A fragment of lodestone is lodged like the Snow Queen’s ice in my heart, a magnet for wytal* absurdities which are chewing my senses apart. They flock together in an ashen sky: irreversible infestations, a billowing canopy of simmering ridiculousness attracted to me. I know they are innocent and I must stay calm: pear-shaped bananas […]
Free Spirit
He built her a tower in the middle of a field, where corn ears overheard as she conversed with the birds; he watched her fly away, intent on caging her one day. He painted her butterflies with rose-coloured wings that blended with the roses she made into posies; he watched them wither away, powerless against […]
Out of Body
A living quilt of stars and meadows lies across my bed; my spirit rises from my body pale as the dead. I am water rushing in the river, ever towards the sea; I flow through culverts and canals but you won’t see me. I am clouds and I am stars dotted in the sky; in […]
A True Friend
a true friend’s doorway offers shelter and succour to the injured soul soothes the exhausted body and repairs the wounded heart Kim M. Russell, 2017 Image of the painting ‘The Restorer Of Wounded Heart’ by Madalena Lobao-Tello found on Fine Art America. My response to Carpe Diem #1171 wounded heart Today Chèvrefeuille has brought us […]
No Mountains Here
High in a plane, I gazed down at a mountain and dreamed about the view from the mountain. In a flat landscape scattered with windmills, I’ve climbed a low hill but never a mountain.. I stuck out my tongue to taste the spring rain and imagined the flavour of air on a mountain. I looked […]
They Don’t Know They’re Dead
They cling like mist, damp and chilly on my coat, as I stand at the bus stop by the cemetery gates, aware that it could be an uncomfortable wait. I stare at my feet to ignore the embarrassed stares of other people in the queue and the pleading eyes of those who breached the cemetery […]
Waking Sea
Sea breaks against rocks, wakes in wrinkles and stretches out to touch the horizon. Sea stifles a yawn, wraps night sand in crackly grey waves, a gift to early morning. Kim M. Russell, 2017 My response to Sue Vincent’s Thursday Photo Prompt – Horizon #writephoto Sue asks us to use the image to create poetry, […]
Pub Crawl
Norwich once had a pub for every day of the year. Old Norwich boys supped at the Adam and Eve, and in the Angel Gardens. Taverns tracked artisans, life and livelihood through The Beehive and The Brickmakers, Dyers, Plasterers and Bakers Arms, wielding Trowel and Hammer or a fishing rod for the Compleat Angler, and […]
A poem in this month’s Visual Verse
I missed the deadline for Visual Verse in February while staying with my daughter before Mum’s funeral, so I was keen to submit a poem this month. I’m pleased to post a link to the March issue, Vol. 4, Chapter 5 of the online Visual Verse anthology. You can find my poem ‘Mothering’ on page […]
Words in my Mouth
I explore them with my tongue, easing them between my teeth and into the roof of my mouth, each one different. Some are like honeycomb, their crumbs coating enamel, teasing fillings with a crunch. Others, smooth as chocolate, melt dark and warm on taste buds. One surprises me with acid lemon, bursting zest and sunshine. […]
writing in north norfolk 