Reviews

i deserve financial compensation for being made to read this in my senior literary capstone

I was especially fond of the last section, βthe healing,β on body positivity. The whole collection is worth reading a few times though.

she studied at waterloo!!

More tumbler post than poetry, It had way too long paragraphs in a few pages

It was not ALL bad, but it was not ALL good either. Few bookmarks here and there but nothing really stays.

I was expecting so much more... I liked a few of the poems, mostly the ones I already know and I appreciate the honesty of the author in some of them but really I am a bit disappointed. People always hype up this book so much and I really didn't enjoy it that much.

Relatable in every way is an understatement. Her words, pain, and deep connection for others and herself will forever make this my go-to book. Each piece takes you through the human experience of loving and losing and speaks to such profound feelings. Needless to say, I will always be a Rupi Kaur fan.

Wow. Just wow.

The power of words is undeniable. And Rupi Kaur shows that in Milk and Honey. I don't think a single woman can't relate to at least one of her poems. They are hearbreaking and relatable and a book about the silent female struggle. Loved it!

Date Read: October 13, 2019 Actual Rating: 3.00 STARS First attempt at reading poetry and I would say I have a few lines that I came to like. A pretty good first try for this kind of read. Maybe I'll be trying to read more poetry in the future.

More of a 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the messages that came across to me on my first read through of this book, but I didn't feel like it really enthralled me as much as I had anticipated. This was probably because of the immense hype that has surrounded it and the fact that I walked in with fairly high expectations. However, I do think that it's quite topical and the topics it broaches are very important and should be discussed, and that to the right individual many of the messages will stick for years to come.

Damn. This was SO GOOD. It was sweet and sexy and raw and just gorgeously written. This book is split into four sections and I have to say that the first section didn't really grasp me. It wasn't until I started the second section that I was completely intrigued by her words. From there I had to keep stopping to take a moment to let her words sink in. Some of the poems were so profound I simply had to take a pause. Stunning words. I'm fairly new to the poetry world but I can't wait to see where all I go from here. I'm already planning on going back through this book today to bookmark specifics that I can find later on. I'm excited to continue on in this genre!

I had to do this I'm sorry π

Not my type of poetry, but I can see how this could be cathartic for some people.

Nah just nah, for the most part this isn't poetry AT ALL but shower thoughts, don't try to sell it as poetry. Don't get me wrong there are "poems" that I liked a lot, but the majority of it was pretty bad. I think Rupi has a lot of potential and I praise her for sharing such personal things but she just has to learn to write actual poetry or not target it as such.

It is hard not to love words so pure!

certainly overrated. there's a few poems / lines?? that i like but the repetitive nature of her writing really did not go well with me. some of the poems basically were just an upgrade/downgrade version of another and they just failed to add any meaningful quality to them. kaur have potential. i mean i like her ideas but the execution here was pretty much subpar.

Amazing. Some parts made me teary eyed. Some poems made my heart ache. Some just ~meh~. But the messages are very powerful especially to the women. I feel like all women should read this.

The artwork is absolutely beautiful. I loved this.

This entire book. It resonated with my very soul, touched something fragile and delicate in my heart. It felt like hearing my thoughts, looking into a mirror. I shed tears but I was comforted at the same time. I will forever be grateful that I decided to pick this book up by curiosity, and that ended up being my most treasured book.

Book #76 Read in 2017 milk and honey by rupi kaur This is a book of poetry that tackles tough issues such as sex, abuse and feminism. This book is garnering a lot of attention online and among my students. The risquΓ© drawings will definitely get the reader's attention. I borrowed this book from one of my students.

I'm not the biggest poetry fan to be honest, so reading this was a relief to be able to understand on the face of it, rather than having to read and keep reading until I understand.
I did read it in one sitting, and I think everyone would be able to do so as well.
I think the reason it's rated so low is, I don't relate to alot of this book, luckily. I can't really say i've been in senarios which relate to the main points of this book, but I think if you're someone who's been taken advantage of, who just feels kind of numb to love or anything along those lines, it would definatly hit hard.
Some quotes did stick out to me, and I interperated many of them in my own sort of way, changing the relationship focus to a friendship focus.
I did also skip poems which Ifound didn't really relate to me in any way, and any poems which were relatively suggestive, only because they didn't seem like something I really want to read.
This is just the start of my poetry journey, so it's interesting to see where i'll go from here.

