What do you think?
Rate this book
Meant For More Than This
Meant For More Than This is a searing and lyrical poetry collection by British Nepali writer Rha Arayal, exploring the delicate, often volatile balance between identity, love, and self-worth in a world that resists both vulnerability and complexity. Written through the lens of a 21-year-old, Arayal shares poems that confront the intersections of womanhood, diaspora, mental health, and inherited grief — exposing the often overlooked and quiet ache of growing up in a body that is constantly misread.
Across these pages, Arayal blends emotional clarity with a disarming tenderness. Her writing traces the contours of girlhood and belonging, examining how language, memory, and generational silence shape our ability to speak — or scream. With sharp, evocative imagery and an unapologetic voice, she offers a deeply personal yet universal reflection on alienation, rage, softness, and survival.
Meant For More Than This is a collection that does not flinch. It sits in the discomfort of existing, in the mess of marginalisation, and in the beauty of small, defiant moments. For anyone who has ever felt too much, too little, or too in-between — this collection reminds us that we were never the problem. We were always meant for more.
Across these pages, Arayal blends emotional clarity with a disarming tenderness. Her writing traces the contours of girlhood and belonging, examining how language, memory, and generational silence shape our ability to speak — or scream. With sharp, evocative imagery and an unapologetic voice, she offers a deeply personal yet universal reflection on alienation, rage, softness, and survival.
Meant For More Than This is a collection that does not flinch. It sits in the discomfort of existing, in the mess of marginalisation, and in the beauty of small, defiant moments. For anyone who has ever felt too much, too little, or too in-between — this collection reminds us that we were never the problem. We were always meant for more.
50 pages, Paperback
Published May 25, 2025
1 person is currently reading
5 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 5, 2025
Received as an ARC for an honest review 🩷
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4 stars)
Meant for More Than This is a raw and beautiful poetry collection that stays with you. The poems are so well written and full of description, bringing each image and feeling to life. The mix of pain and beauty feels real and powerful.
I especially loved Library Ablaze — it was so beautifully described that I could picture every detail. Rha’s words really stood out in lines like:
“she stays with the lakes
crackles like firewood
and collapses like cedar
she breathes
she breathes
she breathes
her last breath”
and
“that cottage on the shoreline with its garden its healing properties its mud its dust mites its sagging roof tiles had it all.”
These lines show how she finds beauty even in broken things.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4 stars)
Meant for More Than This is a raw and beautiful poetry collection that stays with you. The poems are so well written and full of description, bringing each image and feeling to life. The mix of pain and beauty feels real and powerful.
I especially loved Library Ablaze — it was so beautifully described that I could picture every detail. Rha’s words really stood out in lines like:
“she stays with the lakes
crackles like firewood
and collapses like cedar
she breathes
she breathes
she breathes
her last breath”
and
“that cottage on the shoreline with its garden its healing properties its mud its dust mites its sagging roof tiles had it all.”
These lines show how she finds beauty even in broken things.
May 5, 2025
I was given a digital copy of this book of poetry in exchange for an honest review. This is out on 25th May 2025.
I haven’t read any poetry since I was about 16 years old, so reading and reviewing this wasn’t as easy as I’d have liked but here are my thoughts…
However, I could tell that throughout these poems, the emotions were raw, thoughtful and honest. This is a very reflective collection and well written which made them easy to read, even to a novice like myself.
I haven’t read any poetry since I was about 16 years old, so reading and reviewing this wasn’t as easy as I’d have liked but here are my thoughts…
However, I could tell that throughout these poems, the emotions were raw, thoughtful and honest. This is a very reflective collection and well written which made them easy to read, even to a novice like myself.
May 31, 2025
Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC of this book! This poetry collection really touched and resonated with me. There were many verses that made me stop and reflect on how much the author poured her soul into it and left it on a page for people to read. That takes bravery.
This is a beautiful collection with unique poetic form. It focuses on dealing with trauma, embracing yourself, and fitting in even when you’re born into two different cultures.
