The contour of an old silver birch is broken by a wood- pecker cocking his red-capped headand hammering holes,catkins ripplingin the wind,insect bores, clinging strands of ivy,bulbous fissures,thick bark, ledges cushioned with moss and lichen,sprouting fungi.Kim M. Russell, 1st April 2024 It’s Monday, Aril Fools Day and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, Lisa is hosting […]
Category: Quadrilles
Natural Timepiece
Sharp-toothed leaves has the dandelion,a velvety yellow head;be wary of it in salad,you might end up wetting the bed. Image by Nick Nice on Unsplash Its petals open at seven,they close around four o’clock;if you blow on its seeds,you might even hear its tick-tock. Image by Fouad Roshan on Unsplash Kim M. Russell, 18th March […]
No Longer Slumbering
With the scent of snow still lingeringdespite winter’s unbattening,all our senses are shiveringwith the familiar inklings of spring:cut-outs of birds silhouettingan anaemic sky; sparklingstars of celandines yellowingwinter browns; and quiveringsnowdrops and daffodils spring,no longer slumbering. Kim M. Russell, 4th March 2024 Punam is our host for the dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille this Monday, and we […]
Touchstone
You are my touchstone:you heal me;you alonecomplement me,make me whole. You lighten the minorchord of winter,ground mein the headinessof summer. By day my sun,by night, you’re stars,silver rivets holdingthe sky together —fierce gentleness. Kim M. Russell, 19th February 2024 Image by Olena Bohovyk on Unsplash Monday is Quadrille day at the dVerse Poets Pub, where […]
Goodbye January
Not long ago, sharp winter daysraised the curtain on January.Wary birds battled frost. Imagine nicotine dragon-breath clouds,shrouds of icy fog curling,whirling through the sky. Goodbye to the bitter cold.Bold spring blossoms will soon appear.Cheer February in its glory. Kim M. Russell, 5th February 2024 It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, Lillian is our […]
Old Man Winter
is no pinchpenny,his gifts are many: pinking our cheeks, glazing the world, sprigs of icicles, a landscape gift-wrappedwith ribbons of ice and snow. Even as light fades, a flock of waders lifts, dives and twists, white wing tips flashin January slush. Kim M. Russell, 22nd January 2024 Image by Sarah Cervantes on Unsplash It’s Monday […]
A Cormorant Flew Over the Lagoon
A cormorant flewover the lagoon,its primordial profile shoneback from waterblue-green as old copper. The cormorant landed silently on the shore, pecking at stonesand shells to crack,emitting a swallowed gruntas it took off again, backover the lagoon. Kim M. Russell, 8th January 2024 Image by Kristin Snippe on Unsplash It’s Monday, the day for writing quadrilles […]
First Snow
The first hint is a flurry of feathers,stitches from embroidered stars. A single flake falls, sparkles in the night,where a pale moon shivers. Morning. All that remains of the flutteringis a single black feather on white – a blackbird’s shadow taken flight. Kim M. Russell, 11th December 2023 Image by Risto Kokkonen on Unsplash It’s […]
Hibernation
Before hehibernates amongrusting crackles of leaves,a hedgehog lumbersinto the garden.A cross-sketching of prickles,he heaves himself through a fence,a hungry urchinsniffing out earthworms,slugs and snails,ready to makehis winter homein a pileof logs. Kim M. Russell, 28th November 2023 Image by K8 on Unsplash I wasn’t back in time to write a poem on Monday for this […]
Midnight Tryst
The garden is never silent:in a clear sky stars descant,leaves rustle, a distant owlhoots, and a cat’s on the prowl. It’s not dark. Fragile lightfills each crevice of the night,emanating from a silver balloon:my spectral paramour – the moon. Kim M. Russell, 13th November 2023 Image by Josh Miller on Unsplash De is our host […]