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milk and honey
Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.
It is split into four chapters, with each chapter dealing with a different pain. Healing a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them -- because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.
It is split into four chapters, with each chapter dealing with a different pain. Healing a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them -- because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.
204 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2014
About the author
Rupi Kaur
19 books31.3k followersA breakout literary phenomenon and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Rupi Kaur wrote, illustrated, and self-published her first poetry collection, 'milk and honey' in 2014. Next came its artistic siblings 'the sun and her flowers' and ‘home body’, both debuting at #1 on bestseller lists across the world. These collections have sold more than 11 million copies and have been translated into over 43 languages. Most recently in 2022- she released her 4th book ‘Healing Through Words’ which is a journey of guided writing exercises to help the reader explore their creativity.
As she has done from the very beginning, Rupi self-produced ‘Rupi Kaur Live’, the first poetry special of its kind, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.
Rupi Kaur graces stages across the globe on sold-out world tours. These shows are a poetic theatrical experience interlaced with her own touch of stand-up. Her work touches on love, loss, trauma, healing, femininity, and migration. She feels most at home when creating art, performing her poetry onstage, and spending time with family and friends.
As she has done from the very beginning, Rupi self-produced ‘Rupi Kaur Live’, the first poetry special of its kind, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.
Rupi Kaur graces stages across the globe on sold-out world tours. These shows are a poetic theatrical experience interlaced with her own touch of stand-up. Her work touches on love, loss, trauma, healing, femininity, and migration. She feels most at home when creating art, performing her poetry onstage, and spending time with family and friends.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46,327 reviews
January 14, 2021
The Written Review
Just released my Worst 2020 Books Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest!
ah. i
finally understand.
it's not the words
that matter,
but the spaces
between.
-a slightly sarcastic review -
I'm not normally a poetry person and this book did nothing to convince me otherwise.
This whole book felt like those instagram quotes minus the inspirational photograph. Does that even count?
I admit I'm no expert, but the words seemed more poetical than poem. Like the author took a really pretty sentence and then hit enter a lot.
Also, maybe I'm a hypocrite here (just based on the sheer amount of books in my house) but I kind of felt bad for all the unused page space in this book.
There's barely a handful of words per page and just vast amounts of white paper. It just felt a bit wasteful.
Overall - it was...an experience. Not the best experience, but an experience nonetheless.
- a final poem -
the above review
was far more
sarcastic than my
earlier poem.
but this one
is more vulgar.
poop.
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April 22, 2017
2/7/2017
I get likes on this review daily and for a long time i've felt like a 3-star review was too generous so I lowered it to 2 today, which is more accurate in hindsight.
7/11/2016
If I could sum up my thoughts about this book, it would just be, "Oh."
Honestly, very underwhelming. I'm not sure why people go crazy about this book and say it's gorgeous and it's their favorite book, because honestly, it's very plain. Some poems are just basic sentences with random skips that have no real point, they aren't too lyrical, and it's literally just like reading a normal sentence. I expected I would love every page of this, but I only marked 4 poems. This just was nothing new. The concepts in this poem, especially when it rolled around to the feminism aspects, just didn't wow me. An entire poem just about "you don't NEED a man you WANT a man" was just a repeat of things I've been hearing for years. It wasn't interesting, and a lot of the poems just sounded so pretentious because it was just plain text with no punctuation and random skips in the lines being fed to the reader as art. Someone mentioned this was a little too "Tumblr," and I agree. It was a quick read, but just a little bit frustrating because it was too simple, too familiar. The art was nice and a few of the poems were well-written, but for the most part, it seems like very little effort was put into this, which makes me sad because that's such a mean criticism for an artist who puts so much emotion into her work.
I get likes on this review daily and for a long time i've felt like a 3-star review was too generous so I lowered it to 2 today, which is more accurate in hindsight.
7/11/2016
If I could sum up my thoughts about this book, it would just be, "Oh."
Honestly, very underwhelming. I'm not sure why people go crazy about this book and say it's gorgeous and it's their favorite book, because honestly, it's very plain. Some poems are just basic sentences with random skips that have no real point, they aren't too lyrical, and it's literally just like reading a normal sentence. I expected I would love every page of this, but I only marked 4 poems. This just was nothing new. The concepts in this poem, especially when it rolled around to the feminism aspects, just didn't wow me. An entire poem just about "you don't NEED a man you WANT a man" was just a repeat of things I've been hearing for years. It wasn't interesting, and a lot of the poems just sounded so pretentious because it was just plain text with no punctuation and random skips in the lines being fed to the reader as art. Someone mentioned this was a little too "Tumblr," and I agree. It was a quick read, but just a little bit frustrating because it was too simple, too familiar. The art was nice and a few of the poems were well-written, but for the most part, it seems like very little effort was put into this, which makes me sad because that's such a mean criticism for an artist who puts so much emotion into her work.
December 18, 2020
*laughs awkwardly* That just happened.
If I had known I could write a bestselling book of poetry by putting random thoughts on blank paper and making them look ~pretty,~ I would be a millionaire by now.
i don't understand
the point
of breaking sentences
up like this
for the sake
of wasting paper
and my time
There. Was that poetry? Apparently.
Milk and Honey is supposed to be inspiring and feminist. At least, that's what I read in the synopsis. I picked it up because of the memes, but whatever. It wasn't inspiring, and it wasn't meme-worthy either.
_
i brought you
ice cream
but you were
lactose intolerant
-sofia
_
I think the most intriguing part of this book was actually the art, not the poetry. But the drawings by themselves are just fine, and the poetry by itself is just okay, and together they're pretty mediocre. But still. It's food for thought, I guess.
_
you gave me
an apple
and i threw it
at your face
- sofia
_
Overall, I thought this was a really gimmicky book of poems. It was just an "artistic way" of scribbling that I felt was contrived instead of beautiful.
_
i stayed at
a bed and breakfast
the room had no bed
but they still
brought me an egg
- sofia
If I had known I could write a bestselling book of poetry by putting random thoughts on blank paper and making them look ~pretty,~ I would be a millionaire by now.
i don't understand
the point
of breaking sentences
up like this
for the sake
of wasting paper
and my time
There. Was that poetry? Apparently.