This is a beautiful collection with unique poetic form. It focuses on dealing with trauma, embracing yourself, and fitting in even when you’re born into two different cultures.
May 24, 2025
Reading Meant for More Than This felt like walking into someone’s memory dimly lit, vulnerable, and astonishingly real. Rha Arayal writes with a voice that is both delicate and defiant, tracing the quiet ache of identity, belonging, girlhood, and healing. Her words don’t just speak they settle, softly and deeply, in the spaces you didn’t know needed filling.
From the very first page, it felt like Rha had torn out pieces of her personal journal and offered them with open palms. I found myself nodding, pausing, rereading. Her poems felt like whispers and battle cries all at once.
Some lines that stayed with me:
“I am british nepali and still figuring out what that means.”
“do you ever wonder if / you were meant for more than this?”
“you mistake delusion for hope / you mistake this bitter blasted trench as a body.”
“i have enough plasters / to heal the world of hurt.”
These are the kinds of poems you read and then carry with you, tucked into your jacket sleeve or scribbled in your phone notes. The themes of cultural identity, mental health, resilience, and tenderness are woven so naturally into her work.
To anyone looking for poetry that feels like home, heartbreak, and healing all at once—this is it.
From the very first page, it felt like Rha had torn out pieces of her personal journal and offered them with open palms. I found myself nodding, pausing, rereading. Her poems felt like whispers and battle cries all at once.
Some lines that stayed with me:
“I am british nepali and still figuring out what that means.”
“do you ever wonder if / you were meant for more than this?”
“you mistake delusion for hope / you mistake this bitter blasted trench as a body.”
“i have enough plasters / to heal the world of hurt.”
These are the kinds of poems you read and then carry with you, tucked into your jacket sleeve or scribbled in your phone notes. The themes of cultural identity, mental health, resilience, and tenderness are woven so naturally into her work.
To anyone looking for poetry that feels like home, heartbreak, and healing all at once—this is it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2025
Thank you to the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
'Meant For More Than This' is the new collection of poetry by Rha Arayal. It comes out on the 25th May. The author explores a myriad of topics and delves into them in depth: identity, self-love and life itself. I'd like to highlight it also exposes a bit and represents what life is for women, the sharp edges that haunts us for just being women. I love that the author talks about these topics and give it exposure. It also explores the experience of living between two different cultures, and its marvels - and how love and care is an universal language.
I found these poems effervescently and beautifully well written.
This poetry is woven and captured with detailed imagery - it pictures vivid descriptions of a wide variety of scenarios that encompass the author's life.
It is a portrayal of the search for your own identity. What is a person but a blend of experiences and cultural background, among many other things?
"i think that my mind might be a library
ablaze
a vanishing wooden bookshelf
consumed by tangerine hunger
my pupils are as wide as the windows
that stare out at the sea
grimy and grey and sullen"
I have quite a few favourite poems, "library, ablaze" being on the top of my list. I just find it so beautifully captured and written, along with "survival" and "translation".
"i think that my mind might be
echoing the emotions that i cradled
at thirteen years old
tending to playground scars
and sobbing into coral handkerchiefs
the ringing of my screams
and strength of my sorrow
never quite left my lungs"
I can't even describe how much I love this part of "library, ablaze" as well. This is my favourite part of the whole book - perhaps because of its emotional charge linked to some words and feelings pictured.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially the second part of it!
'Meant For More Than This' is the new collection of poetry by Rha Arayal. It comes out on the 25th May. The author explores a myriad of topics and delves into them in depth: identity, self-love and life itself. I'd like to highlight it also exposes a bit and represents what life is for women, the sharp edges that haunts us for just being women. I love that the author talks about these topics and give it exposure. It also explores the experience of living between two different cultures, and its marvels - and how love and care is an universal language.
I found these poems effervescently and beautifully well written.
