Cushion

There is much to be said for the comfort of a cushion:the familiar pressure in the small of your back;an extra hug from your favourite chair;a lap on which to rest your feet;a safe place for a book you’ve just finished reading.My favourite cushion has the face of a catwith flowers on her head, a […]

A Candleworth of Love

There was a magical time whenyour mother would carry youon her hip all day. You weredemanding of her love, smallbut large as life, full of life, with yourfairy eyes and curly hair, chin cuppedin your hands. She tickled your palms,walking round the garden like a teddy bear, eachevening before bathtime. She heldyou close when she […]

My Ghosts

They have been with me since childhood,piquant little ghosts that haunt me. Their white bones long for words,the flesh of their existence. I call out to them in the dead of nightand, in a moonbeam of ecstasy, words appear, freshly-baked poemsrouse me, their mille-feuille pastry crumbling at the ferocity of my pen, a sweetnessthat may […]

From Earth to Sky

Here we are, planted,our feet firmly in the earthtogether with trees and shrubs and flowers and wheat and barley, just as green as shoots,as tethered as roots, untilplucked by unseen hands. In the meantime, look –a long-necked swan overhead,untethered, flying feathered and free and light and wind-borne following instinct,a seasoned flier, untilplucked by unseen hands. […]

Nettles and Bindweed

After several weeks of rain, the solstice has brought with it high temperatures and bright sunshine – accompanied by nettles and bindweed. The nettles are now taller than me and, as much as I like the bindweed’s white, trumpet-shaped flowers, known to children in the UK as ‘Granny-pops-out-of-the-bed’, their tendrils are winding themselves around everything. […]

Midsummer Dancing

Sun glints off a windowin the red painted house,while the dark wooden barnoffers quiet coolness,respite for the serious dancers,and those who like to chat,catching up with friendsand neighbours, thirstyfor beer or schnapps,in preparation for singingand more dancingaround a flowery maypoletied with ribbonsinto the long night. Kim M. Russell, 18th June 2026 This Thursday at the […]

Silver

A shimmer of silver poemslights up the map of my heart. I hope they are not tarnishedas they cartwheel and dart across the page, turningfrom platinum to sterling, to a gentle silver mist, thenshadowing in battleship grey until blackened silver letters playand meander into words, form lines, rhymes, stanzas, odes,leading us down lanes and roads, […]