Abuse Survivory Quotes

“every time you
tell your daughter
you yell at her
out of love
you teach her to confuse
anger with kindness
which seems like a good idea
till she grows up to
trust men who hurt her
cause they look so much
like you
- to fathers with daughters”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and honey

“trying to convince myself
I am allowed
to take up space
is like writing with
my left hand
when I was born
to use my right
- the idea of shrinking is hereditary”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and honey

“you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but I was not made with a fire in my belly
so I could be put out
I was not made with a lightness on my tongue
so I could be easy to swallow
I was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and honey

“emptying out of my mother's belly
was my first act of disappearance
learning to shrink for a family
who likes their daughters invisible
was the second
the art of being empty
is simple
believe them when they say you are nothing
repeat it to yourself
like a with
I am nothing
I am nothing
I am nothing
so often
the only reason you know
you're still alive is from the
heaving of your chest”
― Rupi Kaur, Milk and honey