Eternity is the great unknown, a breathbeyond the stars, and life and death, a shimmering black holewaiting to swallow us whole, together with all our thoughts, it seems,our hopes, desires and dreams. In dreams, we travel through timeand space, a place sublime, and maybe catch a glimpseof eternity. But they are mere blinks of our […]
Category: Poems Inspired by Artists, Music and Other Writers
August Wandering
This room is quiet.I’m alone in the house –except for a catasleep under the bed upstairs.White noise pervades,maybe it’s tinnitus, but it’s calming,like crickets in summer-baked grass.The carpet I vacuumed yesterdayhas the coloured of wheat,it’s soft underfoot –until I wander onto the tiled floorof the kitchen, hard and cool.The fridge is humming the same old […]
Splendour
Throughout summer,there are countless shadesof green and shapesof leaves, textures of bark.Some grow tall, while others revelin their stunted hunchbacks,sculpted by weather. While scrawny sunflowerscomplain about their lastdance with the sun,trees smile and limber upfor the golden splendourstored in their roots,their hidden autumn treasure. Kim M. Russell, 14th August 2025 This Thursday at the dVerse […]
On the Way to School
trailing shadows we hold each other’s handsgripping our bags listening for the bellevery daywe walk to school we walk to schoolevery daylistening for the bell gripping our bagswe hold each other’s hands trailing shadows Kim M. Russell, 7th August 2025 This Thursday is the day for Meeting the Bar at the dVerse Poets Pub; today […]
The Uncertainty of the Poet
She tries to see beyondthe contours of the marble torso, the pile of over-ripe bananasand the shadows of the building, to the boats by the harbour wall,the darkening sky and the coming storm. But her thoughts returnto sunshine and shadow, the dimple in the statue’s backsideand the bruised yellow of fruit about to rotin the […]
Geometry
Earth tone structures throwa geometry of shadows,some angled, some ragged,in the punishing sun.Windows reflect light until it grabs the cityand shakes it by the scruff,plays pick-up sticks with chimney stacksand hide-and-seek with sky-lights.There is no shade, just brick and concrete,from skyscraper roof to urban street.Inside, cool air hiccups from air-conditioning;outside, exhaust belches from traffic,suffocating the […]
Bathers
When they emergefrom the water in their soggybathing costumes,their bodiesare like the landscape: dunes and waves, grit and pearls,sand and pebbles, seaside girlsin a rainbow of hues,reds, purples pinks and blues,shivering in the breeze. The lighthouse calls from granite rocks,a chalk stick tall and white,and they sing that songto a summer sky: “I wanna marry […]
It is the music of a people
(a golden shovel) Can you hear itfilling the air today? The melody isa memory of what we once were and thebeating of wings and rushing of air is musicwe feel in our hearts and souls. Words ofdespair are replaced with agrowing defiance: power to the people. Kim M. Russell, 28th May 2025 Wednesday’s come around […]
Close Up with O’Keefe
How does a curvilinear,abstract frill wrap around a heart of patina,fungus-like, an organic shell? Observe how the primitive waves crash,preserving the pulsing pigment of Persian-red gouache;how the artist’s blood seeped into the underpainting. Kim M. Russell, 6th May 2025 It’s Tuesday Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub and our host is Melissa, with an ekphrastic […]
As a Child Listening to Ella Fitzgerald
Satin and velvet tonesbroke through the crackleof a seventy-eight on my parents’ turntable,crooning and scatting like a flock of birds.Ella’s voice, a warm hug, skippingthe melody or drawing out emotion like the dripping strand from a spoonof honey.She bent and spun songs I’d heard delivered straight on the radio, dry,gave them souls and made them […]