Rupi Kaur recently released her second book of poems titled “The Sun and Her Flowers” following its prequel “Milk and Honey.” This book details Kaur’s experiences in family, love, loss and navigating through self-identity while explaining her fascination with sunflowers.
Before reading this book, I had some fears that it was going to be too similar to the prequel, “Milk and Honey.” However, this was not the case. I thought that “The Sun and Her Flowers” spoke for itself, separating its message from that of its prequel.
In her poems, Rupi Kaur places a lot of emphasis on the complicated lives of immigrants. She recognizes the hardships that they have to endure on a daily basis and how the mocking tone of American culture is inappropriate and unnecessary. She explains that it takes much courage to be able to leave behind a life and a language, which is something that a lot of people do not think about unless they have seen it firsthand.
She also discusses the prevalence of sexual assault, as she recounts her experience in various poems. In doing so, she shows her readers that sexual assault is a very real subject, especially for women in their late teens and twenties, as Kaur was when she was assaulted. And for those that have been sexually assaulted, Kaur makes those members of her audience feel as though they are not alone and that their feelings are completely normal.
Kaur’s book of poems also stands as a reminder to show some extra love and respect to our mothers. Kaur goes into detail about her fascination with her mom and the life that she once had before leaving her small village to start a family with her husband. Kaur writes about her extremely high level of respect that she has for her mother, which is a lesson that we should all take. This book encourages each reader to always let their mom know how much they love her!
If “Milk and Honey” made a big impression on you, “The Sun and Her Flowers” will do the same. She somehow manages to put every emotion into words, especially the ones that seem troublesome to most people. Not to mention the amazing drawings, that Kaur illustrates herself, take that concept one step further by putting feelings into visual art.
You can buy the book here!