We Real Cool

The Pool Players
Seven at the Golden Shovel

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

-Gwendolyn Brooks

We is separated to put emphasis on the importance of the posse or the entourage (enjambment, to create a run-on line). For people such as the characters in this poem, the posse is quite often a bastion of safety.

The alliteration of the poem creates a rhythm, where the poem almost wants to be sung (or spoken).

This poem can be compared to the 7 deadly sins: Greed, Pride, Wrath, Lust, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony. It speaks to the daily experiences of the urban dispossessed and marginallized.