Did it evaporatewith the last remaining traces of his scent or with the smoke from the cigarette,the last from the crushed packet he left behind? She couldn’t stomach breakfast,and there were hours to cross until the island of lunch, and a rainy afternoon to get through,the rest of the day with only a stormcock for […]
In a Driverless Taxi
In a driverless taxi there’s no rhythm,no local undertone or foreign thrum,no musicality of another human voicediscussing current news and political choice. On the dashboard there’s nothing personal,no question about supporting Spurs or Arsenal,no background, family or wife:the invisible driver doesn’t have a life. There’s no poetry or narrative in driverless,no words, no story; they […]
Her Last Poem
The poet sits at her desk, chewing the end of a pen, mulling over her latest collection. Over the years, she has had some success with pamphlets and anthologies, but time has not been kind to her, and her sight is rapidly failing. This does not mean that she is considering giving up writing altogether, […]
Down by the Moorings at the End of the Garden
I rise with the sun this morning.Our cat is waiting at the back door. I pull on my wellington boots,unlock the door and let her out, follow her across dew-soaked grass,grown long, studded with forget-me-nots, down to the back gate. She slipsthough its slats while I stand and admire boats bobbing ungainly on wind-kissed water,ghosts […]
Grandad
Agoraphobia confined him to the house,a single street and the wireworks walls,where he laboured, picking up on the solesof his shoes shiny nuggets of copper. A creature of habit, home for dinner at oneand tea at five, he exuded the tang of toiland lingering smoke of Navy Cut onhis breath and the fabric of his […]
Persimmon
glossy orange fruitalongside apples and pearswould my mouth pucker? cold first and foremosttextural surprise: firmnessa juicy softness different and newsweetness stopped me in my trackshoney, brown sugar? little orange fruitmaple syrup adventurethat autumnal orb joy and possibilityalchemy, simplicity Kim M. Russell, 11th April 2026 On the 11th day of NaPoWriMo, our optional prompt is erasure […]
Grief is a Jackdaw
There are times, left alone with thoughts,when grief sneaks up on me.The last daffodils have faded, yetI’m taken back to that January day. Why did you wait until the morning? I would have understood you leavingwhile I held your hand. Why did you waituntil the morning? No goodbye. I hear a clattering, a band of […]
A Riot of Weeds
I Dandelion You may think me a bit of a tease,from generations scattered on a breeze,bringing sunshine wherever I grow. Sharp-toothed like a lion, my dark leaves haleand hearty, it’s an old wives’ talethat they make you wet the bed. My petals open at seven, close around four o’clock;you can tell the time by my […]
I Didn’t Wonder
I didn’t wonderwhen I sharpened my beakon the cuttlebone stuck in my cage. I didn’t wonderabout the cuttlefish,decomposed and washed up on a beach. I didn’t wonderif it needed an artist to carve itinto something new and beautiful. I didn’t wonderif it might be a mould for a brooch or pendant —a fish or even […]
imperious advice
don’t go swimmingin moon-stained seasif you dowatch out for monsters skimmingwaves and divingdeep below your feetonly to emerge and eatthemhowever feel freeto find which shapeyou want to bebut don’t assumeyou can comparewith the stars and the moonstay grounded Kim M. Russell, 7th April 2026 This Tuesday at the dVerse Poets Pub, Dora is hosting Poetics […]
writing in north norfolk 