What is the poem really about?

WOMAN WITH FLOWER

by Naomi Long Madgett



I wouldn't coax the plant if I were you.

Such watchful nurturing may do it harm.

Let the soil rest from so much digging

And wait until it's dry before you water it.

The leaf's inclined to find its own direction;

Give it a chance to seek the sunlight for itself.



Much growth is stunted by too careful prodding'

Too eager tenderness.

The things we love we have to learn to leave.

What is the poem really about?
It' called benign neglect whether a garden or a child but sometimes you need to nip'm in the bud or wack'm up side the head. RScott
Reply:my first guess is, it's a didactic way of telling a mother to take a backseat approach to raising her daughter. but then we could deconstruct it to mean...
Reply:My impression is that this is a poem about children. The need to grow, to explore and make mistakes, we just need to be ready to tend them when they need us. Society has wrapped there offspring in cotton wool, what has happened is that kids get caught up in the parents paranoia, but the kids don't understand what its all about. Here is a poem saying the same thing. It's not new, just different now,

I think they call it progress.



Little boo peep

has lost her sheep

and doesn't know where to find them

leave them alone

and they will come home

bringing there tails behind them



Can you see the similarity.
Reply:it means dont hound over the plant. there is such thing as 'caring too much' in this case just wait until the water dried up then soil it if you take care about it too much, it may drown

Teeth Whitening