This poetry is woven and captured with detailed imagery - it pictures vivid descriptions of a wide variety of scenarios that encompass the author's life.
It is a portrayal of the search for your own identity. What is a person but a blend of experiences and cultural background, among many other things?
"i think that my mind might be a library
ablaze
a vanishing wooden bookshelf
consumed by tangerine hunger
my pupils are as wide as the windows
that stare out at the sea
grimy and grey and sullen"
I have quite a few favourite poems, "library, ablaze" being on the top of my list. I just find it so beautifully captured and written, along with "survival" and "translation".
"i think that my mind might be
echoing the emotions that i cradled
at thirteen years old
tending to playground scars
and sobbing into coral handkerchiefs
the ringing of my screams
and strength of my sorrow
never quite left my lungs"
I can't even describe how much I love this part of "library, ablaze" as well. This is my favourite part of the whole book - perhaps because of its emotional charge linked to some words and feelings pictured.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially the second part of it!
June 8, 2025
Received this book as an ARC copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I’m almost startled by the harsh tone the poet has in the beginning of the collection. It made me contemplate my own childhood and the brashness I went through as I aged out of my younger years. The poem that struck me the most was “last thoughts,” the recollection of memories running out of adolescence and realizing leaving is like a death in itself.
Reading this book isn’t going to make you happy, rather it will run you through the emotions every coming of age person goes through. Grief, awakening, wanting to experience more from life, experiencing injustices in the world.
The poetry is formatted in an interesting way that can make some poems hard to read. It takes a minute to actually understand the tone, rhythm, & point of the poem. I found myself re-reading a poem several times just to get the point.
There is no intro in the book to explain what the collection is all about. The blurb from online sites presents an idea, but is also a bit vague. I like to know why the poems are relevant to the poet and the story they’re telling. This is an important way to connect with readers who are looking for authors they share life experiences with.
I’m not sure what I got out of this collection. Perhaps I’m not the target audience. The imagery was descriptive and added to textured feelings the poet feels which I enjoyed. There was no “resolution” or “closure” at the end. The collection didn’t feel finished, and I asked myself, what was the point? Not in a mean way, but what could a reader get out of reading this collection?
The book got a 3 star from me. Since it was short, I didn’t mind reading it once but isn’t something I’d purchase to read again.
I’m almost startled by the harsh tone the poet has in the beginning of the collection. It made me contemplate my own childhood and the brashness I went through as I aged out of my younger years. The poem that struck me the most was “last thoughts,” the recollection of memories running out of adolescence and realizing leaving is like a death in itself.
Reading this book isn’t going to make you happy, rather it will run you through the emotions every coming of age person goes through. Grief, awakening, wanting to experience more from life, experiencing injustices in the world.
The poetry is formatted in an interesting way that can make some poems hard to read. It takes a minute to actually understand the tone, rhythm, & point of the poem. I found myself re-reading a poem several times just to get the point.
There is no intro in the book to explain what the collection is all about. The blurb from online sites presents an idea, but is also a bit vague. I like to know why the poems are relevant to the poet and the story they’re telling. This is an important way to connect with readers who are looking for authors they share life experiences with.
I’m not sure what I got out of this collection. Perhaps I’m not the target audience. The imagery was descriptive and added to textured feelings the poet feels which I enjoyed. There was no “resolution” or “closure” at the end. The collection didn’t feel finished, and I asked myself, what was the point? Not in a mean way, but what could a reader get out of reading this collection?
The book got a 3 star from me. Since it was short, I didn’t mind reading it once but isn’t something I’d purchase to read again.
May 26, 2025
Rha Arayal will be the next Rupi Kaur. Her words, focused on themes of identity and belonging, intermingled with her original illustrations in this debut full-length collection, will leave you clawing at the walls, literally and figuratively, wanting more. Whether it is love or acceptance you crave, Arayal's poetry sticks with you as a reminder that you are not alone. The emotions splayed on the page are honest, raw, and, most of all, real to many of us women and femmes across the globe. Take a moment to stop, reflect, and learn from this series how to turn pain into power. Only in their early-20s, Arayal tackles taboo yet serious topics that many overlook or avoid. It is a quick read with unique figurative language and resounding one liners. I was given an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review, but waited to go public to let everyone know that they can buy a copy as of yesterday! I know I would definitely be carrying this in the poetry section of my fictional bookshop.
