They had finished their midnight picnic and were lying on a blanket, fingers entwined, in the garden, in the middle of the night. There was only a thin crescent moon, like a brooch on velvet, but stars filled every crease and crevice of the sky, shimmering, twinkling and swarming. ‘It’s hard to imagine that stars […]
Leda’s Lament
I used to love the haunting songof low-flying swans, their trumpetinga welcome herald of spring,their wingbeats a gentle breath passing overhead. Now, they remind me of the threatof his yellow beak and wingsbeating me into submission. I wish I could fly away and hide my conditionuntil I become a mother,when I will no longer fear […]
Wish You Were Here
The Belvedere in Vienna has no beach towels,rows of deckchairs and rainbow parasols,sandcastles, sparkling water and beach balls. There is no beach, you know I like to go off track,but even at the museum I found a postcard rackfrom which to choose some artwork to send back. I saw this one and thought of you […]
I Wasn’t Born Yesterday
Hunched at the dinner table,meal untouched and cold,I was about to slip downwhen Dad said: ‘Ungrateful child,refusing to eat your food.I wasn’t born yesterday. Stop lyingand crying and go to your room!’But you were born before me,way back in history, and youshould have known better.Once upon a time, in the yesterdayof war, you were sent […]
The Frustration of the Teacher, the Magpie and the Ocean
Frustrationsaid the teacheris a class of geniuseswith fingers tappingon mobile phoneswhile I getno response Frustrationsaid the magpieis being an extraordinaryordinary thing of naturebut the only interest I getis when I perchon a horse’s head Frustrationsaid the oceanis using my stomach-churning powerto pick bits of a wreckedboat out of the blackfangs of rocks Kim M. Russell, […]
Palinode to a Birds-Eye View
A journey doesn’t have to beginwith a fluttering of wings;I would rather not fly –I want to leave the skyand walk. I am not a rising larknor an owl that swoops in the dark;I prefer to skitter like a turnstoneamong limpets and cuttlebone,dashing up and down the shore.I don’t want to feather salt-washed air!I would […]
A Flower That Grows Through Solid Ice
Blue moonwort in the throesof autumn: leathery leaveshug earth, awaiting winter snows. But with spring comes rebirth:melt trickles down to rootlets,sparking growth, and a flame of energy ensues,warming floral tissues,melting ice-encased uprising buds. Stems push up as waterflows to roots. Boring throughremaining ice the moonwort bluesair, greets sun, entices bees. Kim M. Russell, 4th April […]
Red Moon, Red Coat
With their matching colours, red moon, red coat, it was just a matter of distance and perspective. She was small in its presence, but once in space she knew she would float. It was such a huge leap, from skin to moon rocks, even in new boots, gloves and thermal socks. But the colours matched, […]
Observations from a Hotel
I would love to observe the universein a hotel room almost touching stars.Spread-eagled on the bed,meteors and stardust in my head,the moon and her backing singerswould croon a lullaby, sleep-bringersand universal dream-weavers,rocking this would-be astronaut to sleep, breathless at an altitude of 10,171 feet. Kim M. Russell, 2nd April 2024 Photo by John McKaveney: Orion. […]
You
wake me up in the middle of a dream,flipping rugs, spreading your hair,chasing a sock around the bedroom,thudding up and down the stairs… and then you hop onto the bed,trample all over my body beforeyou arrive on the pillow near my head,breathe on my cheek and purr… I love the way you knead my hip,turning […]
writing in north norfolk 