MILK AND HONEY

"i have

what i have

and i am happy

i've lost

what i've lost

and i am

still

happy"

If I could describe this book in only three words, it would be dreamlike, rough and bittersweet. I'm going to be honest, the only reason I picked this book was because I didn't have anything else to read (not that I already have 20 books on my shelf, but I just thought I needed a book that I could grab while I'm in the midst of reading a 400 page novel). I briefly read the summary, skimmed the reviews and decided to jumped onto the bandwagon.

When I read the first few pages of this book, I felt nothing less than burdened and a feeling of guilt. No, it's not the kind of guilty you feel when you accidentally break your mom's Corelle dinnerware set, or when you steal something from your best friend- but the kind of feeling you get when someone has entrusted you with the most vulnerable pieces of them. This book has been eulogized and has received critical acclaim, and let me tell you, this book is definitely worth it.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur tore through my methodical(?) 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 emotions tumbling out with this awe-inspiring collection of poems.

Written in short poems and prose, this book is about Kaur's journey, from her rough, hollowing adolescence to the beginning of her adulthood, as she forms her own piece of mind. Divided into 4 sections, each one having a different message to convey, a different story to tell, 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.

The modus operandi is minimalist yet confrontational. Figurative language is copious and Kaur uses the perfect mixture of implicit and explicit descriptions to reveal the most fragile parts of her. To be simply put, this isn't a book meant to be loved or raved about. It is just meant to be read. Reading through the reviews of this book and I feel as if the people giving it two stars or so went in expecting it to ravish them, thrill them but it was not meant for that. Like why 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?

"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 given the chance to read them and take them to our hearts, too. This was her story. She isn't asking for you to judge if it's "exhilarating" enough cos it's not a fiction meant to be evaluated. Life isn't always "okay and now what?". Sometimes you can get stuck before you even try to move on. This book itself is not a cry for help, or a way to get sympathy, but a way to get someone to listen. And to learn.

If you only read one book of poetry during your lifetime, it needs to be this one.