Weekend Writing: Reviewing Rupi Kaur's "the sun and her flowers"

this is the recipe of life 

said my mother

as she held me in her arms as i wept

think of those flowers you plant 

in the garden each year

they will teach you

that people too 

must wilt

fall 

root

rise

in order to bloom 

---

I have been waiting several months to read Rupi Kaur's second poetry collection, the sun and her flowers, but I finally found time to sit down and read it. I enjoyed her first collection, milk and honey, but I must admit that the sun and her flowers is even better. 

milk and honey received a lot of criticism for not being "real poetry." Well, poetry has changed so much in recent years. Modern and contemporary poetry is different than the poems written by Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and more. 

Rupi Kaur's "the sun and her flowers" (photo/Kasy Long).

Poetry is a literary work written to express feelings, emotions or ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. In my opinion, milk and honey accomplished that--by expressing emotions in short, little poems. 

And the sun and her flowers does that, as well. I prefer Kaur's second collection because there is more variety. milk and honey mostly just contained short poems, but the sun and her flower had more variety--containing short and long poems. 

the sun and her flowers is divided into five sections relating to the cycle of a flower: wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming. Each category portrays poems with illustrations drawn by Kaur, which are relevant to the pieces. I loved how the poems connected to the cycles--relating the ideas to how, as humans, we wilt, fall, find our roots, rise, and then bloom. 

"Wilting" discussed the early stages of a breakup, and how the person now needs to deal with her new single self. The poems were emotional and I could feel the speaker's pain in each piece. 

(photo/Kasy Long)

"Falling" is exactly what you would expect: the falling of someone's mental health. The speaker struggles with depression, in which she feels rejected, hopelessness, and showcases how someone can often feel trapped in his/her own thoughts. However, in this pain, there is the glimmer of peace around the corner.

(photo/Kasy Long)

"Rooting" was very important to read, in which the speaker discussed what it meant to be an immigrant. It's obvious that these poems were important to Kaur--because we learned more about her family, about how she feels to be different than other Americans, and more. Through rooting, the soul finds itself and regains its worth. 

(photo/Kasy Long)

"Rising" is celebrating picking up the pieces, taking action and ascending from mental depression. It may be difficult to let go, but that's the only way to move forward. 

(photo/Kasy Long)

Finally, "blooming" is when the flower reaches its final form. Relating to the speaker, blooming is when you ultimately regain your strength and energy. You have to remember what's most important: yourself. 

(photo/Kasy Long)

Rupi Kaur (photo/Wear Your Voice Mag)

There are many things that are great about this collection, but its commitment to connect to the true human experience is the best quality. the sun and her flowers gives hope that you will eventually bloom. You will break through the pain and loss; you will rise above everything that tries to make you wilt and fall. You will root to the person you're supposed to be. 

And you will be beautiful. 

I loved this collection and I look forward to reading Kaur's future work. And to think she started out by writing her poems on Instagram...

Read on. 

-KJL-

(photo/Kasy Long)