Hi all,
I found myself struggling when deciding what to post on the blog this week. I was looking through some of my books for inspiration, and I figured I would post some of my favorite pieces from Rupi Kaur’s “milk and honey.” Her book is currently one of the best-selling contemporary collections of poetry.
Regarding Kaur’s sources, I believe she is writing (a) to help her readers through traumatic experiences similar to her own, (b) about what it means to be a minority (regarding her gender and race), and (c) about relationships (familial and romantic). These are the sources I notice the most, but I’m sure they don’t stop here.
My absolute favorite poem of hers is on page 51:
i know i
should crumble
for better reasons
but have you seen
that boy he brings
the sun to its knees
every night.
Below the piece is a drawing of a setting sun. That is another thing I like about this book–that many of the pages have illustrations to go along with the poems. I think the use of illustrations works well in this book because all of the poems are so short.
Another one of my favorites is on page 103:
when you are broken
and he has left you
do not question
whether you were
enough
the problem was
you were so enough
he was not able to carry it.
I think this book is a great source of comfort. I find myself rereading this piece and others like it when I’m feeling down.
I will leave you all with one final fav (page 156):
if you were born
with the weakness to fall
you were born
with the strength to rise.
-ari