National Black Poetry Day: "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

In this poem, the speaker knows what the caged bird feels. Read the full text here.
10 words 766 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. alas
    by bad luck
    I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
  2. faint
    lacking strength or vigor
    When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
    And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
    I know what the caged bird feels!
  3. chalice
    a bowl-shaped drinking vessel
    When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
    And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
    I know what the caged bird feels!
  4. perch
    a branch or rod that serves as a resting place
    I know why the caged bird beats his wing
    Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
    For he must fly back to his perch and cling
    When he fain would be on the bough a-swing
  5. fain
    in a willing manner
    I know why the caged bird beats his wing
    Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
    For he must fly back to his perch and cling
    When he fain would be on the bough a-swing
  6. throb
    pulsate or pound with abnormal force
    And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
    And they pulse again with a keener sting—
    I know why he beats his wing!
  7. keen
    painful as if caused by a sharp instrument
    And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
    And they pulse again with a keener sting—
    I know why he beats his wing!
  8. sore
    hurting
    I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
    When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
    When he beats his bars and he would be free
  9. core
    the center of an object
    It is not a carol of joy or glee,
    But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core
  10. plea
    a humble request for help from someone in authority
    It is not a carol of joy or glee,
    But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
    But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings
Created on Tue Oct 10 10:47:22 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Oct 10 11:41:14 EDT 2023)

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