milk and honey

milk and honey

Poetry
"sex takes the consent of two
if one person is lying there not doing anything
cause they are not ready
or not in the mood
or simply don't want to
yet the other is having sex
with their body it's not love
it is rape"
The headlines of the March 24 edition of our usually sleepy
local weekly, The Penobscot Times, actually were about a controversy--
a formal complaint requesting that RSU 34 remove Rupi Kaur's milk and
honey (quoted above) from Leonard Middle School. Although the book is
not a part of the official curriculum, it's available for student
reading. Objections centered on the descriptions of sexual violence.
I did what I always do when I learn about attempts to ban a
book--get on Minerva and try to locate it by interlibrary loan. Lucky
for me Scarborough Public Library had an available copy.
I'd have no problem keeping this book in middle school
libraries. It's written in free form verse accompanied by black and
white line drawings. There are sections centered around violence,
love, breaking, and healing. It does touch on a number of truths that
are way out of many adults' comfort zones. For example,
"apparently it is ungraceful of me
to mention my period in public
cause the actual biology
of my body is too real

it is okay to sell what's
between a woman's legs
more than it is okay
to mention its inner workings"
But the writings and drawings are never pornographic or exploitive.
Rather they are the complex realities and simple eloquence of a woman
speaking truth to power.
"i didn't leave you because
i stopped loving you
i left because the longer
i stayed the less
i loved myself"
The Penobscot Times article reminds us that the book touches on
the lived experiences of kids as young as sixth grade. In a 2019
survey forced sexual contact was reported by 4.3% of Maine Middle
school kids. Remember that is the percentage who reported it in the
survey. I'm betting a lot didn't. A lot of adults wouldn't.
A middle school teacher quoted said, "Every banned book is not
right for every child, but every banned book might save one child.
And one child saved is enough to convince me not to remove a resource
entirely."
And RSU 34 voted not to ban the book. YASSS!!!
On a purrrsonal note, I found a poem in the book that reminded me of
how I felt about Eugene when we started a relationship nearly 35 years
ago:
"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"
Do I feel the same way today? Hell, yeah. (Jules)
It was a nice sunny day. Let's have no more snow. (Tobago)
A great big shout out RSU 34 for not giving in to censorship pressure!!!
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


Sent from my iPod