I dreamed of a virile lord,a swirling spectre of berry redwith a thick brushof ebony hair and beard,and lethally sharpened swords,skilled on the battlefieldwith weapons and with words. I was the model of modestfemininity, a passionatebut submissive lover,a future wife waitingat the gate for the samuraiof my wildest dreamsand a bed not quite so empty. […]
Tag: dverse Poets Pub
Ravens
Wingtip to wingtip, they jink, tripand wheel with a rhythmic beat. They’re comedians, tar-stainedcroaks telling bad jokes that tumble like hailstones from the sky. Morrigan, transformed, foretells fate,her unkindness of ravens the guardians who guideour sorry souls to the afterlife. Kim M. Russell, 26th January 2026 Today is Quadrille Monday at the dVerse Poets Pub; […]
First Kiss
First kissFirst touchFirst stepsAnd all the bees dancing From one of the poem postcardsSarah Connor sent me Night fell fastLights glowed in windowsChimney smoke driftedCondensation in the kitchenScent of homemade lasagneA walk in stars and sea mistLost in conversationMusic and memoriesOpen fire’s hissFirst kiss Misty halo aroundAn October full moonOnly light on the empty streetSand […]
Shivering
From the classroom windowthe spangled playground sparkled,criss-crossed with blackbird braille,a whirlissimo of fat flakesas if blown from polar fur. Come home time,there were two or threefeet of snow and a magicallyvanishing world as the vanilla stormstole brown and green. I was five years old, my motherwas at home nursing a sick toddler,so the teacher told […]
Earth To Earth
It had all been a terrible mistake, getting involved with a man like Gary, but Mona was attracted to his earthiness, his dark, brooding looks, and his quietness. Most of the men she had known were uncomfortable with silence and had to fill it with inane chat, boasting and mansplaining. But Gary was different to […]
And so…
I emerge, face first,from vertical brushstrokes daubed like a rainstormof bright colours. You might think I’m dressedas Harlequin, but you’re wrong – I am arrayed,dismayed, fighting my waythrough pulsating oiled emotions, scented with linseed,tickled with brushes, waiting to open my eyeson the finished portrait. Maybe I will be finished.Maybe I will recognise myself. Kim M. […]
Farther Down the Line
Gone are the dayswhen train whistlesblew my blues away.What once tookan afternoon nowtakes under an hour:steam has progressedto diesel and electric.Thanks to local fanatics,a little steam trainstill trundles past on time,blowing a fainter whistlefarther down the line. Kim M. Russell, 13th January 2026 It’s Tuesday and time for Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub, this […]
I Cannot Smile Today
I cannot smile today. All day,tears have leaked, spilled down my faceand under my chin, a mirror of the rainpouring outside. Inside I am mourningthe loss of my feline friend, and I can’t wait for this overcast dayto end. Kim M. Russell, 12th January 2026 It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, we are […]
Alphabetically speaking
(Because the alphabet is the brickwork of language)Cave walls had ancient words scratched on themDestined to become poetry. Echoes of lost tongues lurk inFossils long predating homo sapiens,Gorgeous, mysterious and soul touching. Humans staked a claim on poetry —In error I hasten to add —Just as birds wrote theirs in the sky. Kingdoms come and […]
Watching Mum Get Her Hair Done
The hairdresser circumnavigated my mum’s head,conducting a symphony of blonde curls, a pointed, shiny, metal comb in one expert hand,a can of hairspray in the other that turned hair into cement. But I didn’t really watch my mum get her hair done.There was too much else to take in. My eyes were drawn to shiny […]
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