Milk and Honey (10 page)

you must
want to spend
the rest of your life
with yourself
first

of course i want to be successful
but i don’t crave success for me
i need to be successful to gain
enough milk and honey
to help those around
me succeed

my heartbeat quickens at
the thought of birthing poems
which is why i will never stop
opening myself up to conceive them
the lovemaking
to the words
is so erotic
i am either in love
or in lust with
the writing
or both

what terrifies me most is how we
foam at the mouth with envy
when others succeed
but sigh in relief
when they are failing
our struggle to
celebrate each other is
what’s proven most difficult
in being human

your art
is not about how many people
like your work
your art
is about
if your heart likes your work
if your soul likes your work
it’s about how honest
you are with yourself
and you
must never
trade honesty
for relatability

- to all you young poets

give to those
who have nothing
to give to you

- seva (selfless service)

you split me open
in the most honest
way there is
to split a soul open
and forced me to write
at a time i was sure i
could not write again

- thank you

you have made it to the end. with my heart in your
hands. thank you. for arriving here safely. for being
tender with the most delicate part of me. sit down.
breathe. you must be tired. let me kiss your hands.
your eyes. they must be wanting of something sweet.
i am sending you all my sugar. i would be nowhere
and nothing if it were not for you. you’ve helped me
become the woman i wanted to be. but was too afraid
to be. do you have any idea how much of a miracle
you are. how lovely it’s been. and how lovely it will
always be. i am kneeling before you. saying thank
you. i am sending my love to your eyes. may they
always see goodness in people. and may you always
practice kindness. may we see each other as one. may
we be nothing short of in love with everything the
universe has to offer. and may we always stay grounded.
rooted. our feet planted firmly onto the earth.

- a love letter from me to you

rupi kaur is a writer and artist based in toronto,
canada. throughout her poetry and illustrations she
engages with themes of love, loss, trauma, healing,
and femininity. she shares her writing with the world
as a means to create a safe space for progressive healing
and forward movement. her creative direction and
photography have broken international boundaries and
have since made it into galleries, magazines, and
spaces around the world. when she is not writing or
creating other art, she is traveling to perform
spoken word, as well as hosting writing workshops.
you can find more of her work at:
www.rupikaur.com

- about the writer

milk and honey
is a
collection of poetry about
love
loss
trauma
abuse
healing
and femininity
it is split into four chapters
each chapter serves a different purpose
deals with a different pain
heals a different heartache
milk and honey
takes readers through
a journey of the most bitter moments in life
and finds sweetness in them
because there is sweetness everywhere
if you are just willing to look

- about the book

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milk and honey
copyright © 2015 by Rupi Kaur. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.

Andrews McMeel Publishing
a division of Andrews McMeel Universal
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106

www.andrewsmcmeel.com
www.rupikaur.com

ISBN: 978-1-4494-7866-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946719

Ebook by Erika Kuster

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