In a graveyard of crumbling bones, lichen blemishes untended stones, erases brief life stories of the dead waiting for the world to turn back. Their remains have succumbed to worm and maggot, but their souls still dwell in established heartlands and monuments, splashed with light that shifts with overhanging leaves, are touchstones for the afterlife […]
Speedwell
tiny blue flowers sparkling in the growing light a patch of sky Kim M. Russell, 22nd August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1730 Field of Flowers: Freestyle Today we are free to create a freestyle haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired by this month’s theme, field of flowers, and there’s no need […]
Castle on the Knoll
My Norman walls have overseen the bustling market for centuries. I’ve witnessed war and rebellion, wealth and famine, the flourishing of Norwich as a fine city. I harbour ancient treasures, chronicle the lives and times of citizens: some were imprisoned in my dungeons, while others hung from my walls for all to see. Ghosts linger […]
Taming Wildflowers
we take wildflowers replant them in love’s garden sometimes they wither with longing for lost freedom but oh, how they can blossom! Kim M. Russell, 21st August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1729 Wildflower variety: Use That Quote Today we have a quote from the Persian poet Rumi to work with: “There are as […]
Looming
This year, high summer has cast a tidal wave of rhetorical bullshit. We swim in an ocean of it. It’s smeared over every beach, masking the sweet scent of sunscreen with its bitter stink until nothing’s left of August’s decadence. Sunny holidays disappear into autumn shadows, night falls far too soon, and the stench of […]
Columbine
pretty columbines infused with lions’ courage dove wings dipped in sky Kim M. Russell, 20th August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1728 Columbine A new episode brings a different wildflower to add to our bouquet; this time it’s columbine (aquilegia). Apparently, when seen from the base, its petals look like five doves in a […]
Loving Milly
Milly lined up the pills on the windowsill. The furniture went with the bailiffs. She remembered the thunderous knock at the door – the bell hadn’t rung since the power was cut. The children were safely dispatched to their father’s new house, where they could play in the enormous garden. Milly didn’t even have a […]
