Plenty is a lyrical poem that concentrates on the speaker's former family household while she luxuriates in the present, remembering about childhood events as her mother sought to keep a tight grip on everything. These memories are often associated with food; therefore, "plenty" means "much food". The speaker often complains about how adults tend to forget what it was like to be a child. She expresses her feelings about this subject through metaphor and simile as well as by describing actual events from her past. For example, she says: "Oh, mother! You always seek after / more than we can give, yet there's nothing you would / not eat if you were starving." (I.30-32). This passage shows that even though her mother works very hard for their family, she still feels like she doesn't have enough. Another example is when she compares herself to some fruit that is ripe but not overripe: "Like one of those fruits, I'm ready for harvest / But my tree cannot bear too much fruit, or else it will drop its leaves." (II.31-32). In this case, the speaker is saying that just like certain fruits can only produce so many seeds before they die, she too can only experience so much happiness and joy before she needs to rest.