Review - The Sun and her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

Published - October 2017

Book Summary

the sun and her flowers is a
collection of poetry about
grief
self-abandonment
honoring one's roots
love
and empowering oneself
it is split into five chapters
wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming.


Review - 5 star

There are times things come into your life at the perfect moment and the sun and her flowers was one of those moments.  My niece bought this as my Christmas gift and I decided to start the year with it.  Poetry is my simple pleasure but I hardly read any so I was grateful for this gift.  I can see myself reading this one again.

This was a powerful book about the stages of grief, told in 5 chapters.  Wilting reminded me of a broken relationship, the beginning of the grieving process.  Falling was a heart felt moving chapter about the importance of self-love.  Rooting was about diversity, the sacrifice we take for our families, the legacy.  Rising started to give us the promise of new love.  Blooming was moments of beauty, blessings and special lessons.  These are my interpretations of the moments and chapters while reading the book.

I read 99% on my Kindle so reading a book felt like a new experience, going down memory lane.  I never liked to dog ear books but without the highlight Kindle feature I had to, there was so much to love and have at my fingertips.  I would like to share a poem from each chapter for you, hope you enjoy them.

Wilting

day by day i realize
everything i miss about you
was never there in the first place

- the person i fell in love with was a mirage

Falling

if i am the longest relationship
of my life
isn't it time to
nurture intimacy
and love
with the person
i lie in bed with each night

- acceptance

Rooting

when it came to listening
my mother taught me silence
if you are drowning their voice with yours 
how will you hear them she asked

when it came to speaking
she said do it with commitment
every word you say
is your own responsibility 

when it came to being
she said be tender and tough at once
you need to be vulnerable to live fully
but rough enough to survive it all

when it came to choosing
she asked me to be thankful
for the choices i had that
she never had the privilege of making

- lessons from mumma

Rising

the right one does not
stand in your way
they make space for you
to step forward

Blooming

to hate
 is an easy lazy thing
but to love
takes strength
everyone has
but not all are
willing to practice