Milk and Honey is supposed to be inspiring and feminist. At least, that's what I read in the synopsis. I picked it up because of the memes, but whatever. It wasn't inspiring, and it wasn't meme-worthy either.
_
i brought you
ice cream
but you were
lactose intolerant
-sofia
_
I think the most intriguing part of this book was actually the art, not the poetry. But the drawings by themselves are just fine, and the poetry by itself is just okay, and together they're pretty mediocre. But still. It's food for thought, I guess.
_
you gave me
an apple
and i threw it
at your face
- sofia
_
Overall, I thought this was a really gimmicky book of poems. It was just an "artistic way" of scribbling that I felt was contrived instead of beautiful.
_
i stayed at
a bed and breakfast
the room had no bed
but they still
brought me an egg
- sofia
February 26, 2016
I read this in a bookshop. I wanted to give it zero stars. It's not poetry. It's shamefully derivitive and doesn't employ any poetic devices except for the most cliched - and not to positive effect. Random line breaks and sentence fragments are used because it is what is expected of a poem, but the author doesn't seem to understand that in poetry, these serve a purpose and must contribute to the poem's larger meaning. The allusions and metaphors are misplaced and nonsensical. "Milk and honey" is a phrase that has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years: there is nothing new or interesting or creative or poetic in this book. It reads like a 13 year old's diary. This book is for people who have never read poetry outside of school, and that's too bad. I feel sorry for them because they are missing out.
January 28, 2016
While Rupi Kaur seems very passionate and while I agree with her politics, content, and message, that doesn't make this writing very good. Some of the poems are excellent and will draw you in, but mainly, they are very overrated in terms of pure quality. I see why her poems are popular, but not why she's considered a 'great' or 'brilliant' writer. She's addressing universal themes, but she doesn't do so in an especially artful/skilled way. I'd say if you aren't a big fan of poetry, this book could get you interested in it, but if you're expecting just plain good old-fashioned literary talent, you won't find it here.
Read
July 15, 2017lol started this forever ago & just now finished it! didn't love this one as much as i was hoping to, but i understand why so many connect to it. i respect the author for being so open and honest about things she's faced.
February 18, 2019
your poetry
is almost as terrible
as your love life
is almost as terrible
as your love life
October 30, 2017
maybe
these poems are just
words
randomly separated
by hitting enter
or maybe
I just don't get poetry
trigger warnings: rape, abuse
these poems are just
words
randomly separated
by hitting enter
or maybe
I just don't get poetry
trigger warnings: rape, abuse
September 19, 2016
poetry or basic tumblr posts?
June 15, 2016
milk and honey tore through my analytical mind and burrowed deep into my ultra-sensitive soul. It slayed all my emotions, my feminist desires, and my love for vulnerable writing. I may not know a lot about poetry, but I do know a decent amount about feelings, and Rupi Kaur brought all my feelings tumbling out with this gorgeous collection of poems. She writes about love and loss, trauma, and femininity - subjects that I so happen to adore. In spare yet thorough language, she addresses what it feels like to be broken, to be loved, and to be stronger on one's own. This collection, while in many ways simple, addresses some of the darkest and most hopeful matters of the human heart. If you enjoy marinating in your feelings or if you often ponder topics like female empowerment, getting over heartbreak, or what it means to love, I would recommend you check out milk and honey asap. Now I will include three of my favorite poems, though I wish I could include them all.
On calling women pretty:
"i want to apologize to all the women
i have called pretty
before i've called them intelligent or brave
i am sorry i made it sound as though
something as simple as what you're born with
is the most you have to be proud of when your
spirit has crushed mountains
from now on i will say things like
you are resilient or you are extraordinary
not because i don't think you're pretty
but because you are so much more than that"
On co-dependency:
"you are in the habit
of co-depending
on people to
make up for what
you think you lack
who tricked you
into believing
another person
was meant to complete you
when the most they can do is complement"
On what is most important:
"most importantly love
like it's the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you're sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
who you loved
and how deeply you loved them
how you touched the people around you
and how much you gave them"
On calling women pretty:
"i want to apologize to all the women
i have called pretty
before i've called them intelligent or brave
i am sorry i made it sound as though
something as simple as what you're born with
is the most you have to be proud of when your
spirit has crushed mountains
from now on i will say things like
you are resilient or you are extraordinary
not because i don't think you're pretty
but because you are so much more than that"
On co-dependency:
"you are in the habit
of co-depending
on people to
make up for what
you think you lack
who tricked you
into believing
another person
was meant to complete you
when the most they can do is complement"
On what is most important:
"most importantly love
like it's the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you're sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
who you loved
and how deeply you loved them
how you touched the people around you
and how much you gave them"
June 5, 2020
milk and honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. It is split into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose.
It’s difficult trying to review this because every poem is extremely personal, tender and exquisite in its own way.
So I decided to feature some of my favorite ones:
“you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with a lightness on my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow”
“i struggle so deeply
to understand
how someone can
pour their entire soul
blood and energy
into someone
without wanting
anything in
return
- i will have to wait till i’m a mother”
“when my mother says i deserve better
i snap to your defense out of habit
he still loves me i shout
she looks at me with defeated eyes
the way a parent looks at their child
when they know this is the type of pain
even they can’t fix
and says
it means nothing to me if he loves you
if he can’t do a single wretched thing about it”
“he only whispers i love you
as he slips his hands
down the waistband
of your pants
this is where you must
understand the difference
between want and need
you may want that boy
but you certainly
don’t need him”
“i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut”
“people go
but how
they left
always stays”
“what i miss most is how you loved me. but what i didn’t know was how you loved me had so much to do with the person i was. it was a reflection of everything i gave to you. coming back to me. how did i not see that. how. did i sit here soaking in the idea that no one else would love me that way. when it was i that taught you. when it was i that showed you how to fill. the way i needed to be filled. how cruel i was to myself. giving you credit for my warmth simply because you had felt it. thinking it was you who gave me strength. wit. beauty. simply because you recognized it. as if i was already not these things before i met you. as if i did not remain all these once you left.”
“loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself”
“you tell me
i am not like most girls
and learn to kiss me with your eyes closed
something about the phrase—something about
how i have to be unlike the women
i call sisters in order to be wanted
makes me want to spit your tongue out
like i am supposed to be proud you picked me
as if i should be relieved you think
i am better than them”
“other women’s bodies
are not our battlegrounds”
“you were a dragon long before
he came around and said
you could fly
you will remain a dragon
long after he’s left”
“you look at me and cry
everything hurts
i hold you and whisper
but everything can heal”
“how you love yourself is
how you teach others
to love you”
“what terrifies me most is how we
foam at the mouth with envy
when others succeed
but sigh in relief
when they are failing
our struggle to
celebrate each other is
what’s proven most difficult
in being human”
(Most of my favorite quotes were from the healing section, and it was pretty though trying to narrow it down to my preferred quotes.)
It also featured some pretty amazing illustrations, which I’m always up for in books:
Overall, this collection was exquisite and exactly what I needed right now. milk and honey is definitely going to stay on my mind for a while, and I hope to come back to it time and again.
4.5 stars
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying milk and honey, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
It’s difficult trying to review this because every poem is extremely personal, tender and exquisite in its own way.
So I decided to feature some of my favorite ones:
“you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with a lightness on my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow”
“i struggle so deeply
to understand
how someone can
pour their entire soul
blood and energy
into someone
without wanting
anything in
return
- i will have to wait till i’m a mother”
“when my mother says i deserve better
i snap to your defense out of habit
he still loves me i shout
she looks at me with defeated eyes
the way a parent looks at their child
when they know this is the type of pain
even they can’t fix
and says
it means nothing to me if he loves you
if he can’t do a single wretched thing about it”
“he only whispers i love you
as he slips his hands
down the waistband
of your pants
this is where you must
understand the difference
between want and need
you may want that boy
but you certainly
don’t need him”
“i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut”
“people go
but how
they left
always stays”
“what i miss most is how you loved me. but what i didn’t know was how you loved me had so much to do with the person i was. it was a reflection of everything i gave to you. coming back to me. how did i not see that. how. did i sit here soaking in the idea that no one else would love me that way. when it was i that taught you. when it was i that showed you how to fill. the way i needed to be filled. how cruel i was to myself. giving you credit for my warmth simply because you had felt it. thinking it was you who gave me strength. wit. beauty. simply because you recognized it. as if i was already not these things before i met you. as if i did not remain all these once you left.”
“loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself”
“you tell me
i am not like most girls
and learn to kiss me with your eyes closed
something about the phrase—something about
how i have to be unlike the women
i call sisters in order to be wanted
makes me want to spit your tongue out
like i am supposed to be proud you picked me
as if i should be relieved you think
i am better than them”
“other women’s bodies
are not our battlegrounds”
“you were a dragon long before
he came around and said
you could fly
you will remain a dragon
long after he’s left”
“you look at me and cry
everything hurts
i hold you and whisper
but everything can heal”
“how you love yourself is
how you teach others
to love you”
“what terrifies me most is how we
foam at the mouth with envy
when others succeed
but sigh in relief
when they are failing
our struggle to
celebrate each other is
what’s proven most difficult
in being human”
(Most of my favorite quotes were from the healing section, and it was pretty though trying to narrow it down to my preferred quotes.)
It also featured some pretty amazing illustrations, which I’m always up for in books:
Overall, this collection was exquisite and exactly what I needed right now. milk and honey is definitely going to stay on my mind for a while, and I hope to come back to it time and again.
4.5 stars
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying milk and honey, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
June 28, 2017
This is total tumblr porn. Milk and Honey is pretty much a dream come true for emo fourteen-year-old girls who spend their spare time browsing deep, meaningful quotes written in pretty fonts like this one:
Also: I am going to argue that this is not poetry. Poetry is Robert Frost and Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. I know poetry covers a wide range of styles, and I'm not saying free verse isn't poetry. I've read some excellent books by Ellen Hopkins written in free verse, expressing the lives of troubled teens better than most authors could. The writing in this book is barely even free verse. It's a collection of short sentences, words really, broken into segments.
i could write
a sentence
in small-caps
and keep hitting enter
so it looks cool
but that does not make it poetry
It really concerns me that this is a New York Times bestseller. Is this what people think of poetry nowadays? Granted, Milk and Honey did tackle a lot of tough subjects like abuse, heartbreak, and self-healing, but the poor quality of writing distracted from the message.
Some of the verses were outright laughable:
And this one is just too good:
Did you really just call women's reproductive organs a "goddess"? I'm still cracking up.
Also, why is this book so against women shaving? It acts like men hate hairy women but do you really think the average man sits around thinking, "I would totally date her, but she has leg hair." And don't feed me that "beauty standards are oppressing women" lie. No one is forcing women to go to the store, buy a razor, and shave. I shave because I like my legs to feel smooth. If you feel like your body hair empowers you, go you. If you feel like smooth skin empowers you, go you. I don't want to hear about it either way.
The truly sad thing about Milk and Honey is the author actually made some good points. Take this verse about women putting other women down:
This is a serious issue that could have inspired a beautiful poem with a powerful message, but instead, the author wrote two lines that once again made me feel like I was browsing a teen girl's tumblr page. If you loved this book, cool beans. But I'd much rather read poetry where the writing doesn't retract from every point the author is trying to make.
Also: I am going to argue that this is not poetry. Poetry is Robert Frost and Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. I know poetry covers a wide range of styles, and I'm not saying free verse isn't poetry. I've read some excellent books by Ellen Hopkins written in free verse, expressing the lives of troubled teens better than most authors could. The writing in this book is barely even free verse. It's a collection of short sentences, words really, broken into segments.
i could write
a sentence
in small-caps
and keep hitting enter
so it looks cool
but that does not make it poetry
It really concerns me that this is a New York Times bestseller. Is this what people think of poetry nowadays? Granted, Milk and Honey did tackle a lot of tough subjects like abuse, heartbreak, and self-healing, but the poor quality of writing distracted from the message.
