National Black Poetry Day: "Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall

This poem portrays loss and the bitter irony of violence in Birmingham against the backdrop the civil rights movement.
10 words 18 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. downtown
    the central area or commercial center of a town or city
    “Mother dear, may I go downtown
    Instead of out to play,
    And march the streets of Birmingham
    In a Freedom March today?”
  2. march
    take part in a demonstration or protest
    “Mother dear, may I go downtown
    Instead of out to play,
    And march the streets of Birmingham
    In a Freedom March today?”
  3. freedom
    the power to act, speak, or think without being controlled
    “Mother dear, may I go downtown
    Instead of out to play,
    And march the streets of Birmingham
    In a Freedom March today?”
  4. fierce
    marked by extreme and violent energy
    “No, baby, no, you may not go,
    For the dogs are fierce and wild,
    And clubs and hoses, guns and jails
    Aren’t good for a little child.”
  5. choir
    a chorus that sings as part of a religious ceremony
    “No, baby, no, you may not go,
    For I fear those guns will fire.
    But you may go to church instead
    And sing in the children’s choir.”
  6. brush
    rub with an implement that has bristles
    She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
    And bathed rose petal sweet,
    And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
    And white shoes on her feet.
  7. petal
    part of the perianth that is usually brightly colored
    She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
    And bathed rose petal sweet,
    And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
    And white shoes on her feet.
  8. sacred
    made, declared, or believed to be holy
    The mother smiled to know her child
    Was in the sacred place,
    But that smile was the last smile
    To come upon her face.
  9. explosion
    a violent release of energy caused by a reaction
    For when she heard the explosion,
    Her eyes grew wet and wild.
    She raced through the streets of Birmingham
    Calling for her child.
  10. claw
    move as if by seizing or digging
    She clawed through bits of glass and brick,
    Then lifted out a shoe.
    “O, here’s the shoe my baby wore,
    But, baby, where are you?”
Created on Tue Sep 19 09:24:05 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Sep 19 09:39:23 EDT 2023)

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