Hidden Meaning of the poem - They Say That The Plants Do Not Speak

  Here in this poem Castro personifies plants while criticizing the notion held by people about the plant. To the people only human beings and animals can alter sounds and words from mouth. On this belief of the people see ironically goes against the law of order. And she says –

       “ So they say: but one cannot be sure, 

         for always when I go by,

        They whisper about me and say”

        Actually in this poem Castro gives human character and ability to plant to speak up their mind. In fact the plants are symbol of her inner most fear of her old age. The plants criticizes her as she passed it.

She declares that one cannot move through life without this beautiful greenery. It bothers her that people disregard the aesthetics of the outdoors and can’t see that life coincides with it. Having one and not the other is something so impossible to her to understand. Nature is an ongoing cycle and Castro states that it’s “the eternal spring of life”. The wildlife has a past and it should be the practicality of life.

Overall De Castro wants to see the positives of nature but cant help herself from seeing the negatives. However, she realizes that she cannot live without nature. “Stars and fountains and flowers, don’t murmur against my dreams; could I delight in you without them, without them, could I live?” This quote shows how important nature is to De Castro