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 […]
First Bee of Spring
I saw a boozy bumblebeebuzzing in a cherry tree,in among the blossomdrenched with dew.It flew onto a window ledgenear a blooming hawthorn hedge,just to say hello to me and you. Spring bees are parched for sipsof sweet pollen from the lipsof wayward hedgerowflowers of every hue.A swarm of bees in Mayis worth a heap of […]
Just Wondering
A caged bird sharpened its beakon cuttlebone. Did it wonder about the cuttlefish,decomposed, washed onto a beach? Was it waiting for an artist to carve itinto something new and beautiful? Maybe a mould for a brooch or pendant —or a bird. Kim M. Russell, 6th April 2026 It’s Quadrille Monday at the dVerse Poets Pub; […]
Just Between Us
Your cool breezeis a breaththat lifts my hair, kisses my ear. I’m the only onewho’ll hear your voicein the thundering silenceof this April dawn. Everyone else is asleep,deaf to the poemthat hums in my head,thrums like a guitar string. I interpret your Morse codeof raindrops, transcribeyour windy whisper into words, recording our early morning conversation. […]
Don’t walk, swim!
My days at the local poolhave been reduced.No more quiet swimming on Fridays. That’s when they meander across lanes,chatting loudly about anything inane,getting in every swimmer’s way. I swim a length underwater and when I riseanother woman’s boobs are in my eyes –she doesn’t attempt to apologise. They’re not even swimming!They walk – or hang […]
Impossible Rainbows
The salt marsh fadesbeneath sky tinged with grey and a violet obsession. Wielding its thunder-axe,the storm’s hooves skid and the sky cracks fusing the horizon. Dandelions spatterverges, thirsting for some pitter-patter while I insist I’m right as rain. I’m ready to bravea nor’easter, given the promise of a stormy day and rainbows impossible to follow to their ends. Kim […]
Life Coach
I struggle to rearrangethe furniture of my own life,emotions are too heavy to lift. Even the dust bunnies hidingbehind the sofa are laughing at me. I give throwaway advice,take none in return,misunderstand the art of feng shui,the importance of decluttering. My thoughts are so jumbledI can’t fit them into boxes,and they spill across the floor,tripping […]
Letter To Myself Looking Back
Six years ago, in the fertile belly of pandemicspring, you were inside looking out. The street was quiet, no traffic, bar a delivery van,the driver masked and gloved, as were the single walkers, with or without dogs.Not even an aeroplane in the sky. The sun shone, flowers bloomed, but you wiltedin the stifled isolation of […]
Always a Poet
Neat and tidy, they played together,pouring invisible tea from a tiny teapot,serving imaginary sandwiches to dolls. I sit on the staircase of memory, digdeep into the toybox of the past and pull outbooks and a snot-filled tissue of lies. My sisters’ childhood was free of tears and worry.They never saw my mother’s bloody nose, nevercame […]
writing in north norfolk 