In the spring of 1940, in the season of renewal and birth, twenty two thousand men gasped their last defiant breath as bullets exploded in their heads. Now, frozen in bronze, the Katyn Pieta kneels before the powerful wings and sword of the Angel of Death, cradling one of the fallen dead. There’s a hole […]
Tag: Meeting the Bar
The Meeting of Stream and Sea
A stream went dancing, Glinting and glancing Down to a deeply scooped bay, Where waves ebbed and swelled And fishermen dwelled In cottages by the quay. For homecoming skiffs, On top of high cliffs, Perched a lighthouse tall and proud Above sea stacks, waves, And dark granite caves Carved out by storms wild and loud. […]
Elephants in the Room
Italy quakes in her boot and Roman ruins rumble: just gods playing games with ancient marbles! No Nero fiddling in the flames of the Calais Jungle: just men in hard hats […]
Seasonal Perspectives of a Corkscrew Willow
1 Winter willows throw dramatic and distorted geometric shapes. 2 Naked trunks rise cracking from brittle grass, shedding frost and ice. 3 Intricate lace of charcoal branches is pinned to pale winter skies. 4 Lemon catkins, wriggling with new growth and warmth, anticipate spring. 5 Tousled corkscrews are teased into a tangle, wind-willowed. 6 Leaves […]
A Few Clerihew
John Donne Was a dirty old man Who likened fondling and seduction To New World exploration John Milton Was a glutton for Stilton Nightmares from cheese on toast Resulted in Paradise Lost Elizabeth Barrett Browning Couldn’t stop frowning Like many lady Victorians She was hooked on laudanum © Kim M. Russell, 2016 My […]
The Scent of an Autumn Embrace
On a walk in the woods, the autumn consumes us, Enveloped in the essence of damp leaves and humus Intermingling with spice from the depths of your overcoat, The scent of your body and your freshly washed clothes. The seaweed and sand smell of salty mist from the coast Leaves a chill on our skin […]
Sensual Tanka
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar – Form: Tanka Toni is our host this evening and we are exploring the Tanka. I have three to share: the first is one I wrote earlier this year and the second and third have been reworked. rising fragrant steam hovers above the tea cup waiting for […]
Once in a Blue Moon (reprise)
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar: Let’s Kick It Up a Notch This evening, Victoria is our host and has asked us to search our archives, choose a poem and add a little spice to it through the use of sensory description, replacing metaphor, or tightening up the word count. I have reworked […]
Late Afternoon on a Norfolk Wherry
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meter-Made Mood–dVerse Meeting the Bar Victoria has challenged us to write a poem that illustrates how meter contributes to the mood of a poem. His face is traced and creased by Norfolk gales, His skin tanned Van Dyke brown as wherry sails, The wherryman sits on the tiller […]
Seal Etheree
Sleekswimmerfollowingin the boat’s waketurns and dives belowthe swell and wash of waves,leading to the spit where acolony of blubbery bulls,salty sea dogs and expectant cowsbask on a cloudy August afternoon. Frolicking in the wind-whipped foam and spray,playful pups slip In and out of waves,graceful and magical mermaidsuntil they wrestle clumsyseasick bodies ontoshale and gritty sanda […]
writing in north norfolk 