Some of the verses were outright laughable:
when i am sad
i don’t cry i pour
when i am happy
i don’t smile i glow
when i am angry
i don’t yell i burn
And this one is just too good:
the goddess between your legs
makes mouths water
Did you really just call women's reproductive organs a "goddess"? I'm still cracking up.
Also, why is this book so against women shaving? It acts like men hate hairy women but do you really think the average man sits around thinking, "I would totally date her, but she has leg hair." And don't feed me that "beauty standards are oppressing women" lie. No one is forcing women to go to the store, buy a razor, and shave. I shave because I like my legs to feel smooth. If you feel like your body hair empowers you, go you. If you feel like smooth skin empowers you, go you. I don't want to hear about it either way.
The truly sad thing about Milk and Honey is the author actually made some good points. Take this verse about women putting other women down:
other women’s bodies
are not our battleground
This is a serious issue that could have inspired a beautiful poem with a powerful message, but instead, the author wrote two lines that once again made me feel like I was browsing a teen girl's tumblr page. If you loved this book, cool beans. But I'd much rather read poetry where the writing doesn't retract from every point the author is trying to make.
July 12, 2017
These are
just simple
sentences
broken up
with spaces.
Seriously, some of them I was like, I love this! But I didn't view them as poems. They're more like simple quotes. But I get that this is a kind of poetry and people love it, but to me it's just not anything special.
just simple
sentences
broken up
with spaces.
Seriously, some of them I was like, I love this! But I didn't view them as poems. They're more like simple quotes. But I get that this is a kind of poetry and people love it, but to me it's just not anything special.
February 24, 2023
4/5 ⭐
Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺
This collection of poems is so deeply honest. It says the words so many of us thought of, but never spoke. You can feel every single drop of feeling that ever ran through the veins and pens of the poet. Yet, not just a poet, but a human being. A woman.
Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺
This collection of poems is so deeply honest. It says the words so many of us thought of, but never spoke. You can feel every single drop of feeling that ever ran through the veins and pens of the poet. Yet, not just a poet, but a human being. A woman.
February 7, 2017
“i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut”
Wow. Rupi Kaur really touched me deeply with this incredibly work of art. Her words of truth and honesty are so powerful and so full of emotion, I can't imagine anyone's eyes staying dry while reading it.
A few times, though, I was a little confused, I couldn't comprehend the meaning of her words. The again came a poem about independence, how she was healing from her boyfriend's loss, closely followed by one that showed her hopeless and lost once again.
Anyway, this was so much more complex than The Princess Saves Herself in this One, but however different these two books are, they both have their own power and strength.
Here is one more poem taken from Milk and Honey that I can't stop thinking about:
“i want to apologize to all the women i have called pretty before i’ve called them intelligent or brave i am sorry i made it sound as though something as simple as what you’re born with is the most you have to be proud of when your spirit has crushed mountains from now on i will say things like you are resilient or you are extraordinary not because i don’t think you’re pretty but because you are so much more than that”
Find more of my books on Instagram
but you had your eyes shut”
Wow. Rupi Kaur really touched me deeply with this incredibly work of art. Her words of truth and honesty are so powerful and so full of emotion, I can't imagine anyone's eyes staying dry while reading it.
A few times, though, I was a little confused, I couldn't comprehend the meaning of her words. The again came a poem about independence, how she was healing from her boyfriend's loss, closely followed by one that showed her hopeless and lost once again.
Anyway, this was so much more complex than The Princess Saves Herself in this One, but however different these two books are, they both have their own power and strength.
Here is one more poem taken from Milk and Honey that I can't stop thinking about:
“i want to apologize to all the women i have called pretty before i’ve called them intelligent or brave i am sorry i made it sound as though something as simple as what you’re born with is the most you have to be proud of when your spirit has crushed mountains from now on i will say things like you are resilient or you are extraordinary not because i don’t think you’re pretty but because you are so much more than that”
Find more of my books on Instagram
July 23, 2022
roses are red
violets are blue
rupi kaur writes poetry
and so can you
forget the shift key
keep pressing enter
lots of blank space
to follow your mentor
violets are blue
rupi kaur writes poetry
and so can you
forget the shift key
keep pressing enter
lots of blank space
to follow your mentor
August 3, 2019
‘how you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.’
this absolutely stunning collection of words made me look in the mirror, give myself a hug, and just really appreciate the person i was, who i am, and the woman i am becoming. self love is the best kind of love.
↠ 5 stars
this absolutely stunning collection of words made me look in the mirror, give myself a hug, and just really appreciate the person i was, who i am, and the woman i am becoming. self love is the best kind of love.
↠ 5 stars
July 19, 2019
This read as if 14 year old me wrote this after my first break up
June 18, 2023
A critically acclaimed English poetry book by a female author of Indian ethnicity. I was so excited to read this book after reading about how the author overcame all the hardships in her life. I don’t know whether the problem was with me, but I couldn’t connect with any of her poems in this book. This book gave me a disappointing reading experience.
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March 20, 2017
To be simply put, this isn't a book meant to be loved or raved about. It is just meant to be read.
I feel as if the people giving it three stars or so went in expecting it to ravish them, thrill them but it was not meant for that. Why on earth would you seek something so much more from a book that was written so truthfully, with feelings so raw that the hurt and the bitterness and the sorrows behind the words will never dull?
This was her story. She isn't asking for you to judge if it's "exciting" enough because it's not a fiction meant to be critiqued. Life isn't always "okay and then what?" Sometimes you can get stuck before you even try to move on.
if you were born with
the weakness to fall
you were born with
the strength to rise
I am so moved by this. These were words she had woven out for herself and now we are allowed to read them and take them to our hearts, too.
you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with a lightness on my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow
Honestly, I am a young woman, a college student, surrounded by women who dumb themselves down and go out of their way to impress boys-because they think that'll give them happiness, in the end, and it may, but it will be what they think happiness is rather than what it actually is. But I've never felt more alive than when I was happy with myself, even if it was a small thing. And this poetry encourages self love beyond anything. It normalizes it. You can't get anywhere in life if you're holding yourself back.
