Street Kid Tom Brady Summary

This shows the narration of the poem is from the point of view of a group of young teenagers who decides not to go to school anymore, and they think they’re really “cool” because they skip school and ignore all their responsibilities as young people. This poem is also written seemingly in “street kid” vernacular to emulate a certain group of people. According to an article by Tom Brady on Soapboxie, the author puts “Emphasis on street credibility and savvy in many Black communities have given rise to the thug culture. This culture stresses the negative aspects of masculinity which is often contentious towards all involved” (Soapboxie). It is implied that the speaker of the poem apathetic response to teenagers skipping school and living the
fast life. Brooks then states, “We Lurk late. We Strike straight” (Lines 3-4). This shows that the behaviors of these teenagers are involved in are mostly adverse, because there is really nothing encouraging the narrator can think of that “lurks” and stays out late. Striking straight is talking about being good at aiming and striking pool with pool cues, because these teenagers are pool players. However, another implication that comes with the word “strike” is the use of violence, whether its crime in the present, or prophesy violence in their futures, it makes the narrator believe that maybe these teenagers could even be more dangerous than they really seem. The third and fourth stanza of the poem is written in first person point-of-view and gives a personal view of the narrator’s conflict with teenager skipping school and mostly focused on the wrong things, when they should be focused on the right things.