In reading We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks and in hearing it read in class, I have come to the conclusion that we are all too white to make this poem sound the way it is written.
I had a different take on it than just an empathy poem. Yes, the poet does get inside the heads of the pool players a little bit. I can understand that she may care greatly about them. She may even admire them and find them to be cool on the surface. It sounds very much to me like she is criticizing their choices in a somewhat sarcastic tone. She may be speaking through their voices, but not their words. After all, they would never admit that they are going to "die soon". More than likely, they are young enough to think that they are immortal just like every other young person that thinks that they are "real cool". The poet is making the statement of the sad reality that they will die despite how cool they are. In fact, the choices that they think make them so cool are the choices that will lead to their end.
It is often an amazing thing that so few words can have so much meaning. That is the beauty of poetry: You don't have to say a lot in order to say a lot. I've never been a big fan of the minimalist or imagist movement in poetry. However, there are a few that occasionally catch my attention and stand out as something worthwhile.
I hear you, and I think you're on to something here. I think she is being sarcastic; however, I also think she is trying to understand where they are coming from. I remember when my granddaughter was about five, I would try to recite this poem to her, and she would yell at me: "Stop it! I don't like that!" I thought of that when you said we are all too white to get it or maybe just too naive.
ReplyDelete