A ROUNDUP OF MY FAVORITE POETRY BOOKS
Hi everyone! Long time, no talk. It was a little difficult for me to get back to writing considering all that’s been going on in the world. The last time I posted about Speaking Your Truth, it had been a very emotional couple of weeks. Looking back, it feels as though we were living in an alternate reality. We saw such deep sadness and anger. We watched buildings get looted and our city burn. We also watched our community come together in ways we had never before witnessed. It was grounding, inspiring, humbling, and also very raw. We stood at 38th & Chicago, where George Floyd was murdered by four Minneapolis police officers, and paid our respects on multiple occasions. I learned, I unlearned, I thought hard, I reflected, and I cried a lot. I marched. I prayed. And I will continue to do what I can to become an ally and end racial inequality.
Throughout all of this, while at the same time being in a global pandemic, I knew it was important to continue taking care of myself. I am really good at letting my emotions get the best of me, but one thing that has always helped me through tough times is reading poetry. Something about the way words flow together to spark meaning and resonate with people in different ways is inspiring to me and can help me overcome, or at least accept, most emotions I am feeling. I spent many days and nights turning to poetry to help center me, calm me, and motivate me. In this post, I plan to share with you my favorite poetry books as well as some of my favorite lines from a handful of them. I hope it will inspire you to pick up a poetry book and read, too.
I bought my first poetry book in 2015. I was living in a house with six roommates. I was navigating being a full-time college student, a full-time nanny, living in the cities for the first time in my life, and really trying to figure out what my future held and who I was going to become. I didn’t have any friends, besides my roommates, that lived close to me. Looking back, it truly was one of the hardest times of my life, but it taught me so much. When I got my first poetry book, I sat on our deck and read it front to back. It provided me with so much inspiration and gave me the understanding to focus on myself to become the best version of me I could be. I still go back to this book often, five years later, and always feel a connection to the words on each and every page. This book is:
1. Words From a Wanderer by Alexandra Elle
One of the things I love most about this book is the “Dear Self” poems. Here is one of my favorites:
Dear Self,
Please do not be foolish. People treat you how you allow them to. If you want different results, stop settling with the same people and for the same things. If you want to see a change in your existence, be the change. Life isn’t as complicated as we make it and love isn’t as hard as we claim it is. If you want something, work for it. Be honest in your actions and give the world great reasons to love you. Smile at yourself every once in awhile just because. Continue being great, generous, and grand.
Love, Self
2. Milk And Honey by Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur is an amazing author + poet, and this book is filled with tons of great poems for different seasons of life. It’s hard to pick just one, so I am going to share two.
most importantly love
like it’s the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you’re sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
who you loved and how deeply you loved them
how you touched the people around you
and how much you gave them
__
i want to apologize 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 the most 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
3. I Am Her Tribe by Danielle Doby
This is my most treasured poetry book. I was gifted this book from a friend for Christmas. Earlier that year, shortly after meeting, her and I went to a wine tasting at an animal sanctuary. It was a really great event; we got to meet the animals, drink wine, listen to music, and have a lovely little night out. Afterwards, we came back to my apartment and found ourselves sitting on my bed reading poetry to each other. In that moment, I knew our souls were good together; I knew she was one of my people. So, when she gifted me this book for Christmas, it was really special and meaningful to me.
The moment I began reading, I couldn’t put it down. So many pages of relatable words that I fell in love with. I continue to read this book cover to cover often. I am incredibly inspired by the author, Danielle Doby, and I have purchased a couple of these poems on print so I can frame them. I have decided to share an excerpt from one of the poems I purchased on print titled:
“a hymnal to my younger self”
my hope for you
is that you greet your reflection with kind eyes.
that you never look to someone else for your belonging.
always moving from a space of worthiness,
longing for nothing of addition or subtraction.
my hope for you
is that you never stifle in your own power.
may you always carry the belief that your words matter.
unafraid to sing your truth at the tip-top of your lungs.
my hope for you
is that you honor each moment in its entirety.
that you choose your feelings over being numb + disconnected.
owning every curve of life’s light and shadow sensations.
for you understand that in the present moment is where your
happiness is found.
this.
this is my hope for you.
3. Heart Talk by Cleo Wade
Another incredible author. Another incredible book. Whether you’re into poetry or not, I would recommend reading this. Not only are there great poems throughout the book, there are also many lessons. There are so many things from this book that I’d love to share, but I am going leave it at one piece that I really love:
Love yourself enough to walk into only the rooms and situations that show care and love for you. Love yourself enough to walk out of the rooms that harm you in any way. Love yourself enough to hold the people who harm you accountable for their words and actions. Love yourself enough to express your wants, your needs, and your desires. Love yourself enough to tell the truth. Love yourself enough to keep yourself safe. Love yourself enough to say enough is enough when enough has become enough.
A love like this moves mountains.
4. The Sun And Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
Here’s another Rupi Kaur book. One of my favorite pieces is simple. It reads:
You do not just wake up and become the butterfly
- growth is a process
5. Where To Begin by Cleo Wade
This is Cleo Wade’s second book, and it’s equally as amazing as Heart Talk. However, this book is formatted more like a story. It focuses on encouraging us that we are powerful and that we can change the world. I’ve read this cover to cover many times and always feel connected to it and motivated by it, especially over the past couple of months. My last blog post, Speaking Your Truth, was inspired by a story from this book. Here is another piece that I love:
__
we were happy
there is a poem by Haviz hanging in my house that reads,
ever since happiness heard your name, it has been
running through the streets trying to find you.
it breaks my heart a little every time I look at it.
it makes me think about who we were when we were young
before things
started getting
explained to us.
things like
gender, race, religion, and sexuality.
things like
fear, rejection, and shame.
before that we were happy
because we hadn’t been taught (yet)
not to accept others.
we were happy
because we hadn’t been taught (yet)
not to accept ourselves.
every
day
I work to get back to that place
the place where there are no walls between you and me.
the place where
vulnerability is real and beautiful.
the place where
I am happy and you are happy too.
I hear it calling our names.
__
6. Wild Spirit, Soft Heart by Butterflies Rising
This is my most recent book purchase. I bought it because I kept seeing excerpts from it on Pinterest and knew I needed to have it. It is longer than I expected it to be, so I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but here is one of my favorite pieces so far:
__
we honor the
people around us by taking
responsibility for our own energy.
we honor ourselves
by choosing to have people around us
who are willing to do the same.
__
And with that, here are a handful of other poetry books I own and love.
7. All Along You Were Blooming by Morgan Harper Nichols
8. Neon Soul by Alexandra Elle
9. Love In My Language by Alexandra Elle
10. Storyteller by Morgan Harper Nichols
There you have it – a roundup of my favorite poetry books! If you’ve read all the way to the end, thank you. My hope is that you’ll check out one or more of these books and resonate with the words like I have. I truly believe reading poetry can be so powerful, so centering, and can teach us a lot about our feelings. So, like I said earlier, grab a cup of coffee or a tea, light a candle, relax, read one of these books. And I promise you’ll find your hygge.