here, the armada is a large fleet of ice cubes intended to refresh wedding guests.
  9. pomade
    hairdressing consisting of a perfumed oil or ointment
    He hates the bow tie
    and his hair plastered down
    with the stink of Abuelo's pomade.
  10. pomegranate
    large globular fruit having many seeds with juicy red pulp
    The pomegranate
    bursts a seam
    and the jewels
    wink a red message.
    The pomegranate may be an allusion to the forbidden fruit in the biblical Garden of Eden. Here, the fruit is on a tree on Mrs. Lopez's property, but it is just as forbidden and tempting to the Garcia brothers, who climb a fence and gather "six sins against them" and then run away "with shame smeared on their dirty faces."
  11. glisten
    be shiny, as if wet
    They love that treasure
    of jewels glistening
    through cracked husks.
  12. fume
    a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
    She wipes a tear
    With a crushed Kleenex And waves a hand
    Over her nose,
    the fumes of the chile
    lifting toward the ceiling.
  13. slaughterhouse
    a building where animals are butchered
    This upside-down turtle,
    this slaughterhouse
    for chiles and tomatoes
  14. sprout
    produce buds or branches; germinate
    packed with dirt
    and sprouting a forest
    of twigs and popsicle sticks.
  15. gush
    a sudden rapid flow (as of water)
    The chile is a gush
    of lava
  16. photograph
    a picture taken with a camera or phone that shows people or scenes
    This is a photograph of my sister
    and a giraffe looking over her shoulder.
  17. blurry
    indistinct or hazy in outline
    the snapshots are blurry;
    the angles dizzy as a spin on a merry-go-round.
  18. taunt
    harass with persistent criticism or carping
    He's on his board
    right now and he's
    taunting three girls
  19. embarrassing
    causing to feel shame
    It's embarrassing.
    No one likes us.
  20. waggle
    move from side to side
    Just look for
    a waggling tongue.
Created on Fri Aug 01 21:57:08 EDT 2014 (updated Thu Aug 30 14:11:03 EDT 2018)

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