Milk and Honey
Ratings266
Average rating3.4
It was alright, I guess. It was really repetitive and was pretty straight forward. There weren't really any beautiful metaphors that punched me in the gut or anything like that. I really liked the last chapter, about femininity and how women are powerful and should life each other up, and that last chapter is really all thats saving this from being a one star book.
Also, I'm personally just not a fan of this style of poetry.
I can see why some individuals, especially in the feminine side, would find a connection to this book but to have the nerve to call it poetry is just atrocious. The book is short, I mean short, has no actual poetry and it is so badly written it hurts.
Don't believe me. Read it yourself.
Well I started poetry with this book and it wasn't a good idea although I have to admit that the topics of this book were a bit interesting but not well written so I wouldn't recommend this book maybe I don't have the best idea of how good this book is because is my first poetry book however I didn't like it
I was really disappointed in this one. all the reviews kept saying how awesome it was and how it was a must read for poetry. I could not get into this one nor did I care for it.
You were 18 or 20 or 24 and you fell in love hard and maybe you had your heart broken hard and had some really bad sex with people. You found slam poetry on youtube and tumblr or instagram and feminism.
Read this :)
What can you say about this best selling poetry phenomenon? Maybe best that I don't try. I've worked at getting better at reviewing books but talking about poetry objectively is much harder and I lack the language for it still. This collection isn't for me, the older, married, hetero guy. While I don't feel an accusatory finger pointed at me, it's more an indifferent turning away. Nonetheless it's reassuringly straightforward in its language, almost blunt. Its use of lower case and clipped short sentences accompanied with simple line drawings are perfect for our internet age and ripe for the inevitable popularity backlash.
The poems here are fragments, reading like scraps or notes, not fully formed poems. While the occasional line hits home, they're too often as simple as pop songs. I expect more from the poetry I read than this.
There were times, while reading Rupi Kaur's milk and honey, when I was tempted to tear out pages, snippets, and paste them on the wall next to me.
They frown on this behaviour with library books, so instead I scribbled down passages and verses in my notebook, knowing well that I will return to them again, and often.
There have been few things written that describe me so perfectly, so I had to share this poem with you all:
i don't know what living a balanced
life feels like
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
the good thing about feeling in
extremes is
when i love i give them wings
but perhaps that isn't
such a good thing cause
they always tend to leave
and you should see me
when my heart is broken
i don't grieve
i shatter
i need someone
who knows struggle
as well as i do
someone
willing to hold my feet in their lap
on days it is too difficult to stand
the next time you
have your coffee black
you'll taste the bitter
state he left you in
it will make you weep
but you'll never
stop drinking
you'd rather have the
darkest parts of him
than have nothing
people go
but how
they left
always stays
your body
is a museum
of natural disasters
can you grasp how
stunning that is
(originally published on inthemargins.ca)
The first few chapters were uncomfortable to read for me, a bitter pill to swallow. But it made me acknowledge traumas I used to know only superficially.
The parts about sexual relationships was the part I didn't enjoy reading the most. It may be something relatable back when I was younger and sex was all I had in mind, and I don't understand my own self well. But now that I've improved and have a different outlook in life, I may be too pragmatic to for lines like:
he only whispers i love you as he slips his hands down the waistband of your pants
Just communicate, please.
One thing I agreed about is to acknowledge that there's always a balance in nature. After the pain comes happiness, however long it may take so it's useless to dwell in the past, nor live in the potential of your future. Just be mindful of your feelings and why you have them in the first place.
The best part I think is the messages about womanhood at the last part, especially the ones about accepting your physical self. I will try to accept my natural body more, instead of focusing how I could look to other people.