Milk and honey

What is the book about?​
Rupi Kaur wrote this wonderful yet curious book about short poems that to me describe a hurt past she once had. It may not be about her past but maybe a loved one of hers or even a friend, but there are four chapters that show a tragic past and that it takes time to heal. Them four chapters are ‘The hurting’, ‘the loving’, ‘the breaking’ and ‘the healing’. Here are a few of my favourite poems from the book;


“You plough into me with two fingers and I mostly shocked. It feels like rubber against an open wound. I do not like it. You begin pushing faster and faster. But I feel nothing. You search my face for a reaction so I begin acting like the naked woman in the videos you watch when you think no one’s looking. I imitate their moans. Hollow so quickly it sounds rehearsed but the acting. You do not notice”. So, this poem I chosen is from the first chapter ‘The hurting’. The reason I like this poem is because it explains how love can be shown in many different ways and tells us that this so called ‘love’ is not always happy love. There are people out there struggling with relationships because they don’t know how to tell their partner how they really feel because they are scared of their partner’s response.


“He says I am sorry I am not an easy person to want. I look at him surprised. Who said I wanted easy? I don’t crave easy, I crave goddamn difficult”. This poem is from the second chapter ‘The loving’. I chosen this poem because it shows that not every girl is the same, she wants a challenge, a reason to fight for her love. Not just to be handed on a plate to her. That’s easy love, not a love worth fighting for! I believe that’s the adventure and pure in a relationship, where you get through the hard times together and it makes you both stronger each day.
“You were temptingly beautiful but stung when I got close”. This poem is from the third chapter ‘The breaking’. This poem tells me that beauty can hide a lot of lies. You got to get to know the person before you make a decision if you like them or not. Just because the person you seen looks pretty or handsome, don’t mean they have a heart of gold. Many people have stories and hide their past and you never know they might drag you down with them. Make your life harder because theirs is too. Just take my advice; get to know the person before making a move.


“There is a difference between someone telling you they love you and them actually loving you”. And lastly, this poem is from the last chapter ‘The healing’. I really connect to this short poem as my last relationship I was in  felt like it was just all an act. The person I was seeing at first was so sweet and thoughtful but a couple of months into the relationship I could see the ‘love’ slipping away like it never existed. I found out that they were cheating behind my back but this wasn’t to be known until the end of the relationship after we had an argument.  This person would tell me straight to my face that they loved me. Now I know that wasn’t true, but was it ever?


I would highly recommend this book to people who are going through a hard time in life, not just love life but any tragic moment they have experience. It makes you think about life and when I read it, it made me feel like I have to look after myself and put myself first for once. Stop letting people into my life so they can just use me like a pen then just drop me to the floor and not bothering to pick it back up again. This is your life, live it!
I wanted to read this book because many of my friends recommended it, at first I was a bit sceptical about it but once I got into reading it I became hooked! Just seeing how an author can create and put together such a unique book still inspires me to not just hide my creativity but to share it with the world.
-Mel.