The Writer

Ellen S. (United States of America)
17 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stairwell
    a vertical well around which there is a stairway
    I pause in the stairwell, hearing
    From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys
    Like a chain hauled over a gunwale.
  2. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  3. starling
    a type of common, sociable bird with dark feathers
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  4. gunwale
    a plank or ridge at the top of the side of a boat
    I pause in the stairwell, hearing
    From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys
    Like a chain hauled over a gunwale.
  5. linden
    any of various deciduous trees of the genus Tilia with heart-shaped leaves and drooping cymose clusters of yellowish often fragrant flowers; several yield valuable timber
    The Writer
    In her room at the prow of the house
    Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden,
    My daughter is writing a story.
  6. prow
    the front part of a vessel
    The Writer
    In her room at the prow of the house
    Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden,
    My daughter is writing a story.
  7. brilliance
    the quality of being extremely bright or glittering
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  8. affright
    cause fear in
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  9. sash
    a band of material worn around the waist or across the chest
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  10. dazed
    stunned or confused and slow to react
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  11. commotion
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    I pause in the stairwell, hearing
    From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys
    Like a chain hauled over a gunwale.
  12. clamor
    utter or proclaim insistently and noisily
    A stillness greatens, in which

    The whole house seems to be thinking,
    And then she is at it again with a bunched clamor
    Of strokes, and again is silent.
  13. retreated
    people who have retreated
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  14. cargo
    goods carried by a large vehicle
    Young as she is, the stuff
    Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy:
    I wish her a lucky passage.
  15. stole
    a wide shawl or scarf worn around the shoulders
    I remember the dazed starling
    Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago;
    How we stole in, lifted a sash

    And retreated, not to affright it;
    And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door,
    We watched the sleek, wild, dark

    And iridescent creature
    Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove
    To the hard floor, or the desk-top,

    And wait then, humped and bloody,
    For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits
    Rose when, suddenly sure,

    It lifted...
  16. reject
    refuse to accept or acknowledge
    But now it is she who pauses,
    As if to reject my thought and its easy figure.
  17. passage
    the act of moving from one state or place to the next
    Young as she is, the stuff
    Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy:
    I wish her a lucky passage.
Created on Fri Jan 07 07:35:18 EST 2011

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