Summer is a distant memory and autumn is already on its way out, but Morris the gardener has a huge task on his hands – clearing leaves from the orchard. He shrugs on his overcoat, dons hat and gloves, and makes his way across the soggy lawn and through the walled kitchen garden to the […]
Elegy for a Gentle Soul
Without a grave where, lonely, I can weep,an urn or box of ashes I can keep,her soul lives on in photographs and songsshe used to sing when I was very young,the ones I loved to hum to my own child,and hum them still while walking in the wildand windy autumn lanes, wet-eyed with griefand almost […]
Moving
If I were a tree, I would not considermoving, my roots firm in soil,beneath green grass in summerand in autumn a leafy litterof russet, amber, umber, ochre. If I were a snail, I’d carry my home,followed by a silver trail,free to wander and to roamacross tarmac, stone and loam,sheltered by my spiralled dome. But I […]
On reading Heaney’s ‘Gifts of Rain’
The recent rain has left puddles,cars shower walkers with chilly wavesand tractors churn up mud. Burst riverbanks leave us in a muddle,fields and gardens lost, animals to save,as we wrangle with the flood. On the other side of the world it’s dry,all moisture wrung out, no dripping taps,just an arid cough of dust. There’s not […]
The Fall
Their lips touched in a moment of bliss,sealed in an unexpected kissthat vibrated like a note from a saxophone.Hours later, all alone,jazz playing on the radio,she realised that she had fallen,and that the kiss would never be forgotten. Kim M. Russell, 30th October 2023 Image by Chris on Unsplash Lillian is hosting Quadrille Monday at […]
Vs, Ws and Xs
On my first much-needed walkin a few weeks, a heron, statue-still,sat guard by the bridge – untilI took out my phone for a shot, and it slow-winged up and overthe dyke. Down the muddy lanethere were deep red berries,and overhead the clamour of geese flying in v, w and xformations, criss-crossing the sky.They left me […]
Beauty Hides in a Cupboard
Yesterday I cleaned out cupboardsinstead of organising words. I removed the pots and pans,checked that they were spick and span, and placed them on the work top.I marvelled as bubbles appeared in soap and water when I dipped a cloth into the bowl,laughed when a bubble sparkled, whole, and floated up towards the ceiling.Wiping hard, […]
Survivors in a Ruined City
We hide while bombs destroy our homes,mothers and children hunkeredin the dust of a city reduced to its bare bones. Men came, destroyed and, conscienceless,fled the scenes of devastation; they aregone while we survivors are hopeless, watching the afterbirth of jet contrailsstill fading in the silent sky.It will take years to clear the city of […]
Waiting
Here in North Norfolk, we are still waiting for autumn foliage, although the berries are making up for the lack of colour. There are a few yellow and gold leaves drifting about in the current stormy weather, but they are nothing like the usual glorious displays we have had in previous years. Saying that, our […]
writing in north norfolk 