The future was a beautiful place, once. I held you that June morning when you opened your eyes; we were seeing one another after seasons of darkness. Like some watcher of the skies. I consider how my light is spent, look into my glass and view my wasting skin; vision may be just a part […]
Childhood in Monochrome
Loving grandparents were always there to house me, feed me, teach me, grandmother in charge of my care while my parents struggled daily. Now only a handful of monochrome photographs remain as tattered ghosts of the past, but my love of home, stories, poems and music still cast their light on the present. They are […]
Trapeze of Life
Being human is a circus trick, a t i g h t r o p e w a l k between now and then, a flourish, and back again. juggling swords, eating fiery words, the highs and lows of the flying trapeze, the bearded lady’s s l o w s t r I p t […]
Like a Duck
Life is a garrulous river glinting through wisps of cloud. A glimpse of life through cloud and I feel like a duck treading water, scattering sparkles on the water like van Gogh’s canvas of glowing stars. I swim against the tide of stars, drag my heavy body to a grassy bank and relish the respite […]
Reflection
The image in the March issue of Visual Verse, Volume 9 Chapter 6, is a stunning photograph by Vony Razom, which has inspired amazing writing, with only one hour to produce 50-500 ekphrastic words. I recommend reading everything, starting at page 1. My poem is on page 83 and, if you want to read it first, you […]
Spring in Speech Marks
My life has been steeped in chromaticity, punctuated by leaves and buds, but me, I’m still curled up like an apostrophe suspended between seasons. In the green garden, pointillistic blue flowers bloom as a cloud of full stops, and you surprise me like an exclamation mark, true to your pink gregariousness, bringing light and heat […]
Breath of the Norfolk Broads
I was standing by water, dreaming of the summer, when she appeared, a wherryman’s daughter on a black-sailed trader among the whispering reeds. A grebe on her shoulder, a spring breeze in her hair, she brought it with her on the breath of the Broads: the tinkle of laughter, swans swimming in sunshine, and the […]
Film Noir
His face was like a clock that ran out of minutes, his voice like a car with a flat battery, but he had the touch of a virtuoso violinist and a smile that was honest, without flattery. She was a feline, a purring predator, her sharp fangs hidden behind a full pout; she radiated warmth […]
William
His young hands were slender, quick and strong, creating worlds in drama and in song, busy and stained with ink; the scratching of the pen spurred him to think. But hands that once were softened by caress, eager to hold and often poised to bless, became stiff and talon-like with age, faltering fingers fought to […]
Clarity
I see clearly. I see blossom. I see ripples in leaves. I see movement in trees. I see the definition of petals. I almost see green chlorophyll pulsing through vein and stem. I see the black and white gloss of the handsome magpie by the garden gate. Kim M. Russell, 2nd April 2022 It’s 22nd […]
writing in north norfolk 