The doodles were so wonderful! Sincerely, they made me want to rip out the pages and put them up on my walls so I can look at them and remind myself of what is and what isn't and how I should grow, too.
I feel as if the people giving it three stars or so went in expecting it to ravish them, thrill them but it was not meant for that. Why on earth would you seek something so much more from a book that was written so truthfully, with feelings so raw that the hurt and the bitterness and the sorrows behind the words will never dull?
This was her story. She isn't asking for you to judge if it's "exciting" enough because it's not a fiction meant to be critiqued. Life isn't always "okay and then what?" Sometimes you can get stuck before you even try to move on.
if you were born with
the weakness to fall
you were born with
the strength to rise
I am so moved by this. These were words she had woven out for herself and now we are allowed to read them and take them to our hearts, too.
you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with a lightness on my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow
Honestly, I am a young woman, a college student, surrounded by women who dumb themselves down and go out of their way to impress boys-because they think that'll give them happiness, in the end, and it may, but it will be what they think happiness is rather than what it actually is. But I've never felt more alive than when I was happy with myself, even if it was a small thing. And this poetry encourages self love beyond anything. It normalizes it. You can't get anywhere in life if you're holding yourself back.
The doodles were so wonderful! Sincerely, they made me want to rip out the pages and put them up on my walls so I can look at them and remind myself of what is and what isn't and how I should grow, too.
February 20, 2017
I'm not a huge poetry person, but I just had to buy this book after hearing so many people talking about it. It didn't disappoint in anyway. The poetry in this book is so raw and beautiful that I related to so many that I kept going back to reread my favorites and highlight and tab them.
October 21, 2021
Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest
***UNPOPULAR OPINION TIME LOL***
I'm honestly surprised by how popular this book is because not only is it over-hyped, it's just not a very good book at all, in my opinion. The poetry is so cloying and pretentious - just enough "unique" enough to be "special" but vague enough to be relatable. If I had to describe the style, I'd say it's a cross between fortune cookie messages & those weird 3AM posts that one weird friend you have on Facebook loves to post that are always a) calling someone out, b) posting about personal drama, or c) writing weird inspirational stuff inspired by their mood board on Pinterest.
(YOU KNOW WHICH FRIEND I'M TALKING ABOUT. WE ALL HAVE THAT WEIRD 3AM POST FRIEND.)
THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE is written in a very similar style to this, and I reluctantly gave that book 3 stars because it felt genuine, and maybe even authentic, even if it was written in a style that I didn't like and felt juvenile. MILK AND HONEY, I'm sure, comes from authentic emotions and experiences as well, and while I can appreciate someone wanting to share those experiences and use poetry to heal, I, as a reader, am in no way obligated to like said poetry just because the intent behind it was important. If "intent" was enough to get five stars, the star rating system would be pointless, because I'm pretty sure most writers publish their books with the intent of success and acclaim.
MILK AND HONEY comes across as pretentious and unpolished - a dichotomy that should not be possible, and yet, in MILK AND HONEY, it is. The book also features some incredibly gross metaphors like "the goddess between your legs / makes mouths water" and "the very thought of you / has my legs spread apart / like an easel with a canvas / begging for art." Ughhhh, noooo. I can only imagine that the popularity from this poetry comes from accessibility and the format that seems so easy to copy that any young aspiring poet probably takes one look and goes, "oh, if this dreck can be published, maybe my dreck can be published, too!" The drawings are no better, ugly even, and look like napkin scribbles rather than actual art.
I didn't like this at all. Everything in it has been said before. I could write a longer review ranting more about taste, expectations, and Shel Silverstein, but I'm trying to cut back on swearing and brusqueness in reviews, so I don't think any more negativity is necessary. This author apparently has a pretty devoted following on social media, so I guess if you're into Tumblr feminism and line-break poetry (which seems to be the new trend), you'll probably enjoy this.
1 to 1.5 stars
July 30, 2016
Breathtaking - Brutal - Beautiful
Rupi Kaur's poetry is unlike traditional poetry. For one thing - this small book feels like a graphic poetry novel.
Many of the pages had a familiar 'looking-style' which short poems have....but with the delicate, simple, drawings, I forgot I was reading poetry. The drawings tell a story --we feel the emotions from the them before we even read the words. In essence,
capturing bruises women have experienced.
The book is divided into four sections: hurting, loving, breaking, healing.
This book honors women.....addressing chaos with compassion....love, loss, trauma, abuse, healing, and femininity.
It's real. It's raw. It's relatable.
I say again.... 'beautiful'
"If you were born with
the weakness to fall
you were born with
the strength to rise".
Rupi Kaur's poetry is unlike traditional poetry. For one thing - this small book feels like a graphic poetry novel.
Many of the pages had a familiar 'looking-style' which short poems have....but with the delicate, simple, drawings, I forgot I was reading poetry. The drawings tell a story --we feel the emotions from the them before we even read the words. In essence,
capturing bruises women have experienced.
The book is divided into four sections: hurting, loving, breaking, healing.
This book honors women.....addressing chaos with compassion....love, loss, trauma, abuse, healing, and femininity.
It's real. It's raw. It's relatable.
I say again.... 'beautiful'
"If you were born with
the weakness to fall
you were born with
the strength to rise".
January 13, 2021
I’m not a fan of poetry
Never liked it at school
So why in the world
Did I think this would be cool?
Was it because a lot of people
Loved it and wrote rave reviews
Or because the writer was on Jimmy Fallon
Which easily hit a million views
Whatever the reason
There’s only one thing to see
It isn’t the writer or this book
The issue here is only me.
-an excerpt from “A Lame Attempt at Poetry”.
Never liked it at school
So why in the world
Did I think this would be cool?
