Captivating Deep Short Poems

"hair

if it was not supposed to be there

would not be growing

on our bodies in the first place

-we are at war with what comes most naturally to us"

(Milk and Honey, 193)

Rupi Kaur is a Canadian poet, artist and Instagram star who's known for her captivating poems. Rupi Kaur describes her personal experiences with love and life through deep short poems that are full of emotion. She uses simple language to describe feelings such as joy or grief, which makes them accessible to anyone who reads them.

She has become one of the most popular Instapoets of her time with over 14 million followers on Instagram and has published four books.

She has inspired millions of people around the world with her captivating writings that address topics such as love, loss, illness and healing.

Today, we will be exploring who this modern poet is and more about her books and most loved writings.

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Who is Rupi Kaur?

Rupi Kaur was born in Punjab, India 0n the 4th of October 1992. She moved to Canada when she was three years old. Her father worked away a lot due to financial instability. They eventually settled in Brampton, Ontario. Her father was fond of poetry and used to write to her mother while working away.

Poetry has been an important part of Rupi's faith and spirituality from a young age.

Growing up, Rupi witnessed many wrongdoings towards her friends and family. As a result, she became isolated and started to show a special interest in reading. She felt it relieved her loneliness.

At first, she was averted to the English language and she became silent. It was only by the sixth grade she started to become more confident in her writing and performance.

When she was 17 years old, in the year 2009, she started to perform poetry.

She studied at the University of Waterloo where she graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2014. In 2015, she moved to New York where she studied for her Masters degree at The New School.

While living in New York, Rupi began writing poetry about her experiences as a woman of colour and dealing with sexual trauma. Her poems were often posted on Instagram which led to her becoming an internet sensation with over 4 million followers on the platform alone! Her work has been featured in many newspapers including The Guardian and The New York Times as well as being translated into more than 40 languages across the world!

Books By Rupi Kaur

Rupi is a #1 New York Bestselling Author and has sold over 11 million copies of her collections. She has written, published and illustrated three poetry books and one workbook.

1. Milk and Honey (2014)
2. The Sun and Her Flowers (2017)
3. Home Body (2020)
4. Healing Through Words (2022)

All the illustrations in her books were created by her. When she reads one of her poems she draws the first image that comes to mind. She then digitises the drawing by sketching it digitally.

How incredible is it that her poetry books have been translated into 43 different languages? 

Learn more about her books below.

Milk and Honey

Her very first poetry collection, Milk and Honey, was self-published in 2014. This collection of poetry and prose on survival has four sections:

1. the hurting
2. the loving
3. the breaking
4. the healing

These profound writings are based on Kaur's life experiences. You can expect to read about themes such as violence, loss, love and feminism in these sections.

Here is the quote from the book that truly resonated with us:

"stay strong through your pain
grow flowers from it
you have helped me
grow flowers out of mine so
bloom beautifully
dangerously
loudly
bloom softly
however you need
just bloom"

The Sun and Her Flowers

The second poetry book was published in 2017 and is made up of a beautiful collection of poetry that is all about growth, healing, and honouring one's roots.

This book is made up of five chapters, each one exploring a specific theme. Just as the name of the book depicts, it is all about the journey of wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming.

The poem that inspired us the most is about self-love and how important it is to have a loving and intimate relationship with yourself, because only then can you reciprocate and have the same with someone else.

"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"

Home Body

An incredibly well-rated book with a 5/5 stars review on Takealot, Home Body is Kaur's third poetry collection. It is a bundle of raw, honest conversations with oneself. This book aims to empower others to fill their cups with love, acceptance, community, and family and to embrace change.

Here is an appetizer of what to expect in this graceful book:

Have you been longing to get back to yourself?

With over 65 exercises, this curated guide takes you on a self-exploration journey to examine themes of trauma, loss, heartache, love, healing, and celebration of the self.

In this book, you will find writing exercises that will guide and help you to reflect and delve deeper to connect with yourself. This is your invitation to be vulnerable and creative.

Now is the time to celebrate yourself!

A Woman With Her Art

Rupi Kaur is known for her artistic ways and writing poetry is not the only form of art that she creates and is famous for. She also makes artwork from her poems and illustrations and sells them on her website as wall art.

Now you can print her inspiring work, and put it up on your wall as a reminder. She even sells tattoo designs. So, if you are up for a new tattoo head on over to her website to get your design.

She is an incredible artist who not only physically creates art but seeks to empower her readers to dive deeper and connect with their inner selves in order to grow and become the best version of themselves.

If you enjoy the work of Rupi Kaur, you might want to check out Yung Pueblo's poems. He is another artist and 'Instapoet' well known for his beautiful poetry and ability to empower people.

Although Rupi Kaur is an author, illustrator and photographer adored by millions of people there has been some controversy surrounding her work because it is so raw and covers topics that are often seen as 'hush-hush'.

Many deem her a poet, but there are many critics from the literary world that diminish her work and claim it is juvenile, inauthentic and over-simplistic.

Regardless of the critics, she still continues to create art and poetry that inspires and empowers millions of people to rise above their circumstances, to grow and be themselves, authentically.

Another famous poet who used poetry to express difficult and beautiful emotions was William Shakespeare. Why not check out Shakespeare's classical works for some inspiration?

Rupi's Most Sought-After Poem About Self Love

Self-love is certainly a central theme in all Rupi Kaur's poetry. As a poet, Rupi has gifted the world with many self-love poems but this one in particular stood out to us:

"The universe is inside of you

look inwards

and see yourself

for who you really are

we are all made of stardust

and we are all beautiful

when we love ourselves unconditionally."

Which poem about self love by Rupi Kaur is your favourite?

To conclude, Rupi Kaur's poems are short, simple yet powerful messages that transcend cultures and languages by speaking to the heart of human emotions like love, sadness, loss etc.

These poems who have found solace in her words at some point in their lives.

We will leave you with some of our favourite Rupi Kaur quotes:

"When we love someone, we want them to be happy even if it means being apart."

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you."

"When we don't feel like we're good enough for someone else but we still love them so much ... that's real love."

Did you enjoy reading about poetry? Considering learning more about famous South African poets and their home-grown poems here.