“The Rose that Grew from Concrete” by Tupac Shakur

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature’s law is wrong it
learned to walk without having feet
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

What is he trying to teach in this poem?

I think Tupac Shakur is trying to teach us that it doesn’t matter what people say it doesn’t matter if everyone doubts you because in the end you can be like the “rose” and prove everyone wrong and show them that you do matter in a way.

What does the rose symbolize?

The rose symbolizes a person that nobody likes or cares about. Then at the end of the poem the person “rose” would overcome everybody and stand up for themselves. They won’t care about what people say and maybe people will be on their side for once and they will finally feel excepted and cared for because they just proved everyone wrong.

What is his tone towards his subject?
I feel that he is humble in away about it,  and that he kinda feels hopeful to the rose.

-Gwen