Was it because a lot of people
Loved it and wrote rave reviews
Or because the writer was on Jimmy Fallon
Which easily hit a million views
Whatever the reason
There’s only one thing to see
It isn’t the writer or this book
The issue here is only me.
-an excerpt from “A Lame Attempt at Poetry”.
March 20, 2017
Some of the poetry in the book ripped a hole in my soul.
January 18, 2018
4.5 stars.
Wow.
I really didn't know what to expect when I picked up Rupi Kaur's exquisite collection of poetry and prose. Poetry is often hit or miss with me—I totally appreciate it as an art form but sometimes I just don't get it. (I'm as creative as the next person, but sometimes my brain is tired and just wants to be told what something means rather than struggle to decode it. Sorry, I'm a Neanderthal.)
Milk and Honey is about happiness and despair, hurt and joy, love and sadness, and finding the strength to overcome your struggles. It is at times erotic, poignant, empowering, harrowing, and a celebration of all of the amazing qualities of women. Divided into four chapters—the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing—each deals with a different step in relationships, both with someone else and with yourself.
most importantly love
like it's the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you're sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
who you loved
and how deeply you loved them
how you touched the people around you
and how much you gave them
Some of the poems are accompanied by small illustrations. I'd imagine that the print version of this book would make a beautiful gift for someone; I'm not sure if I missed out on something reading it on my Kindle, because I'm not 100 percent sure if each separate page is a separate poem or if the book is just laid out strangely. (I am also not quite sure if only some of the poems have titles or if each poem has its title at the end, meaning the stanzas between titled pages represent one poem.)
Kaur is an absolutely dazzling writer. Her words evoke emotion, sexuality, femininity, anger, and hope. While perhaps some of this resonates more for women than for men, I still found this incredibly touching, incredibly moving, incredibly motivating, and at times simply breathtaking.
you might not have been my first love
but you were the love that made
all the other loves
irrelevant
This collection won't be for everyone. You need to be willing to put aside conventional notions of punctuation, capitalization, and the way sentences are divided. But more than that, you need to be willing to be vulnerable, to listen to Kaur's messages, and feel the feelings she is trying to convey. If you can do that, you will be richly rewarded by the beauty of Milk and Honey .
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
Wow.
I really didn't know what to expect when I picked up Rupi Kaur's exquisite collection of poetry and prose. Poetry is often hit or miss with me—I totally appreciate it as an art form but sometimes I just don't get it. (I'm as creative as the next person, but sometimes my brain is tired and just wants to be told what something means rather than struggle to decode it. Sorry, I'm a Neanderthal.)
Milk and Honey is about happiness and despair, hurt and joy, love and sadness, and finding the strength to overcome your struggles. It is at times erotic, poignant, empowering, harrowing, and a celebration of all of the amazing qualities of women. Divided into four chapters—the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing—each deals with a different step in relationships, both with someone else and with yourself.
most importantly love
like it's the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you're sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
who you loved
and how deeply you loved them
how you touched the people around you
and how much you gave them
Some of the poems are accompanied by small illustrations. I'd imagine that the print version of this book would make a beautiful gift for someone; I'm not sure if I missed out on something reading it on my Kindle, because I'm not 100 percent sure if each separate page is a separate poem or if the book is just laid out strangely. (I am also not quite sure if only some of the poems have titles or if each poem has its title at the end, meaning the stanzas between titled pages represent one poem.)
Kaur is an absolutely dazzling writer. Her words evoke emotion, sexuality, femininity, anger, and hope. While perhaps some of this resonates more for women than for men, I still found this incredibly touching, incredibly moving, incredibly motivating, and at times simply breathtaking.
you might not have been my first love
but you were the love that made
all the other loves
irrelevant
This collection won't be for everyone. You need to be willing to put aside conventional notions of punctuation, capitalization, and the way sentences are divided. But more than that, you need to be willing to be vulnerable, to listen to Kaur's messages, and feel the feelings she is trying to convey. If you can do that, you will be richly rewarded by the beauty of Milk and Honey .
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
November 29, 2019
i think
this book was
the most annoying
thing
i have ever read.
one cannot
possibly think
this thing
is poetry
because poetry
should
mean
more
than
pressing
enter
after
every
single
goddamn
word.
some poems
- they cannot be even
called poems -
were okay
because they do
deal with the themes
of feminism
but
the execution
is
h o r r i b l e .
also poetry
means
artistic language
and this so called
book of poems
is the dullest
most stupid
"book" i have read
in a long time.
some
people
should
just
stick
to
things
they
are
good
at.
(and i am so annoyed by the fact that young people that have never come across good poetry fall in love with this thing. im annoyed.)
this book was
the most annoying
thing
i have ever read.
one cannot
possibly think
this thing
is poetry
because poetry
should
mean
more
than
pressing
enter
after
every
single
goddamn
word.
some poems
- they cannot be even
called poems -
were okay
because they do
deal with the themes
of feminism
but
the execution
is
h o r r i b l e .
also poetry
means
artistic language
and this so called
book of poems
is the dullest
most stupid
"book" i have read
in a long time.
some
people
should
just
stick
to
things
they
are
good
at.
(and i am so annoyed by the fact that young people that have never come across good poetry fall in love with this thing. im annoyed.)
May 3, 2022
Milk and Honey, Rupi Kaur
Milk and Honey was published on November 4, 2014.
The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.
The first chapter, "The Hurting" is about the author's experience and struggles of family issues.
The next chapter, "The Loving", has a more positive feeling.
The poems have been described as sweet, and they are supposed to remind couples of the good things in a relationship. "The Breaking" brings the reader back to a dark place in the author's life. These realistic poems relate to the sad feeling after a breakup.
