Monday, April 16, 2012

The Rose that Grew From Concrete

I love poetry. No matter when it was written, usually what it was written about, or who is was written for, I enjoy it. I love to write poetry and it helps me to express feelings that nothing else does. However, has anyone noticed how we have gotten away from the "form" of poetry? Now it is all about stylistic line breaks, what one word lines mean, how stanza breaks are used to elicit emotional response. For my YA Librarianship class we had to read a Biographical YA title, and I chose Tupac Shakur's
The Rose That Grew From Concrete


You can feel Tupac's rap background (or future, as these were written before his rise to fame) in the rhythm and rhyme of each poem. They are art, about his life, they tell us so much and express emotion and beauty without hitting us over the head with it. Tupac was a true artist. Even if you don't care for his music (or assume you don't care for his music), you might like these. 

Here is the poem the book is based on.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete 
                               Autobiographical

Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack
in the concrete
Proving nature's laws wrong it learned 2 walk
without having feet
Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams
it learned 2 create fresh air
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else even cared!

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