Read
June 2, 2025I would like to thank Rhys Arayal for sharing her first published volume of poetry with me. Like a piece of art, once it enters the world you have very little control over how it will be perceived or interpreted. It takes great courage and vulnerability to write a collection such as this and I am grateful to be able to read it.
It is a small collection of youthful anger and loneliness. A third culture kid born to one land and rooted in another. An isolation born of differentness and skin. One whose coming of age experiences translate to an emptiness and search for meaning or purpose in a cold world of superficiality and grim walls of partition. It is a cathartic search for identity for a young woman who is tortured by her art as much as her existence. The tone and voice will appeal to GenX who will feel connected to this body of work, and while I found many poems moving, I was on the older end for this collection.
Poetry is an art. Choice words put together in a unique way to translate a feeling. Everything from syntax to punctuation has a purpose. Even line spacing and font style are often utilized with intention. The style of this collection was variable and I was left with a feeling of being disjointed and slightly angry. I am not the writer so I do not know if that was intentional, but that was my interpretation on the style. I don’t always like the small i as means of smallness or the irregular spacing, but once again this is all part of the experience. I did feel that many of the poems were infused with that angst associated with your teens and early twenties. Of feeling too big for a small world, and too small to be truly seen at the same time. Of finding truth and purpose in your existence in a phase of life when you are no longer a sheltered child, but your own person.
I think it was a very admirable first effort and it will appeal to fans of Rupi Kaur. I think it will be most evocative with a younger audience than me, but I did connect to a few poems. ‘a body of water’ was my favourite with “translation” a close second. The illustrations were also a lovely addition. If you like poetry, be sure to check out this debut collection and see for yourself.
It is a small collection of youthful anger and loneliness. A third culture kid born to one land and rooted in another. An isolation born of differentness and skin. One whose coming of age experiences translate to an emptiness and search for meaning or purpose in a cold world of superficiality and grim walls of partition. It is a cathartic search for identity for a young woman who is tortured by her art as much as her existence. The tone and voice will appeal to GenX who will feel connected to this body of work, and while I found many poems moving, I was on the older end for this collection.
Poetry is an art. Choice words put together in a unique way to translate a feeling. Everything from syntax to punctuation has a purpose. Even line spacing and font style are often utilized with intention. The style of this collection was variable and I was left with a feeling of being disjointed and slightly angry. I am not the writer so I do not know if that was intentional, but that was my interpretation on the style. I don’t always like the small i as means of smallness or the irregular spacing, but once again this is all part of the experience. I did feel that many of the poems were infused with that angst associated with your teens and early twenties. Of feeling too big for a small world, and too small to be truly seen at the same time. Of finding truth and purpose in your existence in a phase of life when you are no longer a sheltered child, but your own person.
I think it was a very admirable first effort and it will appeal to fans of Rupi Kaur. I think it will be most evocative with a younger audience than me, but I did connect to a few poems. ‘a body of water’ was my favourite with “translation” a close second. The illustrations were also a lovely addition. If you like poetry, be sure to check out this debut collection and see for yourself.
May 6, 2025
A poetry collection that touches on identity and self-worth, I found myself drawn to the lyrical words of poet Rha Arayal. Her poems took me on a journey of becoming, be it the sacred, messy middle of living between two cultures or the desire to hear one’s own voice above all others even if it’s just a whisper, knowing deep down why and when it is we deserve more.
