Milk and honey dripped from my lips

how is it 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
- rupi kaur

I recently bought a book of prose from Rupi Kaur titled “milk and honey”. I know this book came out a long time ago and it was a book I contemplated purchasing at the time but I ended up passing on it. Lately I’ve felt an urge to read prose and poetry so I bought this one, as well as one by Nikita Gill recommended by a friend. After reading the first page, it caused me to pause and I slowed down my reading pace to wonder on what she meant and tried to imagine what it mean to me.

To me, this short poem is about empathy, hope, and vulnerability. She is able to be kind because she knows what unkindness is. She can empathize with others who have suffered similarly and her strength is that despite her vulnerability, she chooses to share that vulnerability and offer kindness with people even if it could have been easier to lash out or hide because of what she had to suffer. In her suffering she exposes her vulnerability. In exposing that vulnerability, she gives kindness through empathy. And through both, she offers hope.

About the art

Taking the opportunity to journal, as I reflected on the poem, I tried to imagine how I could represent that visually. I think I was influenced by my friend’s print of butterflies because that motif became the main focus of the idea. I’ll leave you to interpret my art but this is how I felt I could best interpret the poem in visual form. I hope it distills a sense of brightness with a dash of melancholy .