Words by Rupi Kaur
Photos by @Louloupotin
fall
in love
with your solitude
you might not have been my first love
but you were the love that made
all other loves seem
irrelevant
love
will come
and when love comes
love will hold you
love will call your name
and you will melt
sometimes though
love will hurt you but
love will never mean to
love will play no games
cause love knows life
has been hard enough already
the very thought of you
has my legs spread apart
like an easel with a canvas
begging for art
i do not
want to have you
to fill the empty parts of me
i want to be full on my own
i want to be so complete
i could light a whole city
and then
i want to have you
cause the two of
us
combined
could set it
on fire
how is it so 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
i am a
museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut
The
kindest words my father said to me
Women like
you drown oceans
i want
to apologise to all the women
i have
called pretty
before i’ve called them intelligent or brave
i am sorry i made it sound as though
something as simple as what you’re born with
is all you have to be proud of
when
your spirit has crushed mountains
from now on i will say things like, you are
resilient
or, you
are extraordinary.
not because i don’t think you’re pretty
but because you are so much more than that
it
was when I stopped searching for home within others
and
lifted the foundations of home within myself
I
found there were no roots more intimate
than
those between a mind and body
that
have decided to be whole
you must
want to
spend
the rest
of your life
with
yourself
first
you are
snakeskin
and i keep
shedding you somehow
my mind
is forgetting
every
exquisite detail of your face
the way
your fingers used to
light
fire under my skin
is
slipping me
the letting go has
become the
forgetting
which is the
most pleasant
and
saddest thing
to have happened
i didn't
leave because i stopped
loving
you i left cause the
longer i stayed the less
i loved
myself
i thank
the universe
for taking away
everything it has taken
and giving to me
everything it is giving
your art
is not about how many people
like your work
your art
is about
if your
heart likes your work
if your soul likes your work
it's about how honest
you are with yourself
and you
must never
trade honesty
for relatability
i
have
what
i have
and i
am happy
i’ve lost
what
i’ve lost
and i
am
still
happy
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