💬 Favorite Quotes:
“your knees planted into the sand
with a love
so
fierce
that it aches like foolishness”
“i can teach him how to say hello
in welsh and english and in nepali
and tickle his chin as he laughs
his joy so pure
that translation becomes
unnecessary”
💬 Favorite Quotes:
“your knees planted into the sand
with a love
so
fierce
that it aches like foolishness”
“i can teach him how to say hello
in welsh and english and in nepali
and tickle his chin as he laughs
his joy so pure
that translation becomes
unnecessary”
May 25, 2025
I was given a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and boy do I not regret it.
I do, however, regret not reading much poetry outside of college these past few years. I completely forgot how emotional it was, and how it allowed me to be in tune not only with my thoughts but with everyone else.
“antics of appearance” was life changing and “when the poet goes mad” had me looking off into the distance trying to get my emotions in check
“His joy so pure that translation becomes unnecessary” like WHAT THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL
Overall, I loved this book of poetry. Highly recommend if you are looking for a short, but meaningful read 🤍
I do, however, regret not reading much poetry outside of college these past few years. I completely forgot how emotional it was, and how it allowed me to be in tune not only with my thoughts but with everyone else.
“antics of appearance” was life changing and “when the poet goes mad” had me looking off into the distance trying to get my emotions in check
“His joy so pure that translation becomes unnecessary” like WHAT THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL
Overall, I loved this book of poetry. Highly recommend if you are looking for a short, but meaningful read 🤍
May 25, 2025
4.5 - rounded up
A poetry collection with fiery metaphors, transporting verbal imagery and singing one liners.
What I loved
💕diverse range of poems
💕 strong female voice
💕 unique metaphors
💕 insection between personal and pop culture
Ideal reader
✨ Readers who enjoyed Rupi Kaurs work
✨ readers looking for a quick read with engaging imagery
Keywords
identity, popular culture , young female voice, unique metaphors
A poetry collection with fiery metaphors, transporting verbal imagery and singing one liners.
What I loved
💕diverse range of poems
💕 strong female voice
💕 unique metaphors
💕 insection between personal and pop culture
Ideal reader
✨ Readers who enjoyed Rupi Kaurs work
✨ readers looking for a quick read with engaging imagery
Keywords
identity, popular culture , young female voice, unique metaphors
Want to read
June 1, 2025Meant for more than this ~♪
By Rha Arayal
✿✿✿
Book review🌙
4.5/5 ⭐
"Meant for more than this" is a short book of 50 pages, a collection of poetry revolving around self exploration and growth.
Every verse hit me hard. Every line made me want to cry and smile and so many emotions I cannot even begin to explain.
@encapsulated_emotions I love how you have written about the exploration of your culture. About being a British nepali, the ups and downs of it. I have never belonged to more than one culture, but I could feel your emotions. I just want to say, I'm proud of you girl!! Your diversity only makes you even more unique and I believe that strength lies in uniqueness ✿
I deeply related with "meant for more than this" because even though I am doing my best, I always feel that whatever I'm doing is beneath me. I am meant for more. I am meant for greater things, for more than dealing with daily mundane draining events. I am still charting a path towards that "more" and I believe I will get it as well. I hope you do too♡♡
I have attached some of the poems that warmed my heart. Such beautiful thing, poetry. It is perceived differently by every soul. Yet, there is beauty in it. I definitely would urge you to read this book. I wish I had a physical copy to annotate all my favourite quotes.
This book reminded me of the warm embrace of Rupi Kaur's writing. Intensely passionate, self exploration, reflection and healing.
I especially loved the poem titled "library, ablaze" - "I think that my mind might be a library"- Oh yes, definitely!
I really appreciate you sending me this book. I had a great time reading and reviewing this one. @encapsulated_emotions
Hope you like it♡
By Rha Arayal
✿✿✿
Book review🌙
4.5/5 ⭐
"Meant for more than this" is a short book of 50 pages, a collection of poetry revolving around self exploration and growth.
Every verse hit me hard. Every line made me want to cry and smile and so many emotions I cannot even begin to explain.
