under the willow grass tickling between bare toes leaf shadows dance Kim M. Russell, 4th June 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1445 cooling on the porch (hashi-i) It’s June and we are exploring classical kigo of summer (and winter). Today’s classical kigo is ‘cooling on the porch’ (hashi-i). We have a front porch, an […]
Summer Solstice
sun-dappled mountains dog-day dancing in the stream a crystal rainbow sun-dappled mountains fluttering leaves filter heat a refreshing breeze dog-day dancing in the stream between dusty feet a shimmering fish a crystal rainbow reflections in the water interplay of light Kim M. Russell, 3rd June 2018 My response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #35 Troiku […]
Refulgent
The sky is blasted with dragonish clouds that blacken an ancient wind-blustered landscape long ago weathered into ridge and furrow, dissolving the veil between human and nature, between yesterday and tomorrow. Murmurations of thunderheads gather, unearthly shapes shifting across the gorge where the sun god tempers day in his fiery forge; an alchemist, he chants […]
Under the Eye of the Clock
Springtime in Paris is here again and all along the banks of the Seine artists are unpacking chalks and oils, canvases, water colours, and easels, ignored by preoccupied passers-by and unaware of the all-seeing eye of the Académie Française clock. Above every one of its ticks and tocks, it’s listening for foreign impurity on the […]
mugi no aki
barley ears listen lapwings sing of golden fields a splash of poppies Kim M. Russell, 1st June 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1444 barley autumn (mugi no aki) Throughout June our inspiration will be classical seasonwords (kigo) for Summer (and Winter) and we’ll be following the classical rules. The reason we will be writing […]
It started with a raindrop…
from a cloud landing in mud. Within hours, shallow streams meander and bubble between banks of flowers burning above the flourishing flood. It gushes on, a convulsive weir, a torrent of energy trying to get back to where it was. The heat of the sun draws it up to a cloud and it becomes once […]
El Condor Pasa
pan pipe music soars over the peaks of mountains a condor flying Kim M. Russell, 30th May 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1443 Music to close our journey In the last episode of May, our inspiration is music from the Andean Mountains, called ‘El Condor Pasa’, played on the pan pipes.
Nature Never Lies
Violets, forget-me-nots and pear-drop pink honeysuckle burst at the first hint of heat, spattering garden and street with sunshine. Somewhere, a blackbird sings solo and pearl-edged butterflies weave in and out of flowers flouncing their colours, true to nature’s word. Kim M. Russell, 30th May 2018 My response to Poets United Midweek Motif: Truth This […]
Huancayo
the end of the line Andean geometry sharp peaks and round domes Kim M. Russell, 30th May 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1442 almost at the end of our journey In the penultimate episode of our journey into the high mountains of the Andes, we arrive at Huancayo, the capital of Junín Region, in […]
In Bleeding Heart Yard…
pulses quicken at fog-muffled footsteps on the cobbles. Along the soot-soaked lanes, pawn shops and tenements topple, and blackened windows weep tears of grime. They see it all: every good deed and every murderous crime, pickpockets, pimps and paupers, desperate drabs and abused daughters. The dross of life oozes, sobbing and mumbling from the murky […]
writing in north norfolk 