The Natural Order of Things: Poems

by Donika Kelly

An extraordinary and unexpected book of finding happiness, by the award-winning author of The Renunciations

What does a life look like on the other side of survival, and can the one who survived come to recognize that she did?

Donika Kelly’s poetry is known for its resonant, unflinching confrontations with trauma and inheritance, translated through myth and nature. The Natural Order of Things expands these explorations into a new one defined by joy and connection. It is an ode to companionship with people, animals, and our planet, and reveals the reparative power of intimacy. In poems inventive, playful, and formally nimble, Kelly pays homage to the voices and people she comes from, the songs of her lineage. Other poems follow the early stirrings of love to erotic transcendence with the lover and the self. Throughout, Kelly finds mirror and marvel in nature, art, and precious friendships. Though it once seemed impossible, she realizes a surprising place for herself, a rightness in the larger world.

The Natural Order of Things is a brilliant and moving book, one that reaches toward equilibrium and something like happiness.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT

72 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2025

Reviews

[Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection that reflects on the natural ebbs and flows of life, encouraging us to savor change and seek joy in the everyday. Many of the poems also explore relationships, capturing the tension between love and lust in a way that feels warm and nostalgic, like being wrapped in a comforting memory. This aspect was the thing I greatly enjoyed from the collection as a whole.

While I did feel that the organization and cohesion of the collection could have been stronger, as a few poems seemed slightly out of place or didn't pack the same punch emotionally, the overall content and language were consistently engaging. Despite some of these issues, I found myself genuinely enjoying my time with this one!

Thank you to the publisher, Graywolf Press, for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions shared in this review are my own!

[mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

within were some truly beautiful poems, though i found myself wishing for more cohesion in the collection

[Natalie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley and Graywolf Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. It's been a few years since the author's last collection and this one was worth waiting for. I appreciate how the author creates so many feelings and pictures through the beautiful use of words. I started reading poetry less than 10 years ago and it's been a learning experience. There were some that I'll need to read through several times to really understand but there were others that really spoke to me upon the first read. My favorites were the poems of love but there were others which you could feel the injustice, anger, sorrow and pain. I will always recommend this author's work!

[Taylor Franson-Thiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelly’s voice is so strong. Centered on the survival of queer joy, ecologies, and the self.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wings of color and spacing of the title alongside the wings were a beautiful design and an idea of the poetry forms to come! A poetry collection about the natural order of things but how does one define the natural order? Everything in the universe is governed by a force of expectations dictated by mother nature herself and not the way humanity attempts to bend the world to their whim. A conversational poetry collection that unveils the deep thoughts associated with the way we look at the natural order of things. This will have you question how we think we manipulate the world to our whim but we are gaslighting ourselves as natural prevails.
How do we define the order of our lives? That is based on the perspective of how the readers personally interact with their current environment and how the Kelly plays with line poetry to force the readers to think further. These are deep questions that poetry really is empowered to expand our critical thinking here. This is a critique on capitalism and the way humans disturb the order themselves. Each poem is written like a conversation with the author. The meter is switched to a coherent conversational tone. Although I would have loved a bit more rhymes and lyrics – I understand that this format really provides more deep thought to the world around us. I also adore poets who take the time to play with the lines and diction in the poem to truly get their points across.
As the poetry collection expands from poem to poem I noticed their were subtle pagan takes with the relationship with nature. Poems such as the “Major Arcana” and “Desire Path: Near Equinox” really resonated with my soul. This collection is not pagan in concept but expands on the beliefs that nature is cyclic and there is always a reason. There is something about the way we interact with the mother earth herself that draws out the question of humanities place in the natural world being much smaller than we would like to believe. In essence humbling humanity for a better treatment of mother nature’s course! Thank you Netgalley and Graywolf Publishing for this advanced digital copy.
Read more reviews and recommendations on https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com/

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems about identity, desire, inheritance, the body.

from Tell It Short: "I'm telling you, I was little and lost / the season I learned to be still, to pass / a piece of time with remembering—a comfort / to remember now, to make present, for a little while, / to bring her, as from a great distance, closer."

