When I was little, we lived with my grandparents and later, when my parents had a place of their own, I spent most of the summer holidays with them. If I wasn’t staying over, my nan would collect me in the morning and take me all the way back at the end of the day. […]
Month: September 2019
Do Cats Purr When Humans Aren’t Around?
As soon as she jumps on my lap, she throttles up and purrs, a rumble in her windpipe, palpable Tartini tones that make my heartbeat skip. I often wonder if she still vibrates, trills, and chirrups when I’m not tickling her around the face or nape, or playing with her ears. Do little purrs of […]
An Act of Devotion
removing our boots in evening’s glowing sunset the pilgrimage ends Kim M. Russell, 29th September 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1754 An Act Of Devotion: the pilgrimage ends We’ve reached the end of a wonderful September, having travelled around the world and walked several pilgrimages.
Photoshopping Buson’s Camellia
blushing bud unfurls in the glass polisher’s hand a camellia Kim M. Russell, 29th September 2019 My response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #104 Photo-shopping Haiku “Camellia” (Yosa Buson) In this new weekend meditation, we have an episode of ‘Photo-shopping Haiku’ and a haiku by Buson (1716-1784): tama-suri-no zayu ni hiraku tsubaki kana Unfolding at […]
Maladroit
My first bra made me self-conscious, all nipples and scratchiness, much like wearing my first bikini (never again!) or my first time skating in hired boots; my first kiss, trying not to crash teeth, dribble saliva or miss target completely; my first (and only) dinner party, or meeting other parents and toddlers when mine was […]
Pilgrimage in Krakow
on the trail of saints among early hyacinths footprints in the snow Kim M. Russell, 27th September 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1753 Trail of Saints, Krakow, Poland Today we are on the ‘Trail of Saints’, a pilgrimage in the city of Krakow, where there are many Catholic churches, cathedrals and graves of people […]
Repair
The puncture in my heart has been slow to mend. What the bumpy road tore apart is melding slowly, patched and glued together. It will take more than all my years to remount the bicycle of life, pump the pedals faster, blow fears away with breeze through hair and gasp of stuttering breath, to repair […]
Pilgrimage of the Relics
far from home amid the sparkle of gold crumbled ancient bones Kim M. Russell, 26th September 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1752 Pilgrimage of the Relics, Maastricht (The Netherlands) In today’s new episode of the ‘act of devotion’ month we have arrived in the Netherlands, home of Chèvrefeuille, our host. He has chosen a […]
Goodbye to Bees
Now that autumn is here, with winter on its heels, I observe ever-changing foliage through windows blurred with misty condensation. I think back to liquid sun- drops, pollen-perfumed bumble-kissed summer lullabies, and whisper goodbye to bees until they appear next year. Kim M. Russell, 25th September 2019 My response to Poets United Midweek Motif: Honey […]
Kafka’s Cage
“I am a cage, in search of a bird” – from The Blue Octavo Notebooks Emptiness echoes off my pretty bars, as polished and shiny as they are and, every day when you pass by, you will hear me heave a sigh. I am a cage trapped here below, gazing into an expanse of blue, […]
writing in north norfolk 