We Real Cool

We like Gwendolyn Brooks. In fact, so deep is our love, that my 11th graders all had to write their own version of "We Real Cool". Here is the original poem, along with four of my favorite adaptations.

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 Are Great

We are great. We

stay out late. We

Shoot drugs. We 

Chill with thugs. We 

Drink our drink. We

Puke in the sink. We

Smoke weed. We 

Have what we need.

YOU REAL DUMB

You real dumb. You 

Jump the gun. You

 All hate. You

Infiltrate. You

All fall. You

Feel real small. You 

Now loose. You 

Can't choose.

We Talk Fast 

We talk fast. We 

Leave last. We 

Stress out. We 

Scream and shout. We 

Obsess. We 

Distress. We 

Have cracks. We 

Need to relax. 

WE REAL COOL

We real cool. we 

Like rule. We

Joke 'round. We

think sound. We

Know legit. We

Have fits. We

Think chill. We

Live thrill.