We were chalk and cheesebut thick as thieves,haunting the ice rink together:bright smiles in the photo booth;cheese burgers and ice cream floats;sneaking in the bar underagefor rum and coke. We were young, and drunkon our own loveliness,maxi coats buttoned against icy air,dashing through the foyerwith cheeky grins and a waveat red-coated bouncers,embarking on a friendship […]
The Smile of the Mezza Luna
Being a flat county, Norfolk has huge, expansive skies. In the daytime, they are expressive, with scudding clouds and ever-changing colours, whereas cloudless nights are full of stars or flood-lit by a full moon. My favourite moon is the one that looks like a smile, beaming down on me: the mezza luna. tides tumble on […]
Two AI Micro Poems
Mist – A Haiku translucent dawninga light, flimsy mist swallowspieces of old cardboard Granite – A Didactic Cinquain graniteimpervious, greystand, shine, survivesymbolising all things unweatheredrock Kim M. Russell (and some artificial intelligence), 23rd February 2023 Image by Jeppe Hove Jensen on Unsplash It’s Thursday and we’re Meeting the Bar over at the dVerse Poets Pub […]
A Spring Sonnet
Golden spring, you inspire me to write.The way you pierce, renew and burstinvades my thoughts all day and night,weaving itself into lines of verse. I could compare you to a gentle larch.You are more fragrant, forgiving and fresh,though sudden frost may freeze buds in Marchand give me sudden shivers with its caress. How do I […]
Kissing Beneath Wood Smoke and Stars
Those first kisses beneath wood smoke and starswill stay with us forever, exploding with capriciouspiquancy that still lingers, effervescent in our mouths.The drought had broken like an ocean wave,a tang of North Sea air, ice-cold and delicious,and all we wanted was to drown in our embrace,heartbeats echoing, rhythmic and auspicious,lost in wood smoke kisses, stars […]
Return of the Big Birds
Ravens land, obsidian,hacking like old men,and crows’ cries punctuate night again. Rooks argue overhead,and magpies chatter loud enough to wake the dead,as surging clapping wings explode into a raucous, musical river of glossy blackcircling farmland: the birds are back! Kim M. Russell, 20th February 2023 Image by Kevin Mueller on Unsplash It’s Monday and over […]
This Song
Image by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash This song is mist on a distant hill, a welter of water, whiffling overhead. From unknown skies geese arrive with autumn on their wings, twisting and turning, climbing and falling. This song is a rolling, breaking wave of green on a distant hill. From unknown skies geese arrive with […]
Hold My Hand
You don’t need to make big gestures,spend all your money, hand me the moon,photograph or paint me in vivid pictures,or feed me exotic food on a silver spoon. As the Beatles sang in our distant youth,I want to hold your hand. You don’t have to pretend to understandevery single poem I’ve ever composed,take me on […]
The Ghost in the Corner
I’ve had enough of being haunted. It’s not that I’m afraid of the ghost in the corner, but she’s a distraction, especially when I’m reading, writing or watching television. She always has a little smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye, as if she’s making fun of me. I admit, I do […]
Last of the Wild Places
It is the last of the wild places,drifts at the windy corners,a low, far-reaching expanse. The night was so transparent:mud flats and tidal pools;clumps of bushes made black stains;of human inhabitants there are none. Two black Norway spruces,desolate, utterly lonelywhere the road fell away. Greys and blues and soft greens,fresh furrows in the track.Skies are […]
writing in north norfolk 