Lit eZine Vol 2 | p-2 | AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT | Poetry by Khaya Ronkainen – Manic Sylph Writes… Poetry & Thoughts by Mona Soorma

We bring to you our featured writer Khaya Ronkainen
with and an excerpt from her poetry book:
THE SHELTERING
and her short story:
A CHAPTER FROM AN UNPUBLISHED NOVEL
plus
AN INTERVIEW with Khaya Ronkainen

Connect with Khaya on her website

Connect with Khaya on Instagram

Buy her book THE SHELTERING

Khaya Ronkainen is a writer of poetry and prose. Her work is largely influenced by nature, often examines the duality of an immigrant’s life and lately also explores themes of ageing and women’s health.

She is the author of two poetry chapbooks, Seasons Defined (2018) and From the Depth of Darkness (2019), as well as full-length collection The Sheltering (2022). Some of her work has been anthologized and published in various international literary journals.

Khaya enjoys a dual South African and Finnish citizenship, and currently lives in Finland with her husband.

You can find more of her work on her website or connect with her on Instagram @khaya.ronkainen.

BOOK EXCERPT: Poetry

THE SHELTERING
by Khaya Ronkainen

ABACUS

I count syllables
with no inclination
to tally my emotions.
A single death is tragic
but nothing of this is real.

A LIFELINE TO REGAINING SANITY

Calm is the majestic swan
that never blinks an eye
but breeds close to the shore
and feeds in deep waters

Bold is the territorial cob
on patrol, keeping an eye
on disciplined cygnets
keeping silence

You beauty!
I heard you call at sunset
I searched for you at sunrise

In the morn,
you emerge like a dream
as I whisper your name
like a little prayer

Temptation to capture your elegance
and anchor a memory
as you glide towards me
overwhelms

But when you come so close
I pay attention
for nothing escapes
an intuitive regal pen.

These poems are a part of Khaya Ronkainen’s poetry collection “The Sheltering“.

Book Description: THE SHELTERING

The recent years have been violent to most of us, with one crisis after another. We all are dealing with grief. A collective and personal anguish for things and people dear to us, we’ve lost.

The Sheltering is a recounting of pandemic and political anxieties through verse. The book exists as a witness to the darkest times of our modern society. A collection of poems that explores social injustice, pandemic, family and war, centres on themes of loss, grief, healing and resilience. Sometimes a dare, and other times a plea, the author invites the reader to sit with their feelings in a world that wants us to heal fast and move on.

Buy her book THE SHELTERING