I loved this book. I kept highlighting my favorite parts in the poems. Itβs a must for ANY woman/young lady/girl in my opinion

I love poetry - I love reading it, I love writing it, etc. and I've heard so many great things about milk and honey. After reading it, though, I feel extremely conflicted. All of these poems are very personal and I can tell the author put her heart into them. I can tell what I'm supposed to be feeling as I read these poems, from aching sadness to boiling anger to quiet healing... the problem is, I'm not feeling it. I think, for now, I may not have experienced enough to understand the words. Perhaps if I had a physical copy of the book, I would 'get it', but I believe if the poems were good enough, reading them on a Kindle or in a paperback wouldn't make a difference. It could be because I'm too young or too privileged or too something to relate to the kind of pain that tears through these pages. If I go back and read the same poems in five years, maybe I'll be crying over somebody. But for now, I just feel a bit numb. I did love some of the poems, though. Rupi Kaur places words exquisitely on a page, taking aim at the reader's heart. It is her honesty and her straightforwardness that sets these poems apart from others. The complementing illustrations were lovely, and the varying lengths of the poems were a nice touch. And the poems certainly deal with some triggering / tough topics. It is extremely raw writing, and I understand the hype around milk and honey. So, I will recommend milk and honey, but I would not go into it expecting poetry that will knock you out. I believe the poems will mean more to those who have experienced the feelings the author writes about. Some of my favorite excerpts: (view spoiler)[ i know small talk is the only way you know how to tell me you love me. cause it is the only way i know how to tell you. what am i to you he asks i put my hands in his lap and whisper you are every hope i've ever had in human form i know i should crumble for better reasons but have you seen that boy he brings the sun to its knees every night neither of us is happy but neither of us wants to leave so we keep breaking one another and calling it love people go but how they left always stays but that isn't romantic. it isn't sweet. the idea that they were so engulfed by your existence they had to risk breaking it for the sake of knowing they weren't the one missing out. your existence meant that little next to their curiosity of you. that is the thing about selfish people. they gamble entire beings. entire souls to please their own. the thing about writing is i can't tell if it's healing or destroying me loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself sometimes the apology never comes when it is wanted and when it comes it is neither wanted nor needed (hide spoiler)]
Highlights

if you are not enough for yourself
you will never be enough
for someone else

how you love yourself is
how you teach others
to love you

sometimes
the apology never comes when it is wanted
and when it comes
it is neither wanted nor needed
β you are too late

there is a difference between
someone telling you they love you
and them actually loving you

it takes grace
to remain kind
in cruel situations

you cannot leave
and have me too
i cannot exist in
two places at once
β when you ask if we can still be friends

someone explain that. how even when the love leaves. it doesnβt leave. how even when i am so past you. i am so helplessly brought back to you.

the night after you left
i woke up so broken
the only place to put the pieces
were the bags under my eyes

people go
but how they left
always stays

i donβt know why
i split myself open for others
knowing sewing myself up
hurts this much afterward

neither of us is happy
but neither of us wants to leave
so we keep breaking one another
and calling it love

you were not wrong for leaving
you were wrong for coming back and thinking
you could have me when it was convenient
and leave when it was not

rivers fall from my mouth
tears my eyes canβt carry

i donβt know what living a balanced life feels like
when i am sad
i donβt cry i pour
when i am happy
i donβt smile i glow
when i am angry
i donβt yell i burn
the good thing about feeling in extremes is
when i love i give them wings
but perhaps that isnβt
such a good thing cause
they always tend to leave
and you should see me
when my heart is broken
i donβt grieve
i shatter

i had to leave
i was tired of allowing you to make me feel
anything less than whole

when you are broken
and he has left you
do not question whether you were enough
the problem was
you were so enough he was not able to carry it

i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut

you mustnβt have to
make them want you
they must want you themselves

i didnβt leave because
i stopped loving you
i left because the longer i stayed
the less i loved myself

you whisper
i love you
what you mean is
i donβt want you to leave

the woman who comes after me will be a bootleg version of who i am.
she will try and write poems for you to erase the ones iβve left memorized on your lips
but her lines could never punch you in the stomach the way mine did.
she will then try to make love to your body. but she will never lick, caress, or suck like me.
she will be a sad replacement of the woman you let slip.
nothing she does will excite you and this will break her.
when she is tired of falling apart for a man that doesnβt give back what he takes
she will recognize me in your eyelids staring at her with pity and itβll hit her.
how can she love a man who is busy loving someone he can never get his hands on again.

donβt mistake salt for sugar
if he wants to be with you
he will
itβs that simple

you were so distant
i forgot you were there at all

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 type of person who gives exactly what i need
before i even know i need it
the type of lover who hears me
even when i do not speak
is the type of understanding i demand
β the type of lover i need