Poetry Review of Home Body by Rupi Kaur — Mind and Heart.
Title of Book: Home Body
Author: Rupi Kaur
Can poetry be a tool for fighting inner battles? Can it serve as a medium for expressing our deepest thoughts in a way that helps others understand where we are coming from? Many poets aspire to do just this, writing verses that touch on specific purposes, feelings, or eras. Rupi Kaur’s poetry collection Home Body is an expression of inner struggles and personal growth, offering readers a look into her ongoing journey of self-acceptance and healing.
Home Body feels like an open diary, a reflective journey that explores the past, present, and the author’s inner self. It’s as if we are given the privilege of reading someone’s mind, peeking into the most honest and raw parts of their being while also finding reflections of our own experiences within their words. Kaur divides her work into four parts — “Mind,” “Heart,” “Rest,” and “Awake”, each one representing a different aspect of life and the self. In this review, I write about the Mind and Heart section of this collection. Through these sections, she encourages readers to embrace love, acceptance, family, and community, and to welcome change.
Homebody is a perfect work that describes the struggles of women and captures the importance of self-love, finding stability as a woman, and becoming the master of your life.
I initially picked up Home Body because of its title. As someone who describes herself as a “homebody,” curiosity led me to read it. The title alone felt like an invitation into a familiar space, and the collection did not disappoint.
The opening section, “Mind,” explores Kaur’s internal thoughts and mental struggles. She frequently uses the word “maybe,” a way of expressing self-doubt while acknowledging the validity of her feelings. It also explores the actions of people, her mind, and how disconnected it is from her body.
Kaur’s accompanying illustrations add another layer of depth to her words. Even if the words don’t immediately resonate, her simple yet descriptive drawings illustrate the emotions behind them. In this way, the collection speaks on multiple levels, visually and verbally.
After reading the first part: mind, I lost count of how many feelings I could relate to, the emotions of a woman; doubt, uncertainty, depression, silence, anxiety, and loneliness. Yes, it doesn’t have to be my experiences to understand, as women we all have different experiences but the same emotions.
Poems like this make you pause in between reading, then read again, it makes you quiet, and then it makes you eager to know if you feel things or if your mind is indeed disconnected from your body.
Kaur’s genuinity in this poetry, the rawness of emotions, expressing fear, doubt, shame, emptiness, talking about abuse in a way that women aren’t allowed to, yet expressing the need for survival, to feel alive again, to bloom, to be happy, to just live freely without your mind thinking that all the negatives is a treasure.
The last part of mind is a reminder and assurance for women; to move on, to be gentle with yourself, to be kind to your body, and to affirm who you really are to your current state of mind at every chance. In Rupi Kaur’s words;
“cry it, walk it, write it, scream it, dance it out of your body” “you are the hero of your life”.
I love the beautiful words towards the end, the breath of fresh air, how a poem riles up so much emotion and yet feels so good to read. Like listening to the better version of you, the one that you always want to be, the one that is filled with the comfort and assurance that stays. There is a strong self-assurance at the end with Rupi Kaur using the words “i will”, “i want”, and “i am” as opposed to “maybe” at the beginning.
/i am putting the hate down/
In the second part of the collection; heart, the writer expresses her definition of love, what love is, and what abuse is, and her experience with past relationships, being groomed, and how she set herself free.
/don’t ask me why i didn’t leave
he made my world so small
i couldn’t see the exit/
This explains in summary the reality of women in toxic relationships, the constant feeling that survival outside what you have built with this person is non-existent.
/if someone doesn’t have a heart
you can’t go around
offering them yours/
If anything, I get to give grace to women who have survived abusive relationships, are currently in one, or are struggling to leave. Kaur made it easy to understand that even in the abuse, there are beautiful times with them, moments you relive, there is happiness, but they are not as much as the betrayals, the hurt, tears, pain, the wounds, the soreness you feel the morning after, you are only holding on to the moments you cherish and they are clouding your head, your heart is winning and there are consequences.
/if you are waiting for them
to make you feel like you are enough
you will be waiting for a long time/
I learn that leaving abusive relationships will always come with doubt, but in that doubtfulness, choose to leave instead of to stay. The one who loves you would not hurt you, would not crush your body, mind, and soul, love doesn’t feel like a cage, love is not being scared to share, to speak up, or to live freely, love does not belittle who you are no matter what you are, love does not include constant feeling of hurt.
Kaur explains love for oneself as looking into the mirror and taking your own breath away. She describes the love of family, friends, and community, as just as potent as the love of romantic relationships. Love is everywhere, in oneself, and in other women, your partner can’t be your everything, you need to learn love in ways that you can live without romantic love.
As a woman, the importance of building love around you, romanticizing each aspect of your life; physical, emotional, social, sexual, and psychological, is so important. What is love without self-love in all forms?
Towards the end of this part, Kaur talks about the importance of loving your body as a woman so deeply that it captures the essence of her message in every word.
/in a world that doesn’t consider
my body to be mine
self pleasure is an act
of self preservation/
In her words,
“I want you to wipe away/ everything you know about love/ and start with one word /kindness”
Give kindness and receive nothing short of it. I can say this is a guide to getting and receiving the love that you deserve, being careful about who you spend your energy on, and the kind of energy you receive, knowing your worth, establishing boundaries by standing on them, and unapologetically expressing yourself.
At the end of heart, Kaur describes the kind of love she wants, and to be honest, I want that too.
Kaur’s work becomes more than just poetry; it’s a guide for self-discovery, a map for navigating the complexities of womanhood, trauma, and healing. It’s about reclaiming power, standing firm in who you are, and demanding nothing less than the love and kindness you deserve.
Home Body is more than a collection of poems, it’s a celebration of survival, resilience, and the journey to wholeness. This describes what reading Homebody made me feel.
Thank you for reading, please leave claps and comments. Love xoxo.