from Every moment I have been alive, I have been at the height of my powers: "Our names precious, don't heavy the tongue, / but bend and wrap, let the palate / move. Don't we resonate, you and I, / valley and harbor? I wanted to see you / on the red dirt some part of me calls home. / I wanted to see you mirage in air / so thick with water and terpene it shimmers. / An ocean in the air in the place I called home; / the cows in the field; wood gone soft and sweet / with rot; the dirt full of iron and fire: / the ant colony aerating the ground, / their bite the nearest danger we can't see. / I wanted to take you there, but how could / I return if I'm always walking north?"

[Lorren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn’t read Donika Kelly’s poetry before picking up THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS, but I’m eager now to read everything she’s published. Like the sharpest blade, her poetry tends to slide right into my chest despite the deceptively delicate beauty of her words. I found myself highlighting entire poems and sending pictures of them to my friends. I love poetry that demands to be shared—poetry that moves us with its language and its themes.

I received this galley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Nuha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Graywolf and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy.

Available October 7th 2025.

Donika Kelly's The Natural Order of Things is a love letter to the South, to Blackness, to Black women, and to enduring and finding joy even when life heavys. What I loved most about this brief collection is the Kelly's indomintable spirit. Like her grandmother who lived and died in Arkansas, Kelly is stubborn in her belief that there is love and joy for all.

[Wendy Wisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this lush, introspective, generous book. Kelly explores lineage, the natural world, and the harrowing times we are living through. I was most taken by the love poems that are woven seamlessly throughout the book. They were sensuous, evocative, and healing. Gorgeous book.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorites are:
Its gone be what it is
Confronted with the argument of your body—
We Came Here to Get Away From You
Metamorphose

The way the author mirrored and reflected nature throughout the poems was beautiful.

[Joseph Dante · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Kelly's work, but I wanted more out of this one. It just felt, overall, very scant. My favorites were the family poems and the self-portraits. I was less taken by the ekphrastic poems - I just mostly find them boring.

[l · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...I wanted
to hold her shoulders, vomit into her mouth
this water full of dead or dying,
to fill her with a little knowing,
chang eher, heavy her, let the knowing wash
her into the Salish at low tide, past driftwood
and eelgrass, hope a warning at her back."

[Rachel Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple of my favorites right now are: Every moment I have been alive, I have been at the height of my powers; and What you dare to open at the threshold.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ll be thinking about “i never figured out how to get free” for a while

[Juli Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new favorite book of poems. Daring, intimate, and embodied. There are ragged edges to some of these poems, even for all their rigor. I love, love, loved this.

[Hannah Barton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Graywolf Press for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Donika Kelly is a powerful woman, and her perseverance shines through her writing from the very beginning. I enjoyed many parts of the book, although I must admit that some imagery struck me as strange and wild. While I personally didn't love these particular elements, I recognize that feral and untamed imagery is very fitting for a collection about "the Natural Order of Things."

One of the more interesting aspects of this collection is how the author prioritizes her native tongue and slang. This choice creates a wonderful atmosphere unique to the author. However, it occasionally led to minor confusion for me at first, but I quickly grew accustomed to it as I read more.

The poems themselves are powerful, yet I found I couldn't fully relate to many of the author's experiences. I can only imagine how much more impactful this book would be for someone who can connect with her story on a deeper level. One poem that particularly stood out to me was "Every moment I have been alive, I have been at the height of my powers." It paints a vivid picture of life and the journey north for slaves, while also portraying the warmth of her great-grandparents' love and playful pranks. The contrast between the laborious work of slavery and the lightheartedness of her great-grandparents' relationship resonated deeply within me.

Overall, this has been an interesting read. I’m rating it three stars because it’s a good collection with intriguing imagery that merits emotional exploration. However, I feel that the book might have been a mismatch for me personally, as I couldn't deeply relate to many of the author's experiences, somewhat diminishing its impact.