She savours the salty iron tangof liquid frothing from a newly-punctured vein,revels in claret tributaries flowing,returning again and again.It caresses her vampire lips,down her throat it slips,spooking addicts in the graveyard gloomand lovers entwined by her tomb. Kim M. Russell, 16th September 2024 Image of Geraldine Dvorak, bride of Dracula, from the 1931 film Dracula […]
Catching the Heart off Guard
There was a time whenI knew nothing about life on thecoast: how the shore is buffeted by wind;waves spray salty brine above dunes; andseals follow you, riding thewaves glittering in morning light. Now I know the sound of gulls, they arethe music of the sea, laughing at humans workingon boats. Gulls know the beauty of […]
Stolen
A midwife all my working life, I am haunted by how much our mothers do not know about changelings. The first I encountered was at the start of my career. I was about to leave a blue-eyed new-born in the nursery while her mother slept, when I noticed a shimmer, like wings, out of the […]
A Darkling Tableau
Where once grasses buzzedwith jazz of cricketsand loud grasshoppers,cornfields have been razedto stubble, and strawploughed in umber earth. Herons stalk soddenfields, through soggy standsof russet bracken,on towards winter,in ancient rhythm,still pulsing with life. It’s the yawn of time,when the hearth’s tonguesets culture on fire,to glow through the blackdome of night untilthe coming of spring. Winter’s […]
Storm on the Horizon
“My love expands for six dark monthswhile yours retractsto rally againas mine melts away for half a year” from ‘Polar Heart’ by Simon Barraclough Salt marshes fade awaybeneath late August skiestinged with ever more greyand a violet obsession. My love expands for six dark monthswhile yours retracts. Wielding an axe of thunder,a storm skids hooves on dustof a […]
Signs of a Changing Season
There are signs all around me, subtle at first, but becoming more noticeable every day. The plums that last week were sweet and edible, are now covered in wasps and mould. Apples litter the grass, and a squirrel hops between them, nibbling on a piece between its claws. When I open the door to bring […]
Drowning in the Morning Light
Dreams of swimming with whales and dolphins,once green as the sea, are dispersed in dawn’s golden light. We’re haunted by waves and sea creaturesonly in our sleep; sunrise always steals them away. Sea salt is in our blood, memoriesof the ocean our tears; we drown in the morning light. Kim M. Russell, 25th August 2024 […]
Birthday Bouquet
The birthday bouquetis more than a week oldand wilting in the vase A shapely vase of glasshalf-filled with scummy waterglinting in the sun A mixture of flowersraise heads in a last hurrahof purple and pale yellow Brown-tinged leaves hangover the lip of the vaseover like the birthday Small white rosesstruggle to peek abovethe flaccid foliage […]
The Marriage of Apple and Cheese
I wash an apple under cold water;drops pearl on its blush like sweat on summerskin, releasing a burst of green scent.I let it dry while cutting slices from a blockof tangy, mature Cheddar cheese, redolentwith the laziness of cows, and then piercethe heart of the orb, cut it into eighths,and place them with the cheese […]
Bending Towards Autumn
The cool breathof autumn rises from earlymornings laced with dew, the golden dustiness of pearlyharvest light, the heady perfumeof marjoram and wild basil, and the clouds of bluebutterflies that bend the headsof nodding harebells before they fly away. Kim M. Russell, 19th August 2024 Free image found on Pixabay This Monday at the dVerse Poets […]
writing in north norfolk 