late icicles drip sun-spangled rivers gurgle winter’s departing Kim M. Russell, 2017 Image found on Pinterest My response to Carpe Diem #1189 thaw (yukidoke) Today Chèvrefeuille has presented us with a less known kigo, ‘thaw’ (yukidoke)”. He reminds us that ‘thaw’ has two meanings: a period of warmer weather that thaws ice and snow; and […]
Que Sera
I wanted to grow up like Doris Day just walking in the rain with Johnny Ray – whatever will be will be. My dad was the great pretender and, for me, there was only you, Mum, singing to Sinatra and Nat ‘King’ Cole, loving me as though there were no tomorrow. Granddad had the mellow […]
A poem in Visual Verse
I’m pleased to post a link to the April issue, Vol. 4, Chapter 6 of the online Visual Verse anthology. You can find my poem ‘Armageddon’ on page 20.
Ruminations on Writing
I was recently reminded I’m getting old, a greying guest of nature, mother and wife. In an attempt to solve the riddle of my soul, I gnaw and chew life out of life. Stiff fingers falter, they fumble, writing is a spidery scrawl on a page; as I peck at the keyboard, words tumble, I […]
Flames
the hills glow orange kissed by flames of spring sunset dry grass is singing Kim M. Russell, 2017 Image found on Pinterest My response to Carpe Diem #1188 Burning the hills (yama yuki) Today’s kigo is ‘burning the hills’ (yama yuki), which Chèvrefeuille says is a common activity in spring, when the dry grasses of […]
April Drizzle
Amidst an army of slim trunks and branches, starkly silver across the bruise of swollen clouds, a shimmering shaft of optimistic sunlight explodes with April drizzle. Ephemeral rain-shadows dissolve into prismatic bows and rippling puddles sparkle with liquidity, intensifying spring and her growing pellucidity. Kim M. Russell, 2017 Image found on Pinterest My response to […]
Distance
Only a phone call away, only a bus or train ride, I know you can drive, and still you are distant. I bought you sweets on the way home from school, was thrown into space by a motorbike and still ran up all those flights of stairs to the top floor and along the balcony […]
Another Cinderella
Fairy tales are never true, happy endings are not for me and you, pinioned by our rustic lives as daughters, sisters, mothers, wives. With the future so uncertain, we cower behind our dingy curtains, praying for footmen, never a prince – they’d be so much harder to convince that beneath our neglected exteriors breathe princesses, […]
Last Traces
skeleton crystals melting into spring rivers last traces of snow Kim M. Russell, 2017 Image found on Pinterest My response to Carpe Diem #1187 unmelted snow (yuki no hate / zansetsu) Chèvrefeuille has reminded us that this month it’s classical spring at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and all our prompts are classical kigo (season words) […]
New Pond
old pond’s spring water clouding with fresh abundance ripple of tadpoles Kim M. Russell, 2017 Image found on Pinterest My response to Carpe Diem Universal Jane #14 Basho’s “Old Pond” Chèvrefeuille tells us that this weekend-meditation is a new episode of the special feature in honour of Jane Reichhold, ‘Universal Jane’, whose favourite haiku poets included […]
