We Real Cool

In “We Real Cool” the speaker tells of what I believe to be juvenile delinquents in the speaker’s eyes. It is interesting to see how every line ends in the word “We”, except for the last line. Although this is a short poem, you get the gist of it; it is short and to the point. It talks about kids who “Left School We” (2) would lead the reader to believe that they are drop-outs. “Lurk late. We” (3) suggests that they come out at night, “Sing sin. We” (5) they may lead not so moral lives. The last lines says “Die soon.”, which would make you also think that they lead the kind of lives that may lead them to trouble and untimely deaths. The people that this poem is about seem to think that their actions are cool and the right thing to do, but they fail to realize the consequences of their actions, such as the last line says. This poem reminds me of a gang; they may drop out of school, drink, have their own code of conduct for life and die too young due to their carelessness. This is a very profound poem for being so short, it really makes you think about how precious life is and how soon it could end.