Khaya Ronkainen

The Passage Migrant Returns

Posted on 04/24/2022 by Khaya Ronkainen

it’s April—
the passage migrant returns
to remind us we are never alone;
Mother Nature gives in abundance

giih, kräk-ksäk-ksäk
Mr Fieldfare grumpily preaches
invest in our planet!

backstory: To state the obvious, it is indeed April. I know this because the fieldfare is back, and I’m grateful for the chatter in my backyard. In the mornings, I listen to bird song homophonics and try to transcribe what I think I’ve heard. This past Friday, I think the thrush was saying “invest in our planet!” Perhaps, because it was Earth Day. 🙂

And, on my favourite poetry podcasts, The Poetry Magazine Podcast has been my staple ever since it started. Badilisha Poetry X-Change; an online collective of African poets is more than a poetry radio but a movement… And I’m also loving The Slowdown. Hope this is enough poetry to brighten your days.

Enjoy the season!

Project Finding Beauty

A Stranger Gave Me A Poem

Posted on 04/17/2022 by Khaya Ronkainen

A stranger gave me a poem

[ ]

That poem gave me solace
and it was all I needed
to know I was not alone
despite the silence, for grief
is very personal yet universal.

backstory: Sherry Marr is certainly no stranger to me. She is one of the supportive members of my poetry community; a poet whose love for the natural world makes me want to become an ecopoet, when I grow up.

When I was staggering down the street, holding my bleeding hand, Sherry pointed me to Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s poetry. And what I found among her writings was a podcast, Emerging Form, she hosts with her friend Christie Aschwanden.

Though this is a creative process podcast rather than for poetry, Rosemerry reads some of her moving poems from time to time. These poems have managed to capture some of the feelings I cannot put in words. If you’re presently processing grief, you’ll find solace from some of the conversations on this podcast. Do check it out!

Many thanks Sherry for the gift of poetry, the sun starts to shine and birds can’t stop singing.

Happy Easter Sunday to all who celebrate it!

Project Finding Beauty

Beauty of Clarity

Posted on 04/10/2022 by Khaya Ronkainen

Beauty comes tiptoeing in the morning.

backstory: I don’t write a poem everyday but I read or listen to a poem every morning. This morning ritual helps me ease into the day with a sense of gratitude. But once in a while I get an aha moment, a beautiful and quiet kind of clarity, from a poem line or the story behind a poem.

Since it’s National Poetry Month (in the US and Canada), an occasion I also celebrate in my own way, I thought I’d share some of my favourite poetry podcasts. First is A Mouthful of Air by Mark McGuinness. Poetry readings and conversations with poets are a delight and inspire me greatly. If you are poetry lover, do check out this podcast! If you think you hate poetry, do check out this podcast! 🙂

But over to you. How are you supporting poets this month and beyond, if at all?

And of course, I wish I could say spring is tiptoeing in too, but it’s been snowing endlessly in my part of the world. Anyway, enjoy your Sunday!