Sometimes I Cry

No posture, no toughness, and not even a dedication: already the title Sometimes I Cry is a confession hardly expected from the rapper’s later image. The poem stands third in the collection The Rose That Grew from Concrete and is one of the most direct pieces in the book.

Bitter Tears That the World Rushes Past

The speaker recounts that he sometimes cries when he is alone because he is entirely on his own. He describes his tears as bitter and warm: they flow full of life, yet have no form. His heart is torn, and he finds it difficult to carry on.

The core of the poem lies in the middle. If he had someone to confide in, he would cry among friends. But hardly anyone stops long enough to help someone else carry on. The world moves fast and would rather pass by than look to see what makes someone cry. The poem ends with the statement that nobody cares why.

Written Before Fame: Between 1989 and 1991

No exact date is documented. According to the foreword by Afeni Shakur, the poems were written between 1989 and 1991. Nikki Giovanni emphasizes in the preface that the book reveals a sensitive young man whose feelings the public tends to overlook. Sometimes I Cry is the clearest example of this.

In the book, If There Be Pain… answers it: there, Tupac offers the exact help he misses here. Thematically related is the song So Many Tears on Me Against the World (1995), in which grief and exhaustion are also openly expressed. This connection is to be understood as an interpretation.

On the album The Rose That Grew from Concrete (2000), Dan Rockett interpreted the poem.

More on the book in the introduction.