@encapsulated_emotions I love how you have written about the exploration of your culture. About being a British nepali, the ups and downs of it. I have never belonged to more than one culture, but I could feel your emotions. I just want to say, I'm proud of you girl!! Your diversity only makes you even more unique and I believe that strength lies in uniqueness ✿
I deeply related with "meant for more than this" because even though I am doing my best, I always feel that whatever I'm doing is beneath me. I am meant for more. I am meant for greater things, for more than dealing with daily mundane draining events. I am still charting a path towards that "more" and I believe I will get it as well. I hope you do too♡♡
I have attached some of the poems that warmed my heart. Such beautiful thing, poetry. It is perceived differently by every soul. Yet, there is beauty in it. I definitely would urge you to read this book. I wish I had a physical copy to annotate all my favourite quotes.
This book reminded me of the warm embrace of Rupi Kaur's writing. Intensely passionate, self exploration, reflection and healing.
I especially loved the poem titled "library, ablaze" - "I think that my mind might be a library"- Oh yes, definitely!
I really appreciate you sending me this book. I had a great time reading and reviewing this one. @encapsulated_emotions
Hope you like it♡
May 14, 2025
This is a great little collection of poems from a young poet that are raw and well written. The author delves into their own insecurities and turns pain into power through the magic of words.
Shoutout to the titular poem ‘meant for more than this’ as well as ‘library, ablaze’ which really resonated with me and had powerful lines throughout.
“i think that my mind might be a library
ablaze
a vanishing wooden bookshelf
consumed by tangerine hunger”
As with most poetry books, some poems will always hit you harder than others as it is a very subjective genre and I truly think there is a poem in here for everyone!
Shoutout to the titular poem ‘meant for more than this’ as well as ‘library, ablaze’ which really resonated with me and had powerful lines throughout.
“i think that my mind might be a library
ablaze
a vanishing wooden bookshelf
consumed by tangerine hunger”
As with most poetry books, some poems will always hit you harder than others as it is a very subjective genre and I truly think there is a poem in here for everyone!
June 11, 2025
This poetry collection contains themes of coming of age, outgrowing your environment, identity and belonging, and mental health.
I absolutely relate to the angst, loneliness, anger, frustration, and the rainbow of emotions of youth throughout. But Rha writes so beautifully about visiting Nepal and about being a young woman of color in a primarily white society in the UK.
Rha’s voice is singular and her poetry is lovely and visceral.
I absolutely relate to the angst, loneliness, anger, frustration, and the rainbow of emotions of youth throughout. But Rha writes so beautifully about visiting Nepal and about being a young woman of color in a primarily white society in the UK.
Rha’s voice is singular and her poetry is lovely and visceral.
June 1, 2025
Meant For More Than This is a quiet, powerful collection that speaks with honesty and heart. Rha Arayal writes with clarity about identity, belonging, and the subtle weight of everyday racism and expectations. Her poems are short but impactful, deceptively simple lines that stay with you. I’ve read the collection about 5 times now and each time I come away with a new understanding.
I saw myself reflected in these poems, they feel intimate. Arayal captures the small moments of erasure and the quiet strength it takes to reclaim space. There’s pain here, yes, but also defiance, tenderness, and hope.
The poems that resonated most with me were Survival and Translation. Her theme on belonging was especially powerful for me as I’ve often wondered as a Fiji-Indian Australian - where do I really belong?
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of Meant For More Than This. This collection was released on May 25th so it’s available for anyone who’d like to read a short but powerful collection of poetry.
I saw myself reflected in these poems, they feel intimate. Arayal captures the small moments of erasure and the quiet strength it takes to reclaim space. There’s pain here, yes, but also defiance, tenderness, and hope.
The poems that resonated most with me were Survival and Translation. Her theme on belonging was especially powerful for me as I’ve often wondered as a Fiji-Indian Australian - where do I really belong?
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of Meant For More Than This. This collection was released on May 25th so it’s available for anyone who’d like to read a short but powerful collection of poetry.
