A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe: Chorus: Wild Fire – Malachi: Quinies, an Epistolary Epilogue

by Mahogany L. Browne
In this collection of short stories and poetry, teens and adults in New York City reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing fear and grief while finding a way toward hope.

Here are links to our lists for the book:

Chorus: Wild Fire – Malachi: Quinies, an Epistolary Epilogue

Chorus: Zombie Apocalypse – Pops: Sal’s

Yusef: Six-by-Eight – Chorus: Hyacinth’s Farewell
15 words 118 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. prevail
    prove superior
    This kind of talk ain’t no different than what your great-great-grandfather went through when they tried to take his land and his dog back in Louisiana. He prevailed, and we kept that land in the family despite them trying to ruin the soil and spoil the crops.
  2. telepathic
    communicating without apparent physical signals
    But Mama is kind of telepathic because she answers the thoughts in my head.
  3. divot
    a small dent, hollow, or depression in a surface
    People lined St. Marks Place in the city where the road was so uneven, we would pretend the potholes were booby traps and we attempted to hop each unnatural divot with one foot on the pedal and one in the sky—prepared to make our spill the funniest thing we talked about on the ride back across the red fated bridge to Brooklyn.
  4. oligarch
    member of a small group that runs a country, business, etc.
    And the oligarchs rushed in from the sidelines to blame Daddy’s words for inciting a riot.
  5. incite
    provoke or stir up
    And the oligarchs rushed in from the sidelines to blame Daddy’s words for inciting a riot.
  6. incarcerated
    locked up in jail or prison
    But those news reports said: The most impacted worst by the virus were incarcerated.
  7. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    The young people at Stellar Williamson Academy have been deeply affected by the pandemic, and the fear it has instilled in many of our community members has permeated our daily lives.
  8. bout
    a period of indeterminate length marked by some condition
    There are bouts of sleeplessness or anxiety of fitting in, homesickness, survivor’s remorse, and students who fall dangerously into the shadows.
  9. penchant
    a strong liking or preference
    It seems he has a penchant for writing stories about the pandemic taking over all humanity, and well, it’s a little frightening.
  10. demerit
    a mark against a person or group for misconduct or failure
    Unfortunately, this behavior warranted a demerit and verbal warning before Phillip’s parents (who are major donors) transferred him to a private room.
  11. proximity
    the property of being close together
    I don’t reveal she is my family by friendship, not blood. By choice, not proximity.
  12. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    His hair was disheveled, his eyes were saggy and blurred, his mouth trembled, but he didn’t.
  13. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    I am homesick for MJ’s quiet demeanor and Monti’s bright bright smile.
  14. incur
    make oneself subject to
    I didn’t care about the fine I would incur or the fact that I had zero dollars in my student account to pay for it.
  15. beneficiary
    the recipient of funds or other advantages
    And when you told me she named you as her beneficiary in her will, I thanked her for keeping our family safe.
Created on Fri Sep 26 04:03:38 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Nov 11 17:51:40 EST 2025)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.