So since I absolutely loved milk and honey, I figured I would end self love month on the sequel, the sun and her flowers. I’ve heard great things about it and I couldn’t wait to read it! Literally read it in one second as I was that addicted to it!

Several poems have me chills and to be honest I thought there wasn’t much to be improved on from milk and honey yet I was surprised and sorta speechless about how important the messages were again like milk and honey. Her last book didn’t take me long to read however this one did because I would often reread the poem because the quote just got me that good. This book was different to her first, it was refreshing to read poems with new messages such as being a woman with coloured skin instead of self love and care which don’t get me wrong, I’m all ears for but some issues don’t get talked about enough such as being comfortable in your own skin. I loved the personification of nature and how it just worked and seemed to fit in. Quite different again but I liked it surprisingly. There is so much positivity and I strongly advise coloured women to pick up this book and read it! It’s amazing and so empowering!

There were 5 sections to the book: wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming. Each section was full of emotions and each poem was so beautifully written.

From wilting I had two favourite poems which were :Why is it that when the story ends we begin to feel all of it and the hummingbirds tell me you’ve changed your hair i tell them i don’t care whilst listening describe every detail. These two struck out to me because they were the ones where I felt an emotional burden and they were the ones I remembered most. The first one was relatable to me as you never realise a moment is a memory until it becomes one. The second poem created an amazing scene in my head, I loved her references to nature imagery.

Falling was one of my favourite sections as there were so many poems which had me so shocked that someone has the ability to write like that. In my opinion, i think wilting was quite similar to some poems from milk and honey. This may be why it wasn’t my favourite section. I chose two poems which I liked from this section and it was a tough decision because I’d honestly want to put the whole section in here. I notice everything i do not have and decide it is beautiful. I hear a thousand kind words about me and it makes no difference yet i hear one insult and all confidence shatters. Again, these poems were relatable to me because I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve doubted myself inside and out. To everyone out there who struggles with this, just know that you’re capable of anything even when you don’t seem to think so.

I want to go through each section but I think this post would be a bit too long so instead I’m going to choose other favourite poems from each section.

‘Perhaps we are all immigrants trading from one home to another first we leave the womb then the suburbs for the filthy city in search of a better life some of us just happen to leave entire countries.’ ‘I am the product of all the ancestors getting together and deciding these stories need to be told’ ‘I stand on the sacrifices of a million women thinking what can i do to make this mountain taller so the women after me can see farther-legacy’ These poems stuck to me because we all have expectations to live up to. I’m the youngest in my family and I’m expected to achieve accomplishments as great as my siblings. However whatever I achieve in life will be an accomplishment for me even if others don’t agree. As well as this, a lot of people in my family moved countries and of course they found it hard. They were outsiders. Reading that poem made me realise that people move places to have a better life. I don’t understand why Rupi Kaur received criticism on her book. Yes some poems could be seen as short stories but in the end if it has a good message, then why not? Let me know your thoughts!