I am in the process of discovering myself like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon As Rupi Kaur said “You must enter a relationship with yourself before anyone else” these were the words I received from a very close and special friend of mine and immediately i got curious…i figured if a writer can command such power to be quoted by her, i might as well read the entire book.
Milk and Honey a book by Rupi Kaur, I would rightfully describe it as self-help monologue and not poetry.
Her poem i believe written from experience, taps into residual emotions from an existential nihilistic phase in her life and the process of putting one’s self at the center of the healing, but most importantly the acknowledgement of the hurt done to us by ourselves and others.
Coming out of a sunken place, she rips herself wide open with emotions bleeding of the experiences of violence, abuse, love, loss, and stark feminism.
She takes a shock therapy approach to deal with the different heartache experienced with an almost narcissistic romantic “self-obsession”.
It is hard for anyone not to fall into this honeypot holding on ever soo tightly to every pain and nodding along to every line, and call it poetry.
Milk and honey is however a famine of words and drawings from which a reader is left to imagine a poetic feast and artistry.
But i totally understand why its easy to relate to these experiences, and its new found popularity, her sometimes clever graphic word plays of trauma, raw sexuality and femininity sucks you in, but i always left high and dry asking for more meat…..
“The very thought of you
has my legs spread apart
like an easel with a canvas begging for art.” — Rupi Kaur
Through out the book you imagine readers climbing out of the honey pot due to the plainness of the poetry, and in a last gasp attempt, in the chapter “the bond of sisterhood” she tries to open up the book to the broader social issues but comes short of making a real connection especially around the nuances of feminism and women empowerment.
“our backs
tell stories
no books have
the spine to carry”
women of color – Rupi Kur
“we move forward when
we recognize how resilient
and striking the women
around us are”
“The recreational use of this body
is seen as beautiful, but its inner working ugly”
“our work should equip the next generation of women
to outdo us in every field, this is the legacy, we’ll leave behind”
“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”
The book rotates around self-discovery, self-love and confidence in one’s own existence without the need or presence of anyone else especially of a man (“you don’t NEED a man you WANT a man”), preaching to the crowd I would say.
“i am not the whisky you want, i am the water you need, don’t come here with expectations, hoping to make a vacation out of me”
The greatest interpretation and take away for me, was in the chapter of healing from experiences of violence, abuse and loss.
The ability and strength to consciously forgive yourself completely and realizing that you were the victim of events that you didn’t have the emotional or intellectual maturity to deal with.
Giving yourself the opportunity and patience to heal and not allowing those experiences to continue either dictating your choices or define the rest of your life.
However most of the book is really shallow, sometimes pretentious text presented as poetry, maybe because I paid $19 for it and i expected a little bit more, given the media hype, hence my last summary quotes:
“Let it go like broken promises, let it go”
“let it go
let it leave
let it happen
nothing
in this world
was promised or
belonged to you anyway
all you own is yourself”
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