Status Updates From When You Ask Me Where I'm G...

I wish I had read Jasmin Kaur’s book before Rupo Kaur’s poetry. I think Jasmin has a lot more rage and it is pushing her edges to greater depths.

"i tell myself that my body
is a garden of flowers
but when most of us
are caught up
in the scent of roses
we forget about the dirt
that they bloom from

all the struggle
that comes before the sunlight
all the push that pulls us
to stay rooted in ourselves
and here we are. finding ourselves.
as we crack and grow
and rise."

"if you see a human being
and do not see a human being.
if you see a human being and only
see a body to walk over. their back
a bridge between here and where
you thirst to plant your feet. i will
not lie and claim you will never
get far but i am certain that you
will only get further from the
human you used to be."

"when you are among men
who call your voice the spark
for every wildfire they’ve set
you begin to soften your words
without meaning to.

you call yourself water
and try to douse flames
that have nothing
to do with you."

"where i come from screams in ways that go unheard. where i come from is buried under blistering earth and burning minds that are set aflame by a state that brings kerosene instead of water when my people are thirsty."