Have you ever read a poetry collection that makes you taste fire and storm? Have the words ever touched you so deeply you just had to voice your opinion?
Welcome to the second Wild Friday at Poets United! The Autumn breeze outside my house carries fine drops of promise of the rain to come. The weather is perfect for sitting down to contemplate poetry and have a cuppa.
Rupi Kaur’s first book, a collection titled Milk and Honey (stylized as milk and honey), was published on 4 November 2014. Her inspiration for the book's name came from a past poem which included a line about women surviving terrible times. She describes the change in the women as, "smooth as milk and as thick as honey." A collection of poetry, prose, and hand-drawn illustrations, the book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter depicts a different theme.
Following are a few poems from her poetry collection Milk and Honey:
(i)
You tell me to
quiet down
cause my
opinions make me less beautiful
but I was not
made with a fire in my belly
so I could be
put out
I was not made
with a lightness on my tongue
so I could be
easy to swallow
I was made
heavy
half blade and
half silk
difficult to
forget
and not easy for
the mind to follow.
(ii)
I’d be lying
if I said you
make me speechless
the truth is
you make my tongue
so weak it forgets
what language
to speak in.
(iii)
did you think I was a city
big enough for
a weekend getaway
I am the town
surrounding it
the one you’ve
never heard of but always pass through
there are no
neon lights here
no skyscrapers
or statues
but there is thunder
for i make bridges tremble
I am not street
meat i am homemade jam
thick enough to
cut the sweetest thing your lips will touch
I am not police
sirens
I am the
crackle of a fireplace
I’d burn you
and you still couldn’t take your eyes off me
cause I’d look
so beautiful doing it
you’d blush
I am not a
hotel room I am home
I am not the
whiskey you want
I am the water
you need
don’t come here
with expectations
and try to make
a vacation out of me.
(iv)
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
 |
| Goodreads |
"Milk and
honey," reveals a far more significant purpose. Kaur adapts to the fluidity of
the modern age whilst retaining a sense of heritage, culture, and power. This
is not poetry to become half-remembered on a dusty shelf as a ‘modern classic’,
but to be read out loud, written in texts to loved ones, and learnt by heart.
So, for our second Wild Friday at Poets United, I invite you to write poetry and offer the following two options:
1) Write a poem inspired by one or all of the quoted pieces from Rupi Kaur's poetry collection, "Milk and Honey." Tell us how you feel and what comes to mind while reading these poems.
2) Or, if your muse prefers something different, pick one poetry collection that has touched you deeply, and write a response poem. Feel free to address what affects you the most.
Add the direct
link to your poem to Mr Linky. Remember to visit others and to comment on their
work. I look forward to reading what you all come up with. Have fun!📕
