Guest Blogger Charlotte - Milk and Honey: Poems

With senior year in full swing, I wanted to change up the genre I was reading. Lately, especially on social media and in conversations with my friends, poetry seemed to be appearing more and more. I picked up a few different books and decided to read Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. It seemed like everyone around me had read or was reading and raving about it, and although I loved it, it wasn’t life changing.  

Milk and Honey is sectioned off into four sections: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing. I really enjoyed this format because I knew what I was getting myself into. If before bed I wanted to read something more uplifting, I would go to the “loving” section, but if I felt like reading poems that were heavier I could go to the “hurting” or “breaking” sections. With these sections I was also able to experience a sort of evolution because of the order that the poems were placed in. It started off with the voice of someone that had been taken advantage of and turned into an individual that had more hope. With this, the progression from these different emotions felt more natural and easy to read and allowed me to connect to what was being said to a greater extent.

The collection of poems speaks about different relationships and situations. When I first picked up the book, I wasn’t sure what to expect and what topics the poems would go over. The main relationships discussed are a romantic one and familial ones such as her relationship with her mother. However, the main relationship focused on is the one with oneself, which I thought was really interesting. Sometimes poems can be very specific to certain situations and emotions, but with these poems, I was able to connect with them and feel as though they had been written for me.

With this personal feel to the book, I can understand why many have adored these poems. They talk about taboo topics, everyday events, and self-love. But, it was not the favorite writing I had ever read. I sometimes felt like some of the poems were cheesy and therefore was taken out of my reading daze. It seemed like they weren’t written to be appreciated by someone who reads a lot of poetry or who wanted to take the time to get immersed, but instead were written for someone who was looking for the Instagram version of poetry.

All together, I really enjoyed reading Milk and Honey and have been reading more poetry since. I think that different poems in the book will resonate with different people and even if they don’t, I still find it really interesting to learn more about other individuals and their emotions. So I would recommend, some candles, a bubble bath, and a few hours to de-stress.