Article by Layla Dozier ’21
Milk and Honey was written by Rupi Kaur. Kaur is a New York Times bestseller, whose collection of poems rose to fame in 2014. Kaur was born in Punjab, India and is a Canadian citizen. Milk and Honey is a self published book of poems by Kaur in which she breaks down her stages of grief, love, and even lust. Kaur’s poems are explicit and nothing short of real.
Kaur breaks her book into four sections, The Hurting, The Loving, The Breaking, and The Healing, all of which serve to mend the broken heart after a painful loss. From the first chapter the reader can sense that Kaur is deep and real. She comes out right from the first poem and grabs the heart and the attention of anyone who picks up the book. The Hurting speaks to those whose wound is still raw from the hurt that another caused. The words she uses are so powerful that even if whoever chooses to pick up the book has never experienced the hurt she addresses, they are feeling the pain of someone who did. Kaur takes her time in this chapter with one lined poems that touch deep into the soul of the reader and the chapter really emphasizes the love lost and the love that is never found.
The Healing is a reflection on the love that the reader once had, while simultaneously gaining the self confidence back after the pain experienced in the first chapter. Kaur through her words portrays the feeling of reclaiming one’s time (in the words of Maxine Waters). The poems encompass the feeling of building oneself back up again, recognizing the hurt, occasionally reflecting on the past, and being able to move on.
Kaur beautifully portrays a struggle that any woman can relate to. She plays on the idea that it takes time to heal and become whole again after someone has just lost the love of their lives, or their best friend. Milk and Honey is definitely a great read and it will be an emotional roller coaster, but it is something that everyone reading this article should go pick up.
Milk and Honey is available in bookstores, on Barnes & Noble’s website, on Amazon, and other booksellers online.