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 […]
Tag: dverse Poets Pub
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. […]
Birch Trunk
The contour of an old silver birch is broken by a wood- pecker cocking his red-capped headand hammering holes,catkins ripplingin the wind,insect bores, clinging strands of ivy,bulbous fissures,thick bark, ledges cushioned with moss and lichen,sprouting fungi.Kim M. Russell, 1st April 2024 It’s Monday, Aril Fools Day and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, Lisa is hosting […]
An ocean
is a torrent of turbulent tidesebbing and retreating its voice flows and scatters widesometimes gently whispering often wind-blasted and cruelembodying creatures living in its sunless depths some bright as jewelsothers as mysterious as something on a planet orbiting the dark reachesof space devoid of wind rain and sun on earth oceans crash on beachesas they […]
Gannet
Amid the balmy, briny breath,the whiff of wind-worn rockand washed-up bladderwrack, a great white birdemerges from the ocean. It’s a pterodactyl-like contraptionof hollow bones and feathers, buffetedby the coming storm. Puppeted, the gannet freezesmid-flight, a scribble torn between fantastic nacreous cloudsand foaming green waves,trapped in the anticipation of an early sea grave. Kim M. Russell, […]
On the Hill
On my first visit, looking from the Market,I imagined the body of Robert Ketthanging from its walls,a warning to the rebelswho stood up to wealthy landowners,against unfair land enclosures. I wandered up a mound dug by slaves,to an edifice built over Saxon graves,a symbol of Norman subjugation,to counter revolt and rebellion. Throughout history they rose […]
Ornamental
In our garden is an ornamental cherry tree, which has plenty of blossoms each year but bears no fruit. At the moment, there are buds on all the branches; I am waiting for the moment when they will burst open. outside the windowthe beginnings of blossomspring inspiration My plan for next weekend is to spring […]
Grappling with Ottavo Rima
In the quest for a sonetto rispetto,I rummage in the archives of my mind, whereI find the ghosts of poems to set fire toand let the words drift in the cold morning air.Words turn into iridescent birds, undomy heart, fray my resolve, challenge with a dareto grasp as many words as my hands can hold,write […]
Golconda
City gents without umbrellasfall from the sky like rain; I feel sorry for those fellas,bowler-hatted, dressed in grey, early for work in the morning,late home at the end of the day. Disenchanted gents are fallingpast suburban windows where their perfect wives are waiting,aprons on, scent behind ears, in their hands a glass of something,a peck […]
Natural Timepiece
Sharp-toothed leaves has the dandelion,a velvety yellow head;be wary of it in salad,you might end up wetting the bed. Image by Nick Nice on Unsplash Its petals open at seven,they close around four o’clock;if you blow on its seeds,you might even hear its tick-tock. Image by Fouad Roshan on Unsplash Kim M. Russell, 18th March […]
writing in north norfolk 