the mind is free to wander, explore unfamiliar places, push boundaries of space and time, suspend disbelief and hide between the covers, meet new friends and lovers, populate brave new worlds. Pages and seasons turn and so we learn that when a book is closed and night shadows teem, the contents continue to wander through […]
Happiness in a Tea Cup
Fingers of light stroke the dew-soaked grass, sparkle in the dew, flicker through the willow; I raise the window blind and let them in. On my lap there’s a warm cat, in my hand my favourite cup of tea to sip. All around me calm and quiet – a poem blooms. Kim M. Russell, 17th […]
Inca Beginnings
the shadow of wings high above the mountainside ripples in maize fields Kim M. Russell, 17th May 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1434 Cusco … first “contact” with the Inca Empire On our train journey into the high mountains of the Andes, today we are visiting Cusco, the former capital and centre of the […]
Cerro de Pasco
weeping tears of lead the mine sucks the town’s marrow silver behemoth Kim M. Russell, 16th May 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1433 Cerro de Pasco Today we are making a stop in Cerro de Pasco, the capital of Pasco Region in Peru. Chèvrefeuille tells us that Cerro de Pasco is in central Peru, […]
Sweetness and Light
A shy nightingale waits until dark, quietly chuckling and snickering at lovers in the park. At moonrise, he crescendos into fluid song, charming lovers and the Milky Way to shimmer more than they did before. Kim M. Russell, 15th May 2018 My response to dVerse Poets Pub Tuesday Poetics: BRAND NAME NOODLING! Lill, our host […]
Rescued from Mist and Fog
Unearthly shapes drifted like ghosts, crawled from the sea along the coast, crept along ditches, streams and rivers, unravelling with damp clouds of shivers. They entwined their foggy limbs with mine, misting my sight and nibbling my skin, dissolving my bones as they made a start on feet and legs, then up to my heart. […]
Cock of the Rock
flamboyant display a vivid flash of orange breaking through the green Kim M. Russell, 15th May 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1432 Yanachaga–Chemillén National Park Today on our Andean journey, we are visiting Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park, which is situated in the Pasco Region of Peru. It is home to the Ctenophryne Barbatula, one of […]
Testament
Yesterday evening, I watched the beautifully made film ‘Testament of Youth’, which is based on Vera Britten’s autobiography of the same name. It follows her coming of age and blossoming into womanhood during the First World War. Vera Britten was one of the few women accepted into Oxford at that time. When her sweetheart signed […]
Chavin
the rainy season hissing on a goldsmith’s fire roar of jaguar Kim M. Russell, 14th May 2018 My response to Carpe Diem #1431 Chavin Culture On our journey into the high mountains of the Andes, we have passed Paron Lake, where we already found out a little bit about today’s theme: the prehistoric Chavin culture, […]
Footsteps
sunset’s afterglow the echoing of footsteps in a lonely heart Kim M. Russell, 14th May 2018 My response to Carpe Diem Crossroads #9 Ozaki Hosai’s “on the field” In a new episode of Carpe Diem’s ‘fusion’ feature, the two haiku we are working with were written by the classic haiku poet, Ozaki Hosai, who embraced […]
writing in north norfolk 