You may know Rupi Kaur from her New York Times Bestseller book Milk and Honey. It is packed full of short poems about love, loss, and femininity. It does not shy away from difficult topics, like rape and abuse, as she was raped by her uncle at a young age. She handles the heavy subjects with grace and sophistication, and the book can easily be read several times over. I finished the book in a day, and was in love. The style of writing is also very raw and simple, accompanied by simple childlike illustrations. I wanted to feature Rupi Kaur in this month's poetry feature because of how eloquent of a reader she is. (All of the poems mentioned in this post are from Milk and Honey)
The first poem is one of my favorites in the book. Kaur draws a beautiful illustration between her and a quaint town, opposed to an urban city.
The next poem focuses on feminine empowerment and how we should all encourage each other based on our accomplishments and talents rather than physical appearance.
The next poem shows how people who try to negatively impact you are not worth your time, and you shouldn't listen to them. You shouldn't let your greatness be tamed by anyone.
The following is very short but very powerful. The one who loved her didn't appreciate her beautiful qualities, and that is not her fault, it was his, because he closed his eyes.
I love this poem because especially with younger girls, they think that they are incomplete without a guy. This speaks about how people in our lives can better us, but they are not essential to fill our empty parts.
The next poem is one of my top favorites because of how descriptive it is. She illustrates how her emotions run high instead of remaining at a plateau. Kaur describes how she gives everything to the one she loves and they break her heart.
The next poem speaks about how loving someone is always a courageous choice, and hating someone for whatever reason is just the easy way out. Forgive and move on.
The following is one of the most powerful poems in the book. It is almost a call to action against human jealousy. It is a sad truth that we are jealous when others succeed and content when they fail and I'm glad that this was addressed.
I can relate to the next poem so much because I feel like in the past I have given so much of myself to my friends, seeing the potential they can live up to but when they come up short, it is difficult to accept that they weren't who you thought they were.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorite pieces of poetry and prose from the book Milk and Honey. If you are interested in poetry, I highly suggest reading the book yourself because it is full of beautiful and illustrative poems. Thanks for reading!