The last chapter, "The Healing" tries to comfort and show women that they should embrace who they are and that they are valuable, no matter what they had to endure.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز نهم ماه اکتبر سال2018میلادی
عنوان: شیر و عسل؛ نویسنده: روپی (روبی) کائور (کور)؛ مترجم: سمانه پرهیزکاری؛ تهران: انتشارات میلکان، سال1396؛ در192ص؛ شابک9786008812067؛ موضوع شعر - زنان - نویسندگان هندی تبار کانادا - سده21م
عنوان: شیر و عسل؛ نویسنده: روپی کائور؛ برگردان: مریم صفرزاده؛ تهران: واژتاب، سال1397؛ در78ص؛ شابک9786229513828؛
عنوان: شیر و عسل؛ اثر: روپی کائور؛ مترجم: فهیمه گدازچیان؛ تهران: دیبای دانش، سال1397؛ در103ص؛ شابک9786229919613؛
روبی کور (روپی کائور)، نویسنده و تصویرگری «هندی» تبار «کانادا» هستند؛ نخستین کتاب ایشان، مجموعه ای از شعر و نثر با عنوان: «شیر و عسل»، در سال2014میلادی منتشر شد؛ کتاب دوم ایشان: «خورشید و گلهایش» نیز، در سال2017میلادی منتشر شد؛ هر دوی این کتابها حاوی تصاویری هستند، که توسط «روبی کور» و دیگران، ترسیم شده اند، تا به خوانشگر یاری نمایند یک تصویر را با هر شعر مرتبط سازد
نقل («بن» که روی صندلی پشتی ماشین مچاله شده بود گفت: اما مادربزرگ حوصله آدم رو سر میبره؛ عصر جمعه یک روز سرد نوامبر بود و میرفتند طرف خانه مادربزرگش؛ قرار بود «بن» باز هم آخر هفتهاش را آنجا بگذراند؛ دوباره نق زد: اصلا همه پیرها حوصله سر برن؛ پدر که ماشین کوچک و قهوهای را میراند و شکم گندهاش به فرمان چسبیده بود، گفت: در مورد مادربزرگت این طوری حرف نزن؛ - تنهایی اونجا حوصلهام سر میره! تلویزیونش خرابه و همیشه هم میخواد اسکربل بازی کنه؛ خونه ش هم همیشه بوی گند کلم میده! مادر گفت: خب بچه این یکیو راست میگه! لباسش همیشه بوی گند کلم میده؛...)؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 30/03/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 12/02/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Milk and Honey was published on November 4, 2014.
The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.
The first chapter, "The Hurting" is about the author's experience and struggles of family issues.
The next chapter, "The Loving", has a more positive feeling.
The poems have been described as sweet, and they are supposed to remind couples of the good things in a relationship. "The Breaking" brings the reader back to a dark place in the author's life. These realistic poems relate to the sad feeling after a breakup.
The last chapter, "The Healing" tries to comfort and show women that they should embrace who they are and that they are valuable, no matter what they had to endure.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز نهم ماه اکتبر سال2018میلادی
عنوان: شیر و عسل؛ نویسنده: روپی (روبی) کائور (کور)؛ مترجم: سمانه پرهیزکاری؛ تهران: انتشارات میلکان، سال1396؛ در192ص؛ شابک9786008812067؛ موضوع شعر - زنان - نویسندگان هندی تبار کانادا - سده21م
عنوان: شیر و عسل؛ نویسنده: روپی کائور؛ برگردان: مریم صفرزاده؛ تهران: واژتاب، سال1397؛ در78ص؛ شابک9786229513828؛
عنوان: شیر و عسل؛ اثر: روپی کائور؛ مترجم: فهیمه گدازچیان؛ تهران: دیبای دانش، سال1397؛ در103ص؛ شابک9786229919613؛
روبی کور (روپی کائور)، نویسنده و تصویرگری «هندی» تبار «کانادا» هستند؛ نخستین کتاب ایشان، مجموعه ای از شعر و نثر با عنوان: «شیر و عسل»، در سال2014میلادی منتشر شد؛ کتاب دوم ایشان: «خورشید و گلهایش» نیز، در سال2017میلادی منتشر شد؛ هر دوی این کتابها حاوی تصاویری هستند، که توسط «روبی کور» و دیگران، ترسیم شده اند، تا به خوانشگر یاری نمایند یک تصویر را با هر شعر مرتبط سازد
نقل («بن» که روی صندلی پشتی ماشین مچاله شده بود گفت: اما مادربزرگ حوصله آدم رو سر میبره؛ عصر جمعه یک روز سرد نوامبر بود و میرفتند طرف خانه مادربزرگش؛ قرار بود «بن» باز هم آخر هفتهاش را آنجا بگذراند؛ دوباره نق زد: اصلا همه پیرها حوصله سر برن؛ پدر که ماشین کوچک و قهوهای را میراند و شکم گندهاش به فرمان چسبیده بود، گفت: در مورد مادربزرگت این طوری حرف نزن؛ - تنهایی اونجا حوصلهام سر میره! تلویزیونش خرابه و همیشه هم میخواد اسکربل بازی کنه؛ خونه ش هم همیشه بوی گند کلم میده! مادر گفت: خب بچه این یکیو راست میگه! لباسش همیشه بوی گند کلم میده؛...)؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 30/03/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 12/02/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
March 23, 2021
(1.5/5)
(disclaimer: please note that my thoughts on this book are, in no way, related to my thoughts on the author or what she went through. i rate and review books on how much i enjoyed them, and while this review may seem 'mean' or 'sarcastic' at times, it is in no way trying to belittle, diminish, or make light of the author's experiences. i'm only reviewing the book itself.)
I'm not entirely sure how to review this book, other than saying that I disliked it. Actually, that's a lie. I know exactly how to review this book. I'm just not sure why I read it in the first place.
There's a lot of hype surrounding this book, namely that it's feminist, eye-opening, beautiful, amazing, emotional, and meaningful. And while I'm sure that's exactly what some may have felt while reading this, I was widely annoyed and trying to figure out why I was wasting an hour of my life I would never be getting back.
I probably should never have read this book in the first place. There are two reasons why:
1. I hate poetry. I always have, and I know that part of it is because the only exposure I've had to poetry is either in school, where we had to read, annotate, and think about the hIdDeN mEaNiNgS for days on end, or the depressed Tumblr kind.
