I loved this poem. Truly. It speaks to me as a poem about the inherent rebellion of youth, as well as the inevitable understanding of mortality that accompanies growing up. The content and the form, in my opinion, both complement and contradict each other beautifully; while the poem itself is about scrappy, rebellious youths, the rhythm and rhyme of the pom is almost singsongy, with a consistent 3-syllable line structure, each its own beat. It feels smooth, casual, with lines like “we real cool”, giving it an almost conversational feel. The constant enjambment (or at least I think that’s what it is) pulls the reader through the poem, making each statement flow into the next, continuously. Each stanza descends further into debauchery, with the first describing the relatively innocent act of skipping school, and the last ending in death. The kids in the poem have seemingly adopted the “live fast, die young” philosophy, as each action leads to another. Where once they were simply rebellious, they are now delinquents, excempt from the rules of mature society. The alliteration also emphasizes words that create this narrative, with the vivid and slightly unconventional ideas like “singing sin”. The similar sounds give the phrase a lyrical feel, while also painting a picture of innocent acts perverted by rebellious youth. 

On another, slightly related note, I was struck by the tone of the piece. More specifically, the ways in which the speakers are quintessentially inhabiting the space of young-adulthood. They play at adulthood, mimicking what they perceive to be “grownup”. They “lurk late” and “strike straight”. They engage in activities that make them feel mature, when in reality, the entire poem speaks of an almost childlike immaturity. It seems as though they are in an elaborate game of pretend, with the light tone of the poem betraying how they don’t quite grasp the consequences of their actions— that is, until the very end. The last line is a sinister resolution, a dark and ominous realization of what is to come.