Back in the seventies when I was a student in Cologne, I submitted poems to various publications; some were published, and others returned with the usual brief note about the poem(s) not being the right fit for an edition or anthology. I once received a short letter from Zoe Fairbairns when she edited Spare Rib, […]
Past Peonies
Grandfather’s garden I pick peony petals fading on dry soil Grandfather’s garden haven of childhood summers no clouds in the sky I pick peony petals silky frills of deep cerise my secret friends fading on dry soil distant memories and tears his watering can Kim M. Russell, 16th August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem […]
August Poppies
Blood red blooms line dusty country lanes, they dot the village verge, and a meadow explodes into a rippling scarlet sea. Here and there blow pale pink blooms, their blushes fading in the sun, papery ghosts haunting tired fields. Dog day heat has scorched the brittle fields, the only shade is found in leafy lanes, […]
La Catrina
It is said that you should never place your faith in a sensual woman in red with full lips on a smooth-skinned face, who sells bitterroot to raise the dead. Her naked heart was born to darkness, counting corpses in an eternity of death and wicked business running the affairs of the city of bones […]
Scarlet Pimpernel
poor man’s weather-glass a memory of childhood rainy days inside tightly closed brick-red petals coaxed open by late sunshine Kim M. Russell, 15th August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1725 Scarlet Pimpernel Today, the new addition to our bouquet of wildflowers is the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Televised Childhood
My TV memories are mostly in black and white, that’s how we saw the world when I was a child, how newscasters would present each triumph, each disaster. I couldn’t see the difference on the wobbly monochrome screen between grief and joy, now and then; but we were taught that a cowboy in a white […]
Cornflower
scrap of fallen sky blown on an autumn-chilled breeze cornflower fades to grey Kim M. Russell, 14th August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1724 Cornflower Today’s addition to our field of flowers is the cornflower, also known as bachelor’s button. In folklore, cornflowers were worn by young men in love; if the flower faded […]
Bodies
Our bodies unfurl and then curl into each other under night’s cover. We are waves in motion on an inky ocean or sand-blown stones hidden in a desert’s undertones. We are intertwined limbs, hearts, souls and minds, dancing in the dark until we spark – stars falling in the empty sky of morning. Kim M. […]
Summer Storm
bees hum thunder among sweet-scented lightning honeysuckle storm Kim M. Russell, 13th August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1723 Honeysuckle This August we are creating a bouquet of wild flowers, and today’s flower is honeysuckle.
Stained Voices
Vibrant voices, though mute, stream with light from every shard. The silent congregation of intricate and ancient art, is animate with sanguine songs, a cadmium and cobalt choir intoning medieval psalms and Victorian poetry. Such heavenly illuminations are devilishly delicate, so easy to annihilate. Kim M. Russell, 12th August 2019 My response to dVerse Poets […]
writing in north norfolk 