Poem- street gangs

The poem, street gangs, emphasises to us that unpredictable nature of street gang members. The members of the gang lash out at anyone, even the innocent, if given the chance, evident through this poem. They use others as mere ‘scape goats’ to their dysfunctional mentality and overgrown egos. The belief that they are “ superior” in comparison to other individuals, which is their justification to their actions and why they believe they have the right to exploit others for their own gains. The moral of this poem is that inflicting violence against others due to ones own lack of security will worsen ones state and cause more problems for oneself. The poem street gang emphasises to us that the members are scared of their future, “… vexed by any thoughts of the uncertain future” and they only find security in one another, “ oblivious of who they are or what they want: except to be together”. Being together, they feel the need to impress one another and ‘blend in’ and commit to the acts that have caused them to bond, inflicting violence upon others. But as they inflict violence against others, they feel more insecurity due to the risk of retribution and seek more security in one another’s company, resulting in more acts of violence against others. The more they inflict violence, the more insecure they feel and the more they feel they need the security of one another. They suddenly have so much fear and tension, that they take this out on others and “… perhaps, this time, a single scapegoat will not suffice… “