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definition: a statement of the meaning of a word


"War hero, you are our strength"

A poster seen in a Sri Lankan window in 2009. Photograph courtesy of Robin Bell - Bell Visuals

definition: a statement of the meaning of a word

accountable: 
required or expected to justify actions or decisions;
responsible.

authority:
the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience;
a book or other source able to supply reliable information or evidence.

border:
form an edge along or beside;
be close to an extreme condition.

broken:
fractured or damaged;
disrupted;
spoken falteringly, as if overcome by emotion.

community: 
a similarity or identity; 
joint ownership or liability. 

conflict: 
an incompatibility between two or more interests;
a clash of opposing wishes or needs. 

constitution:
a body of fundamental principles; 
the composition of something; 
one’s physical state with regard to vitality, health, and strength. 

contradiction: 
a situation in which inconsistent elements are present; 
the statement of a position opposite to one already made.

defeat:
reject or block;
overcome;
be impossible for someone to understand.

diaspora: 
the dispersion of any people from their original homeland. 

die:
become extinct;
be forgotten.

difference:
the remainder left after subtraction of one value from another.

disappear: 
cease to be visible;
cease to exist or be in use;
or cause to disappear, as by consumption.

equal:
considered to be the same as another in status or quality.

ethnic: 
denoting origin by birth or descent rather than by present nationality. 

fact:
the truth about events as opposed to interpretation.

flight:
the movement or trajectory of a projectile through the air; 
the action of fleeing or attempting to escape; 
a series of steps between floors or levels.

foreign: 
coming or introduced from outside; 
characteristic of a country or language other than one's own. 

goal:
an aim or desired result.
a point marking the end of a race.

govern: 
control, influence, or regulate. 

grab:
a quick, sudden clutch or attempt to seize;
a frame of video, stored as a still image for subsequent display.

guard:
watch over someone to prevent them escaping;
protect against damage or harm;
stay close to an opponent.

hero:
central character, with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

impunity: 
freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.

involvement: 
the fact of participating in something.

justice: 
the quality of being fair and reasonable. 

land:
an area of ground, especially in terms of its ownership or use;
succeed in obtaining or achieving something;
go ashore.

liberation: 
freedom from limits on thought or behavior. 

majority:
the greater number.

mechanism: 
a system of parts working together in a machine;
a contrivance in the plot of a literary work.

minority: 
a relatively small group of people. 

nation:
a large aggregate of people united by common history, culture, language.

neighbor:
be situated next to or very near.

occupy:
take control of a place by military conquest or settlement;
enter, take control of, and stay in forcibly, as a form of protest.

official:
having the approval or authorization of an authority or public body.

oppression:
prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. 

peace:
freedom from violence;
freedom from disturbance;
quiet and tranquility. 
   
question:
a matter forming the basis of a problem requiring resolution;
feel or express doubt about;
raise objections to.
   
radical: 
far-reaching or thorough; 
affecting the fundamental nature of something;    
relating to the root of something.  

reconciliation:
the restoration of friendly relations; 
the action of making one view or belief compatible with another. 

rehabilitate:
restore to former privileges after a period of official disfavor;
return to its former condition.

self-determination:
the freedom to make your own choices;
determination by the people of a territorial unit of their own future political status.

signal: 
an apparatus on a railroad notifying trains
of whether or not the line is clear;
an indication of a state of affairs. 

tactic:
an action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end.

victim:
a person harmed, injured, or killed. 

warning: 
advance notice of something. 

watch: 
carefully observing something over a period of time.

weapon: 
a means of gaining an advantage or defending oneself in a conflict. 

weep: 
shed tears;
mourn for. 

when: 
at what time; 
considering that. 

where: 
in or from what source;
in what direction or respect. 

whose: 
belonging to or associated with which persons.

wind: 
a current of air blowing from a particular direction; 
used in reference to an influence or tendency that cannot be resisted. 

witness: 
see an event, typically a crime or accident, take place;
give or serve as evidence of;
be present as someone signs a document.

word: 
a person's account of the truth, especially when it differs from another’s;
speech as distinct from action; 
a promise or assurance;
a message. 

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This poem is a "found poem." All of the definitions are phrases from online dictionaries. Most of them are from the first search result when I Googled for definitions.

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I am an Eelam Tamil poet.

In Tamil, my name was the one first given to Aandal, the only woman among the twelve Alvar poet-saints. Pronounced differently in Bengali, my name is a word that means "where."

I dedicate my work to past, present, and future Eelam Tamils around the world. 

Kothai 

www.kothaipoetry.tumblr.com

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