One day in her Chicago neighborhood, Gwendolyn Brooks was casually walking down the street when she saw something that intrigued her. He knew it was a school day, yet he saw a clan of boys through the door of a pool hall. These boys displayed a strange combination of character traits. They were bold and arrogant. However, they also showed insecurity. He viewed their presence there as an attempt to appear cool, as the pool hall was full of gamblers and sharks. Furthermore, the fact that they skipped school did not work to their advantage. This sight intrigued her so much that she decided to write a poem about it. Although the poem is briefly constructed from four couplets; packs a powerful and morbid punch. This poem illustrates that too much carelessness can cause death sooner than expected. “We Real Cool,” he titled it. By examining the surface of this poem, it can be deduced that the main characters are seven billiard players. The gender of the pool players is not disclosed. However, given the context of the poem, one can assume that the players are kids. Throughout the poem, the thoughts of these players are listed as they play billiards in a room called “The Golden Shovel”. Seems simple enough, right? But that's not the case. The lines of the poem are, in fact, what the speaker believes the kids feel. That said, the speaker thinks the kids may have dropped out of school to live a short life of drinking gin, playing pool, staying out late, and listening to jazz music. Although short, the poem conveys a meaning of life that is worth recognizing. It conveys the message that a carefree lifestyle will eventually result in an early death. However, the tone at the beginning... in the middle of the paper... blues capital, and this poem has jazz themes and rhythms at its core. He conveys these themes with the use of alliteration such as “sing sin” (5) and “Jazz June” (7). Simply put, "We Real Cool" shows a sense of morbidity and mortality as a group of kids who are living a carefree lifestyle will soon die if they continue to live that way. This gives a strong message about everyday life: if you live carelessly, there will be repercussions. One of these repercussions could indeed be death. From this poem one can learn that living rebelliously and carelessly will not work to his advantage. You can also learn to think about your actions more deeply, as happens in this poem. While short and simple, “We Real Cool” packs a punch worth taking. Works CitedBrooks, Gwendolyn. “We're really cool.” Poet.org. nd Web. 17 February 2014.