‘Mother, why do we have to get up in the dark?’ my daughter whispered. I had warned her to be a mouse, to creep and stay silent. We didn’t want to be caught by the Witchmaster. I wore my skirt with deep pockets and filled them with bread, cheese and sachets of my special herbs […]
Tag: dverse Poets Pub
Five oak trees point the way
(i)Look out for magpies,five on my silver birch,they will laugh at youfor a while, untilyou have counted them all. (ii)Listen for the sound of acornsfalling and bouncingacross the roadwhere five oak treespoint the way. (iii)Follow the aromaof freshly brewed coffeefrom the pubin the bend of the road –it opens at five. (iv)Don’t forget to stroke […]
Once it was the Colour of Dreaming
Once it was the colour of dreamingthat filled the sky with countless stars;while other girls spent their youth in barsI would watch the cosmos streaming.Submersed in the soft light of the moon,exploring her face, its perfections and its scars,I whistled along with owl and nightingale.Oblivious to time, the morning came too soonand the colour of […]
flamenco beat
I’m not one for dancingI soak up sights and writerhythmic poetryrecreate castanetsromance of sights and lights sitting in a cornerthe slap of clapping handstransforms into wordsthe dizzy whirl of skirtsSpanish fans, clapping hands Kim M. Russell, 21st September 2023 Image by Joana Cordeiro Ferreira on Unsplash This Thursday at the dVerse Poets Pub we are […]
Cobwebs
Dewdrops stud the spiders’ threadsthat span the fence posts and the gate.Blowing in the autumn breeze, cobwebsdangle between trees, a trap for fallingleaves. Berries stud the spiders’ threadsthat hang from hedge and rowan tree,and woodland creatures make their beds,store nuts and fruit in preparation. Flocksof birds fly in migration, and the redsof leaves and berries […]
Poltergeist
Its words were smashingcrockery,pots and pans crashingin the kitchen, knockingon the walls,communicatingthrough sound.We didn’t understandand, with no interpreter to hand,we moved out,leaving the dilemmato others,and the poltergeistwas left lonely and quiet. Kim M. Russell, 18th September 2023 Image by Chuttersnap on Unsplash It’s Monday again and at the dVerse Poets Pub it’s time for the […]
Winter Portents
By next door’s chicken coop, a fox ghosts pastand, bold with hunger, skims the fence posts,a sign of what is to come. Berries blob like blood on spruce and rowan,old wives’ tales of a turning season,another sign of what is to come. On the sill, in late sun, bask crisp wasp corpses,outside the window, a […]
Turnsole
The gardener was digging in the walled garden when Louisa passed through the gate, tracing with her fingers its intricate metal work, oak leaves studded with acorns. The autumn sun was on his back and his muscles bulged in rolled-up shirt sleeves. She thought, ‘To be pretty for you I have dropped two seeds of […]
Perihelion*
I am at a point closest to it, orbiting the narrative, eager to explore the setting, meet the characters, and find myself falling into The Book of Fire. It has a cover the colours of flames: red, orange and yellow. It is adorned with tears, so sad is the story. The author embraces sadness, loss […]
The Old Vicarage Gardens
At the tipping point of summer,leaves have not yet turnedand, at the Old Vicarage Gardens,a riot of dahlias continues to burn,their vivid colours and spiky bloomsare not likely to fade too soon,unlike the fading dog day heat. Grass and bark paths yield to our feeton a quiet walk between trees and flowers,disturbed only by the […]
writing in north norfolk 