1 for April

Who April was is not documented; the book mentions only her first name. In the volume The Rose That Grew from Concrete, four poems form a short narrative. In the second section, “Nothing Can Come Between Us”, they follow directly one after another: 1 for April opens the sequence, followed by Wife 4 Life (noted in the book as “Dedicated 2 April”), Tears from a Star (“4 Me & April”), and March 1st, The Day After April, which is dedicated to the end of this relationship.

The Dedication Becomes a Refrain

Right at the beginning, the speaker notes that her name alone is poetry to him. After that, a refrain in capital letters structures the text: “4 APRIL”. In Tupac’s spelling, the number 4 stands for “for”. Thus, the dedication also becomes a refrain that closes each stanza.

A Cold Heart Risks Ridicule

In terms of content, the text captures the moment shortly after first meeting. The speaker barely knows the woman and cannot explain what he feels. He describes his heart as nonchalant and cold, which now, for the first time, has eyes for only one person. For this, he is willing to risk everything and endure ridicule-in exchange for the words she shares with him.

Four Poems Like a Diary

Read in the book’s order, the four April poems span an arc: infatuation, a marriage promise, guilt and infidelity, and finally breakup. 1 for April is the most carefree part of it.

The fact that Tupac worked through a relationship so consistently in poems shows how much writing served as a diary for him during these years. According to the preface by Afeni Shakur, the poems were written between 1989 and 1991; 1 for April is not dated more precisely. The introduction provides an overview of the entire book and all the poems.