Part of Speech: Verb

Definition: To incite or stir up (trouble or disorder).

Found In: “Fine Dining in Cell Block C” By Nancy Miller Gomez

“He mixes in the jelly packets from breakfast with butter substitute that looks like Vaseline, presses the sweet purple into a paste of peanut butter to create a base for a secret sauce fermented six days for this special dish”. Line 7-12

The speaker is using personification to describe how the food was made. Food cannot stir up trouble.

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: Having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant taste or smell.

Found In: “Punishment” By Nancy Miller Gomez

“The burnt colors of fear–more smell than color, vaporous and acrid” Line 15-16

Fear doesnt have a smell or color, so the speaker is using figurative language to exaggerate her feelings.

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: Showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles.

Source: Dictionary.com

Found In: “Punishment” By Nancy Miller Gomez

“The Iridescent scream of a sharp-shinned hawk circling somewhere in the pastel wash” Line 8-9.

A hawks screams cannot be Iridescent. The writer was using figurative language because a scream is not in color.

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition: a person who repairs and maintains machinery, or motors.

Source: Dictionary.com

Found in “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman

“ Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe
and strong, ” line1/line2

Mechanics are known to be strong and smart because they work on big machinery. In this poem the speaker is talking about the different jobs that makes America the place it is because everyone is always working everyday and that is what he hears.

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition:an ugly, twisted expression on a person’s face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement.

Source: Words at Dictionary

All American Girl by Julia Alvarez, line 5

“trying to match my face/with words in my new language: grimace, leer,/disgust, disdain-feelings I had yet to feel “

The word “Grimace” means expressing disgust, or pain from reading the line in the poem I think it’s easy to get an idea that the word has a negative meaning close to disgust and disdain.

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: relating to tension. capable of being drawn out or stretched.

Source: Words at Dictionary

Discovering colors in Prison by Nancy Gomez, line 9

“The cold, tensile sheen/ that buzzes off the electrified fence, the color of barbs/ in barbed wire.”

The word Tensile describes something to be durable because from the definition we can see that the fence was capable of being stretched and it was capable of being drawn out.

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: a soft luster on a surface.

Source: Words at Dictionary

Discovering colors in Prison by Nancy Gomez, line 9

“The cold, tensile sheen/ that buzzes off the electrified fence, the color of barbs/ in barbed wire.”

The word “Sheen” describes a lustered surface to feel soft. The author is describing the electric fence and the barb wires in the poem.

Part of Speech: Verb

Definition: to tie, bind, or fasten.

Source: Dictionary.com

Found in Hair by Elizabeth Acevedo line 4

“The true meaning of stranded, when/trusses held tight like African cousins in ship bellies,did they/imagine that their great grand-children would look like us, and/would hate them how we do?”

This is a very interesting poem. The speaker uses the word truss to compare taming “bad” hair to the way slaves were tied together in ships. Straightening it or tying it up so that it looks more presentable-white looking in the speakers opinion. This is something i can relate to as I have curly hair and have often been told I have bad hair. The speaker mentions her mother telling her to fix her hair and by fix she meant straighten. Growing up, we considered getting out hair done straightening it as if it couldn’t be ‘done’ or presentable looking in its natural state. Understanding the definition of truss helped me understand the simile quoted above.

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: sharp or biting to the taste or smell; bitterly pungent; irritating to the eyes, nose, etc.:

Source: Dictionary.com

Found in Discovering Colors in Prison by Nancy Gomez line 16

“The burnt colors of fear-more smell than color,/ vaporous and acrid.”

In these lines, the speaker is talking about a scent. Prior to reading this poem, I’d never heard this word. Anything burnt has a very distinct smell, mostly an unpleasing one. The speaker is comparing the smell of burnt to fear-both being negative things. Knowing the meaning of this word helped me to to understand the idea the speaking is trying to get across in these lines. That idea being that fear has a scent and it’s bitter.

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles

Source: Google Dictionary

Found in Discovering Colors in Prison by Nancy Gomez

“The iridescent scream of a sharp-shinned hawk/circling somewhere in the pastel wash/of afternoon air….”

In this poem, the speaking is using this word to paint a picture in the readers mind. Understanding the meaning of this word helped me see the picture she is painting. The hawk circling the sky, it’s scream sounding different from different angles.