Grade 8: "The Survivor" by Primo Levi

This poem, first published in 1984 by Holocaust survivor Primo Levi, explores the psychological burden and guilt that haunts those who lived through the experience while so many others died.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. companion
    a friend who is frequently with another
    Once more he sees his companions' faces
    Livid in the first faint light,
    Gray with cement dust,
    Nebulous in the mist,
    Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
  2. livid
    (of a light) imparting a deathlike luminosity
    Once more he sees his companions' faces
    Livid in the first faint light,
    Gray with cement dust,
    Nebulous in the mist,
    Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
  3. faint
    lacking clarity, brightness, or loudness
    Once more he sees his companions' faces
    Livid in the first faint light,
    Gray with cement dust,
    Nebulous in the mist,
    Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
  4. nebulous
    lacking definite form or limits
    Once more he sees his companions' faces
    Livid in the first faint light,
    Gray with cement dust,
    Nebulous in the mist,
    Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
  5. tinge
    color lightly
    Once more he sees his companions' faces
    Livid in the first faint light,
    Gray with cement dust,
    Nebulous in the mist,
    Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
  6. uneasy
    lacking or not affording physical or mental rest
    Once more he sees his companions' faces
    Livid in the first faint light,
    Gray with cement dust,
    Nebulous in the mist,
    Tinged with death in their uneasy sleep.
  7. burden
    a serious or difficult concern
    At night, under the heavy burden
    Of their dreams, their jaws move,
    Chewing a nonexistent turnip.
  8. nonexistent
    not having being or actuality
    At night, under the heavy burden
    Of their dreams, their jaws move,
    Chewing a nonexistent turnip.
  9. turnip
    a plant having a large, fleshy, edible white or yellow root
    At night, under the heavy burden
    Of their dreams, their jaws move,
    Chewing a nonexistent turnip.
  10. submerged
    beneath the surface of the water
    Stand back, leave me alone, submerged people,
    Go away. I haven't dispossessed anyone,
    Haven't usurped anyone's bread.
  11. dispossess
    deprive someone of something, especially property
    Stand back, leave me alone, submerged people,
    Go away. I haven't dispossessed anyone,
    Haven't usurped anyone's bread.
  12. usurp
    seize and take control without authority
    Stand back, leave me alone, submerged people,
    Go away. I haven't dispossessed anyone,
    Haven't usurped anyone's bread.
Created on Thu Apr 16 14:34:23 EDT 2026 (updated Wed May 27 18:29:46 EDT 2026)

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