Gwendolyn Brooks

The first poem “of De Witt Williams on his way to Lincoln Cemetery” talks about a black boy and what they are doing with him. They mention all the streets and buildings they pass on the way to the cemetery, and what those streets/buildings meant to this little black boy. Based on what you are given in the poem it is implying that this little boy is already dead, and they are taking him to Lincoln Cemetery to be laid to rest. What the poem doesn’t tell us is how this little boy died, but this is where the poem “The Boy Died in My Alley” commentaries the first poem. This second poem is all about a boy dying in an alley all by himself. Throughout the poem it mentions what the police are asking this one specific person who knew the boy. Apparently, he knew the boy and heard the killing shot, but didn’t see the death of the boy. Brooks wrote this second poem to allow the readers of the first to understand what happened to that little boy in the first poem. This was what Brooks knew she had to do to be able to speak of and for the larger black community after attending the conference . Personally, I like the first poem better because you aren’t given all the details. Yes, details are great when trying to interpret a poem, but in this situation, I would rather wonder what the poem meant then finding out that a little boy was shot and they where taking his body to the cemetery.