News and Updates/Poetry

New Book Announcement!

Posted on by Khaya Ronkainen / 4 Comments

Hey Good People!

A quick announcement…if you haven’t seen this yet around the net, my latest and full-length poetry collection, THE SHELTERING, is out now!

In fact, the release was on Monday. But the ‘distribution gods’ are on Thanksgiving holiday. 🙂 This means the eBook is currently available only from Amazon Kindle. But I’m working hard to have it available from more e-Retailers, soon.

The paperback, too, is coming soon. If you’re already a follower of this blog and you’d like a sample of the print version, feel free to send me an email.

Please checkout the blurbs to find out if you know someone who might benefit from this book. If so, please pass the word along. Thank you!

Writing & Living

On Choosing Compassion [Revisited]

Posted on by Khaya Ronkainen / 22 Comments

Many of us think that an argument or a period of silence equals the end, when actually – if dealt with effectively – it can strengthen the friendship. A key part is the ability to apologise. Being able to say ‘I’m sorry is extremely powerful.” – Clare Cohen

According, to Cohen, the pandemic has taken a toll on friendships. And she asks how do we fix our friendships? I don’t have a simple answer. But I agree that when arguments are handled effectively, they can strengthen a friendship.

There are many questionable things people (sensible people) do on social media. Some have left me dumbfounded, others have vexed me so much that I wrote about in great detail. For example, in the poem Coffee Talk, I alluded to one of those confusing behaviours.

My recently published essay, Learning To Be Rigorous With Compassion, at LIT eZine puts the above-mentioned confusing behaviour into context. But it also highlights the importance of communicating: addressing the problem and learning from our mistakes.

How have you or are healing strained friendships? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

ps. Feature image by Piotr Cichosz at Unsplash.

Poetry

Dance of the Dead

Posted on by Khaya Ronkainen / 14 Comments

Nordic acceptance is long winter

All things living flee in old November
No claim to Autumn’s throne of loneliness
Whispers amongst the trees chill
Barren realm stands proud clothed in holiness
Unpaid dues peering remain still
A penultimate chapter for the dead to dance

  © 2019 Khaya Ronkainen

PS. It’s Father’s Day in Finland, today. It’s also a poignant reminder (for my family) of our last Father’s Day celebration with my father-in-law, two years ago. Though we still remember him with great sadness, we’re immensely grateful for the memories we created together. So, today whether you celebrate Father’s Day or not, I urge you to let people you love know that you do! You’ll be glad you did. ♥

In any case, the poem above though relevant was written under different circumstances. And it’s part of the collection, From the Depths of Darkness, if dark poetry is your thing.

PPS. The feature image, Sculpture Oak Soldiers, was taken from Katariina Seaside Park, Kotka.