“Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete
Proving nature’s laws wrong it learned 2 walk without moving feet
Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams it learned 2 breathe fresh air
Long Live The Rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared !”
— This quote came from his poetry book ” The Rose That Grew From Concrete.
The Rose That Grew From Concrete was originally published on November 1, 1999. The
rose is a symbol of the person that was told they can’t do anything. The concrete is the
task that people say the “rose” can’t do, and the “nature law” is the people that are
saying the “rose” can’t do it. Many people have different interpretation of his poem.
Some can literally take as just the rose grew from concrete. Others can say that it’s about
following your dreams, and taking after what you believe in.
From my point of view,
the poem tells people that they can do more than what they believe they can do, to try
new things, and to not let anyone say you can’t do something. After I read his book
It made me admire Tupac even more as a human being. He really inspired me to stay
strong in life and to keep fighting for what I believe in. No matter how hard it is,
we have to keep on moving and to keep our head up, even through the dark days.
Tupac Amaru Shakur went through so much in his life for a short of time.
- Raised by a single mother, who was involved with drugs
- By not having a father in his life, learning how to be a man on his own
- Faced with a lot of charges: accused of false raped charges, police brutality
- Media shattering his humanity, viewed as the biggest threat due to his music
Tupac used his obstacles to express in his music and poetry. Without his downfalls
he wouldn’t be the man that he was known as today. Tupac is a believer, a fighter, and
a leader for our people. We are all the roses that grew from concrete, by overcoming our
darkest days of life.
My Life With Poetry 