2. I hate honey. I mean, it's in the title. It was basically a giant red flag I Naruto ran towards at high speed.
Not to mention all the bad things I had heard about this book, in general,which was probably why I was so drawn to it in the first place, but yeah. The odds were basically stacked against this book, and things ended up exactly how I had expected them to be.
I actually started out by listening to this, but not even three minutes in, decided that I also needed the visual copy to understand what the fook was being said. The audiobook was narrated by Rupi Kaur herself, and while I didn't particularly hate her style of narration, there is something to be said about her dramatic inflection which had me cringing at my screen at times.
(At this point, I'm starting to think that I should probably just be grateful that the narrator had a voice that wasn't the auditory embodiment of "dead inside", but in all honesty, I didn't sign up for a soap opera either, now did I?)
*ahem*
Moving on.
Now, the fact of the matter is that 90% of these poems read like depressed Tumblr egirl poems, namely:
or something of the like. I'm sorry, but it is very difficult to take you seriously if a) none of your poems make sense, because of how filled they are with pretentious writing and white space, and b) you sound like you spend your time on r/poems. (No shade if you like to spend your time typing poems over noir backgrounds of rain on windows, because to each their own, I suppose.)
Honestly though?
These poems seemed more like something the author wrote in her spare time, as a form of self-therapy, or something. And then, to be able to publish them, a bunch of 'feminist' stuff was crammed in at the very end. Which, by the way, did not feel, at all, like the author had learned because of her experiences and what she had detailed in the previous sections, but more to be able to sell something.
So yeah. I wasted part of my life reading a book I knew I wouldn't enjoy because I'm weird like that. Nothing else is new. That's it from me, but until next time, here's another poem from yours truly:
(disclaimer: please note that my thoughts on this book are, in no way, related to my thoughts on the author or what she went through. i rate and review books on how much i enjoyed them, and while this review may seem 'mean' or 'sarcastic' at times, it is in no way trying to belittle, diminish, or make light of the author's experiences. i'm only reviewing the book itself.)
just when i thought
that 2021
was going to be okay
this audiobook
comes along and
ruins
it
all.
- the regrets of an impulsive libby borrower
I'm not entirely sure how to review this book, other than saying that I disliked it. Actually, that's a lie. I know exactly how to review this book. I'm just not sure why I read it in the first place.
There's a lot of hype surrounding this book, namely that it's feminist, eye-opening, beautiful, amazing, emotional, and meaningful. And while I'm sure that's exactly what some may have felt while reading this, I was widely annoyed and trying to figure out why I was wasting an hour of my life I would never be getting back.
I probably should never have read this book in the first place. There are two reasons why:
1. I hate poetry. I always have, and I know that part of it is because the only exposure I've had to poetry is either in school, where we had to read, annotate, and think about the hIdDeN mEaNiNgS for days on end, or the depressed Tumblr kind.
2. I hate honey. I mean, it's in the title. It was basically a giant red flag I Naruto ran towards at high speed.
Not to mention all the bad things I had heard about this book, in general,
I actually started out by listening to this, but not even three minutes in, decided that I also needed the visual copy to understand what the fook was being said. The audiobook was narrated by Rupi Kaur herself, and while I didn't particularly hate her style of narration, there is something to be said about her dramatic inflection which had me cringing at my screen at times.
(At this point, I'm starting to think that I should probably just be grateful that the narrator had a voice that wasn't the auditory embodiment of "dead inside", but in all honesty, I didn't sign up for a soap opera either, now did I?)
*ahem*
Moving on.
Now, the fact of the matter is that 90% of these poems read like depressed Tumblr egirl poems, namely:
or something of the like. I'm sorry, but it is very difficult to take you seriously if a) none of your poems make sense, because of how filled they are with pretentious writing and white space, and b) you sound like you spend your time on r/poems. (No shade if you like to spend your time typing poems over noir backgrounds of rain on windows, because to each their own, I suppose.)
Honestly though?
These poems seemed more like something the author wrote in her spare time, as a form of self-therapy, or something. And then, to be able to publish them, a bunch of 'feminist' stuff was crammed in at the very end. Which, by the way, did not feel, at all, like the author had learned because of her experiences and what she had detailed in the previous sections, but more to be able to sell something.
So yeah. I wasted part of my life reading a book I knew I wouldn't enjoy because I'm weird like that. Nothing else is new. That's it from me, but until next time, here's another poem from yours truly:
write some thoughts
(vaguely inspirational)
in all lowercase
but make sure
to include
the void of white space.
- how to become a famous poet, apparently
November 11, 2019
love is not cruel
we are cruel
love is not a game
we have made a game
out of love
I can't believe it took me so long to finally read this poetry collection, after shivering over so much of Rupi's online poetry snippets over the years, but here we are, and it was... captivating? Painful? Beautiful? Perfect?
what i miss most is how you loved me. but what i didn't know was how you loved me had so much to do with the person i was. it was a reflection of everything i gave to you.
how cruel i was to myself. giving you credit for my warmth simply because you had felt it.
I feel that this is a poetry collection that will be different things for different people, but for me, it was a love story written for those of us who have survived abusive relationships, who have moved on and learned to love ourselves despite the lies we were fed. If you've ever left a toxic relationship, friendship, situation, whatever - do you remember the first time you realized things weren't your fault? How it felt like the first breath of air after far too long underwater? That's what this collection felt like for me. It reminded me of how far I've come, and how strong I really am.
the next time he
points out the
hair on your legs is
growing back remind
that boy your body
is not his home
he is a guest
warn him to
never outstep
his welcome
again
Even better, this collection is so shamelessly, wholly feminist in nature and I cannot imagine not feeling empowered by the words Rupi writes. She is so proud of her womanhood and it's a contagious feeling.
our backs
tell stories
no books have
the spine to
carry
- women of color
Finally, this poetry is an ode to people of color everywhere, and the ways their beauty, their experiences, and their livelihoods should not - and can not - ever be taken away by prejudices of an ugly, bleak world.
Content warnings: abuse, sexual assault, depression, loneliness.
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