A review by natalyawill
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

2.0

Worse than I thought it would be and expectations were already in hell. The book was split into 4 sections and the only bit I could get on board with was ‘Risings’. The rest of the book was empty. Risings alone is holding this review at 2 stars. Lock Screen poetry, Rupi Kaur writes as though she’s fighting so hard to be relatable or to seem like the leader of a social justice movement. Good poetry speaks to people on its own, this writing feels so specific like you HAVE to care about it, you have to feel it’s good or you’re a bad person. Many of her poems speak as soulless knockoffs of poetry I have read before, the forced nature really brings this whole piece of work down for me. Ironic when one page was dedicated to some babble about not confusing honesty with relatability. Maybe she needs to take a page out of her own book. Definitely not for me, this is a 4 year old book, I hope she has grown in her most recent.

“i am trying to not
make you pay for their mistakes
i am trying to teach myself
you are not responsible
for the wound
how can i punish you
for what you have not done
you wear my emotions
like a decorated army vest
you are not cold or
savage or hungry
you are medicinal
you are not them”