I hear them through the chilling autumn mist,
the muffled footsteps of returning souls;
their heralds are the jackdaws and the crows.
Before the sodden churchyard has been kissed
by daylight skipping in between headstones,
I hear them through the chilling autumn mist,
the muffled footsteps of returning souls.
The scarlet red of poppies will persist,
although the blooms of summer are long gone,
remembrance laid in wreaths among the bones.
I hear them through the chilling autumn mist,
the muffled footsteps of returning souls;
their heralds are the jackdaws and the crows.
Kim M. Russell, 11th November 2025
This Thursday at the dVerse Poets Pub we are meeting the bar with Laura and circling back the Chaucerian way.
Laura says that ‘we have come round again to some sombre times as with the recent All Souls Day, commemorating the departed…it’s also a time when we stand in silent respect and remembrance of all those who perished in both world wars’. She has given us examples in extracts from two stunning poems, ‘Lost in the Milky Way’ by Linda Hogan, Vera Brittain’s ‘Roundel’ and Algernon Swinburne’s ‘The Roundel’.
Laura reminds us that we owe the Roundel form to Chaucer and distinguish the Chaucerian Roundel from all other forms; it’s the form she has chosen for our poems today. We are writing in 13 lines of iambic pentameter made up of three stanzas: one tercet, one quatrain and a sestet. The rhyme scheme is A B1 B2 / a b A B1 / a b b A B1 B2; once we have the first 3 lines, it circles back in two refrains! Laura has also given us some useful links with examples.
writing in north norfolk 
this is a glorious Roundel with its refrains – the theme runs so well through the rhymes scheme
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Thanks so much, Laura.
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I love the way you formed the roundel with also a nod to poppies and the soldiers lost from Flander’s fields… (so similar forms to the rondeau)
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Thank you so much, Björn.
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❤ ❤ ❤ Excellent, Kim. Seamlessly done and honors the fallen and those who have risen in response.
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Thankyou very much,. L:isa!
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Kim, you have skill for this form. You are welcome.
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A poignant write, Kim, that both honors the fallen and the poetry form itself with such rich imagery. Wonderful to read.
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Thank for such a lovely comment, Dora.
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“The scarlet red of poppies will persist,
although the blooms of summer are long gone,
remembrance laid in wreaths among the bones”
such a pitiful rondel!
much♡love
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Thank you, and much love to you, Gillena.
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What a stunning and fitting tribute Lisa ❤️
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sorry Kim!
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Haunting and memorable! ✨🤍
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Thanks Lisa.
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A beautifully crafted tribute to the fallen, Kim. My first experience of Remembrance Day, was my mother’s tears during the service, (she served in WWII and I wrote about it before), but as time goes on and my understanding of history deepens, I find it increasingly difficult to stomach the waste of lives in mostly pointless wars (WWI especially – WWII against Fascism not so much)…
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Thanks so much, Andrew.
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This is hauntingly beautiful.
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Thank you so much, Imelda.
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“the scarlet red of poppies will persist” ~~ the art you shared, guaranteed to resonate long after this beautiful roundel is read. Perfectly composed, Kim.
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Thank you, Helen.
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Wow! This poem is somber, respectful, memorable, heavy with meaning. I can see the picture you are painting with your well-chosen words.
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Thank you, Kim.
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Beautifully done, Kim, in both thought and execution.
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Thanks so much, Juidy.
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