What does the phrase “the rose that grew from concrete” mean figuratively as used in this poem?
Did you hear about the rose that grew

from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature’s laws 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.

The poet begins the poem with a question that whether we have heard about the rose that has grown out from a crack in the concrete. Refuting the laws of nature, the rose has learnt how to walk without having feet. Although it seems funny, but by focusing and realizing his dreams, it finally learnt to survive by breathing the fresh air around him. The lack of care and surrounding did not prove to bring hindrance to the rose’s growth. In the last lines, the poet expresses support by saying ‘long live’ and he claims that as the rose focused on keeping his dreams, it was able to live a long life.

Explanation:

the tone of the passage is sympathetic to the forbidden love of romeo and juliet. the nurse plays a significant role in the play. she is responsible for making their meeting again possible. additionally, there is a sense of warning in the choice of words of the nurse. she seems to be authoritative when she calls romeo "scurvy knave", and at the same time the fact that she addresses to him as "sir" reflects respect. the nurse is "vexed", this word describes her confused state of mind. on the one hand, she finds romeo a fine and eloquent man, but on the other, it is thought that man's nature forces men to try to trick women.