juvenile magpie still unpractised in flying squats under the willow tree little kingfisher flashes turquoise upriver an accomplished acrobat Kim M. Russell, 4th August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #96 Little Ones: Sedoka In the first weekend meditation of August 2019, our challenge is to create a different kind of Japanese […]
Stitching Wichita
She had spent all her adult life holding a needle and thread. She had sewed and embroidered all her trousseau and her wedding dress by hand; stitched up holes in shirts and overalls; darned her stockings and his socks until her eyes smarted. Every evening, the needle in her fingers went up and down, like […]
Dawn Apocalypse
The annihilator rises and dons his crown of peaks tinged red with blood and dawn. At his feet, leafless trees feign death, mighty forests bristling with dread, and convocations of eagles take wing, their obedient beaks sharpened to do his bidding; and we, like timid rabbits, scutter for shelter from the emperor’s apocalyptic helter skelter. […]
Poppy
splash of red poppy bud in a meadow a geisha’s lips Kim M. Russell, 2nd August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1716 Poppies In the second episode of August, the month in which we are creating a field of flowers, we are working with poppies.
August Meadow
among the daisies dandelion suns aglow clover scents the breeze Kim M. Russell, 2nd August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1715 Field Of Flowers … This is the first of a new month of flower prompts: ‘field of flowers’.
Dizain Limbo
What is this twilight, this world of shadow? It’s neither day nor night, this crumbling ledge. In our innocence, we named it limbo, and think we know it well, this fiery edge of hell, where even demons’ pinions fledge. Yet the painful glow of eternity is tempting when compared with the empty uncertainty – even […]
Arbutus at Kew Gardens
It’s a lifetime since we rode the red bus from Twickenham to Kew, me and you, and walked among the trees: blossoms in spring and – in autumn – leaves. We listened […]
Winter Knitting
Mornings are for writing any time of year; early light and birdsong inspire images and words. But on winter evenings, when chilly draughts catch me unawares, knitting needles and a ball of brightly coloured yarn keep me cheered and warm. Their gentle click is comforting and I enjoy the counting of stitches and rows that […]
Summer Love
Since they were children, they’d ridden their bikes all summer, at first with stabilisers, and their bikes grew with them. This year, hair bleached from the sun and faces full of freckles, they realised their friendship had blossomed. ticking cycle wheels grasshoppers in the long grass strawberry kisses Kim M. Russell, 31st July 2019 My […]
Woken by a Summer Night
White hot lightning flashes through the blinds, a celestial photographer illuminating crumpled sheets twisted with the lack of sleep. Fiddling with volume control, clouds amplify and dull thunder’s rock and roll, rattling roof tiles and wooden blinds like xylophones. Beside the bed, a glass of tepid water whirlpools with vibrations. Kim M. Russell, 30th July […]