June 18, 2025
⭐️ 3.5/5
This was my first poetry collection and such a meaningful read! I loved the cultural reflections and beautiful illustrations, though I found myself preferring easier to read poems over ones packed with metaphors. But most poems are just like that, right? Full of metaphors and the likes. Anyway, I really enjoyed the message of this book that we’re all meant for something more. 💛
August 20, 2025
If poetry is your cup of tea, then boil your kettle and sit down to enjoy this poetry collection.
I will say this – I’m no poetry expert whatsoever. But when Rha offered to send her new poetry collection to me, I obviously said yes. As mentioned by the author herself, this collection covers themes like cultural duality, feminism, mental health and the feeling of (not) belonging.
Some of the poems in this collection stood out more to me, and even though I rarely read this type of writing there was some of the poems that really struck a chord. My favourite ones were “library, ablaze” and “when the poet goes mad”. There was a quote in each of these that I mentally scribbled a little heart around.
I will say this – I’m no poetry expert whatsoever. But when Rha offered to send her new poetry collection to me, I obviously said yes. As mentioned by the author herself, this collection covers themes like cultural duality, feminism, mental health and the feeling of (not) belonging.
Some of the poems in this collection stood out more to me, and even though I rarely read this type of writing there was some of the poems that really struck a chord. My favourite ones were “library, ablaze” and “when the poet goes mad”. There was a quote in each of these that I mentally scribbled a little heart around.
June 1, 2025
This is my first ever poetry collection and you know what they say, first time for everything!
I’ve read my fair share of poetry for school (back in the day LOL) and reading this made me feel more and reflect. Reading this, I didn’t have to think or stress like the fantasy books I’ve been reading so this was definitely a nice change in pace. It’s crazy that I forgot how poetry, with just a few stanzas, it can hit you hard in a good way🤧🥹 whether it’s through nostalgia or something you relate to. The power of words is just amazing and Rha did that in her poems!
I’ve read my fair share of poetry for school (back in the day LOL) and reading this made me feel more and reflect. Reading this, I didn’t have to think or stress like the fantasy books I’ve been reading so this was definitely a nice change in pace. It’s crazy that I forgot how poetry, with just a few stanzas, it can hit you hard in a good way🤧🥹 whether it’s through nostalgia or something you relate to. The power of words is just amazing and Rha did that in her poems!
July 29, 2025
This poetry book is perfect for anyone at a crossroads in life. It asks many identity based questions through poetry which is deep, rich in imagery, and thought-provoking.
June 11, 2025
Reading Meant For More Than This feels like stumbling across someone’s personal journal—pages they never meant to share but did anyway, because healing sometimes demands exposure. Rha Arayal pours herself, her heritage, and her hurt into this collection with unapologetic honesty.
It’s not polished in the traditional sense, and that’s the beauty of it. The poetry is layered, personal, and intentionally tangled — just like the thoughts of a girl trying to breathe in two cultures, a broken world, and her own body. It speaks of belonging, language, gender, violence, healing, trauma, diaspora, and womanhood without ever asking for permission.
Some pieces hit like whispers, some like wounds. Lines like “I am the other, the outsider, the tourist... the brown girl” stay with you — not because they’re loud, but because they’re true. It’s not about rhyme or rules — it’s about rawness. Some poems feel like pain with a heartbeat.
It’s not polished in the traditional sense, and that’s the beauty of it. The poetry is layered, personal, and intentionally tangled — just like the thoughts of a girl trying to breathe in two cultures, a broken world, and her own body. It speaks of belonging, language, gender, violence, healing, trauma, diaspora, and womanhood without ever asking for permission.
Some pieces hit like whispers, some like wounds. Lines like “I am the other, the outsider, the tourist... the brown girl” stay with you — not because they’re loud, but because they’re true. It’s not about rhyme or rules — it’s about rawness. Some poems feel like pain with a heartbeat.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews