After two books dealing with some weightier themes, I needed a breather, and so I picked this book of poetry. It wasn’t getting any use from my fiancee, who’s the one who wanted it in the first place. I know positively nothing about poetry, but I guess Rupi Kaur is a big name in modern poetry. Reading this, I immediately understood why.
The Sun and Her Flowers is raw, alternating between beautiful and heartbreaking. Not quite the light and airy breather I was after, yet she has too much of a way with words for it to be any sort of nuisance. For an example, I’ll provide the poem I singled out to send to my fiancee, lover of sunflowers.
what is it with you and sunflowers he asks
i point to the field of yellow outside
sunflowers worship the sun i tell him
only when it arrives do they rise
when the sun leaves
they bow their heads in mourning
that is what the sun does to those flowers
it’s what you do to me
– the sun and her flowers
Kaur hits on and perfectly encapsulates so many topics, from failed relationships, abusive ones, and loving ones, to her parents’ immigration and their (and her) struggle, and beyond.
In doing so, she recaptured my fondness for poetry, an art form I was always worst during my writing career (but which I still bravely, and dumbly, pushed on with). Having seen how tough a beast it is to slay, and appreciating writing for the beautiful language used to express things more than anything else (thanks to aphantasia, I can’t really build a mental picture of books, and I think this is why I’m never too up in arms about movie/TV adaptations; nothing really to compare to and fall short of), poetry is probably the form of writing I am most fond of.
That being said, few poets resonate with me like Kaur, so I haven’t made a habit of seeking it out. However, I bought her newest collection when I saw it in Target yesterday and will be reading that next! I intend to eat up all of Kaur’s poetry and patiently wait for more.
