I am delighted that Visual Verse chose to include my poem on page 18 of the latest issue, Volume 10 Chapter 8. The image by Erica Marsland Huynh appealed to me because it is of cats. As ever, all the pieces, prose and poetry, are fantastic. I recommend reading them all – or you can go directly […]
Month: June 2023
Three Things
Little tiger Mojo won’t go beyond the corkscrew willow, while I wander to the end, to the garden gate, lean against the warm wood and watch a boat bob, tethered by a frayed rope that clink clink clinks. The long grass beneath the silver birch is a mass of dots, forget-me-nots and pink weeds the […]
Freedom to Walk
Although I am free to walk pretty much wherever I want, this afternoon, I take my usual route. The sun is shining, the horses grazing, and the grass growing tall, waving in the breeze. I think about places I have never been and, hopefully, will never go, where freedom has a high price, and I […]
Rebuff
He leads her to a sea of oilseed rape, his hushed words warn her not to make a sound. Her trusting eyes are wide, her mouth agape, as butterflies of many hues astound. He begs her listen to the gushing stream, to watch for river birds and frisking otters; he shows her silver trout and […]
Strains of Billie
It’s a quarter past three on a Sunday morning. Darkness sits heavy as a blanket. It’s waiting for first light to seep through night and gently lift it. Strains of Billie Holiday curl into a hug of raspberry tea steam from my favourite mug. The cats have been fed and husband is tucked up in […]
Making Sense of the Present
This poem’s written in the present time, place and tense, proof of my presence on earth, and the message I meant, when you read it in the future and wonder if it makes sense. I’m making it clear so there will be no dissent. Kim M. Russell, 12th June 2023 Image by Thought Catalog on […]
Inevitable
that we both remember childhood with the same memories of teachers, classmates and playground games. We both come from South London dandelion roots, splashing in puddles in tatty plimsolls – not boots, two friends in a gang of urchins, some lost, some found, roaming stairways, playing fields and waste grounds of the decades following the […]
The Quality of Finger-Painting
Finger-painting is the quality of not worrying about the mess on your clothes, hands and face, and sharing the happiness of the child with whom you’re finger-painting. Finger-painting is being a cave-dweller, doing what comes naturally, while unleashing your inner Picasso, Kandinsky or Miro, even throwing a little paint like Pollock. Finger-painting rediscovers the child […]
Evening Walk by the Light of an Early Moon
Heidi had met Charlie only a few days previously at the café where she worked as a waitress between lectures. They laughed when they discovered they were studying the same course, only he was a year ahead. The weather had been dire, raining every day, so they stayed in the café once Heidi’s shift was […]
A Breath of Sea Air
The gulling of waves takes our breath away, puffin and skirling with the chill. Latter-day Canutes, we crave to tern the sea away, but salt water cormorants and spills onto our feet. This day is another one that will stay in our hearts, a snapshot and a guillemot thrill. Kim M. Russell, 1st June 2023 […]
writing in north norfolk 