"We Read Stuff" by A.P. Student

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks


We real cool. We
Left school. We


Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We


Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We


Jazz June. We
Die soon.

"We Old Dudes" by Joan Murray

We old dudes. We

White shoes. We

Golf ball. We

Eat mall. We

Soak teeth. We

Palm Beach; We

Vote red. We

Soon dead.

I took the juxtaposition of these two poems as someone looking back on their

Life. I think he (whoever "he" is) was a troublemaker as a kid, but now he's just an lame old

Dude. (Yes, "vote red" was a factor in deciding the guy was 

Lame.) It makes you question how you'll look back on

Things. (I, for one, think I'll grow up to be about the same person I am now, but who

Knows?) However, I think it was interesting that I ended up analyzing Bedford more than the

Poems. Had Bedford placed them in separate chapters, I would have never achieved the full

Effect. I suppose the book would be pretty unhelpful otherwise.

Lastly, I have found a new appreciation for the authors' style because it is incredibly annoying to immitate.