I recently purchased Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. I used to write only poetry when I was young. My writing medium changed quickly when I grew up. I wanted more words to tell the story to the reader. After reading Milk and Honey, Kaur reopened my eyes that poetry tells just as much story as a novel or short story does. I was moved by the topics of Kaur's poems to write and share my stories in poetry as she does. Enjoy what I'm calling, "It's My Power, Not Yours."
1. Blood is thicker than water.
My blood isn’t.
Compared to air?
I float above the air, the water.
Boiling, my skin rests in fire.
Red fire, lined fire.
My breaths a barrier.
To your gravity.
Can you forgive me for craving water?
2. Fast happy,
Every night,
Boy she thought,
Love was different.
3. Do you know your hands light fires?
Not the passion fire, the killing fire.
A fire that bleeds.
Ignite the fire.
Fuel it.
Scream for help.
Keep quiet.
Bury it, let it go.
Let the fire go onto the next.
4. I can’t sleep next to him.
You stole that from me.
I don’t dream.
You stole that from me.
I won’t go to the park on your side of town.
You stole that from me.
5. You can’t be a victim.
Society won’t let you.
But neither should you let yourself be the victim.
For you my lovely dear are a survivor.
You’ll always be a survivor.
No one can take that from you but you.
6. If you bring up my past it’s because I’m not doing anything wrong in the present.
My past doesn’t belong to you.
Don’t touch it.
I wouldn’t want my darkness to touch your lightness.
And you shouldn’t want your darkness in the limelight.
7. Reality 90% of the time isn't kind.
It doesn't cater to our feelings.
It levels us out and it gives us back what we dish out.
But I believe good things happen to good people.
And if you spend your time building the world up and spreading love,
that other 10% makes for an incredible, happy, wholesome life.
8. My business isn’t cupcakes.
Stop trying to feed it to other people.
My business isn’t a movie.
Stop trying to make other people watch it.
My business is closed.
You are not the bank who is buying me out.
You were simply a minimum wage employee.
Too bad I ran out of business for you to sell.
9. The men in my life want to kill you.
I want to let them.
I used to.
Not anymore.
You took my power but only for one night.
By letting you live I’ll grow in your conscious.
The next girl may not be so generous.
10. Dysfunctional as this world is,
don’t talk about the darkness of it all.
Relatable as your story may be,
don’t share the truth of it all.
Transparent as feelings are,
don’t express them.
For the world is uncomfortable with the sounds of it’s own darkness, truth, and feelings.
