I am thankful for the small thingsthe early morning cup of teaheat blowing under my kneesin the relentless chill of the studythe blanket wrapped around mesunset orange, soft and comfya view of the garden and all I can seedried honeysuckle vines on a breezea cheeky pheasant pecking berriesa squirrel scurrying up the apple treedeer eating […]
Canned
I haven’t seen a Campbell’s can for decades, with its boring, old-fashioned label. When I think of all those tomatoes that were crammed inside, I wonder if they‘re out of date, whether they stink, if there’s mould on top, if they have dried out, shrunk, drained of bloody red to anaemic pink spotted with bits […]
Last Glow of the Dying Season
solitary quinceamong semi-bare branchestoo few leaves to hidethe only source of sunshinefloodlights the dying season Kim M. Russell, 19th November 2020 My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar: Jisei (Japanese Death Poems) Frank is our host today for Meeting the Bar, inviting us to revisit the Jisei (Japanese […]
Colours of Life
a break in grey cloudhoney light on fallen leavesburnished russet hues Kim M. Russell, 19th November 2020 My response to Carpe Diem #1839 colours of life Chèvrefeuille is back with a prompt on the theme of ‘colours of life’ which, he says, not only has to do with autumn, but also with life itself.
Covid Celebration
hesitation before the grip of winter’s chillalmost all the leaves are goneexposing branches to a cloudless skyand pale light of a more distant sun isolation I watch it from the windowcold glass between me and the worlda video call heralds the promiseof a smiling face celebration a Sunday birthday this yearfour decades of being my […]
Feline
Orbs of honeyed trustglow in the darknessat the end of the bed,incandescent torchessearching in the nightfor human heat.In the morning,after breakfast and a treat,blue-eyed companionrelinquished for the day,the owner of the amber eyesgoes out to hunt and play. Kim M. Russell, 17th November 2020 My response to dVerse Poets Pub Tuesday Poetics: Look into […]
Zig Zagging
Winter sun slants low, cold, white gold, casting faint shadows across the frosty fields, prettifying furrows and hedges and rusted plants around the edges. Is it possible to backlight a hare’s ears, making them glow pink as it zig-zags its way home this morning? Kim M. Russell, 16th November 2020 My response to dVerse Poets Pub […]
Honest Rot Rondel
After autumn has burnishedfallen leaves and bracken,tufts of fern and verdigristransform the palette. Along mudbanks coatedwith emerald algae,mare’s tails’ spiky greentips release glowing nebulae in stagnant ponds,and licheny flora clingto earth, tree, wall and rock,tiny forests of green lungsall exhaling honest rot. Kim M. Russell, 16th November 2020 My response to earthweal weekly challenge: Keep […]
A Simple Secret
Ruby waited by the railings, her heart a bobbing balloon inflated with the scent of sizzling onions and candy floss, beating to the fairground music. She had been looking forward to meeting her friends at the fair. There would be no holding back from the big rides. She was going to try them all. Ruby […]
While we are otherwise engaged
In the solitude of lockdown and the peaceful safety of a village on the Broads, news drips in slowly. If it wasn’t for social media and local TV news, we might forget for a minute that the sea is creeping ever nearer, destroying sea defences, toppling homes from cliffs, and eating up the coast while […]
writing in north norfolk 