An Ode to Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur

Words by Rupi Kaur 

Photos by @Louloupotin

fall 
in love
with your solitude

you might not have been my first love
but you were the love that made 
all other loves seem 
irrelevant

love will come

and when love comes
love will hold you
love will call your name
and you will melt
sometimes though
love will hurt you but 
love will never mean to
love will play no games
cause love knows life
has been hard enough already

the very thought of you
has my legs spread apart
like an easel with a canvas
begging for art 

i do not want to have you
to fill the empty parts of me
i want to be full on my own

i want to be so complete
i could light a whole city
and then
i want to have you
cause the two of

us combined
could set it

on fire

how is it so easy for you

to be kind to people he asked

milk and honey dripped

from my lips as i answered 

cause people have not

been kind to me

i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut

The kindest words my father said to me
Women like you drown oceans

i want to apologise to all the women

i have called pretty
before i’ve called them intelligent or brave
i am sorry i made it sound as though
something as simple as what you’re born with
is all you have to be proud of

when your spirit has crushed mountains
from now on i will say things like, you are resilient

or, you are extraordinary.
not because i don’t think you’re pretty
but because you are so much more than that

it was when I stopped searching for home within others

and lifted the foundations of home within myself

I found there were no roots more intimate

than those between a mind and body

that have decided to be whole

you must

want to spend

the rest of your life

with yourself

first

you are snakeskin

and i keep shedding you somehow

my mind is forgetting

every exquisite detail of your face

the way your fingers used to

light fire under my skin

is slipping me

the letting go has
become the

forgetting
which is the

most pleasant

and saddest thing
to have happened

i didn't leave because i stopped

loving you i left cause the

longer i stayed the less

i loved myself

i thank the universe 
for taking away
everything it has taken
and giving to me
everything it is giving

your art
is not about how many people
like your work
your art 
is about

if your heart likes your work
if your soul likes your work
it's about how honest
you are with yourself
and you 
must never 
trade honesty 
for relatability

i have

what i have 

and i am happy 

i’ve lost

what i’ve lost

and i am

still

happy

e