We get to know each other first, talk about books and reading until some children are fit to burst, they’re so keen to find out what I’m offering. I take out a book and the child says ‘Easy!’, explores the cover, reads the title, explains what they think it’s all about, and then we read […]
Tag: Midweek Motif
Castle on the Knoll
My Norman walls have overseen the bustling market for centuries. I’ve witnessed war and rebellion, wealth and famine, the flourishing of Norwich as a fine city. I harbour ancient treasures, chronicle the lives and times of citizens: some were imprisoned in my dungeons, while others hung from my walls for all to see. Ghosts linger […]
Televised Childhood
My TV memories are mostly in black and white, that’s how we saw the world when I was a child, how newscasters would present each triumph, each disaster. I couldn’t see the difference on the wobbly monochrome screen between grief and joy, now and then; but we were taught that a cowboy in a white […]
Sea Threat
Miles from the shore, we sleep secure, drifting on dreams like boats or moonbeams, undisturbed by the sound of waves or shifting ground. On the coast, rocky reefs, laced with cuffs of sand and foam, protect the land, waver with the ebb and flow, the pull of undertow, resist the locomotion of the powerful ocean. […]
Winter Knitting
Mornings are for writing any time of year; early light and birdsong inspire images and words. But on winter evenings, when chilly draughts catch me unawares, knitting needles and a ball of brightly coloured yarn keep me cheered and warm. Their gentle click is comforting and I enjoy the counting of stitches and rows that […]
Dance Like the Universe
If I could dance like the universe, I hope I would be partnered with planets, I’d execute a perfect grand jete […]
Memory of Scent
It comes to me through autumn smoke, the burning of damp leaves, that pricks the eyes and chokes the breath, the funeral pall of summer’s death: a hint of you drifts through the trees, teasing on the goose-bump breeze, the scent of Coty powder on your face, always just a trace of you in me. […]
North Wind
The North Wind teases moored-up boats, ties knots in grass along the coast, leaves on our lips a salty taste, and chases inland ocean ghosts. It plays hide and seek with housewives’ washing, steals old folks’ breath and sets them coughing, plucks at branches, sends them crashing, and cheers the rain’s pouring and splashing. The […]
Unknown
It’s there in the depths of midnight, swimming in the shadows, feeding on the frenzy of fear and the lees of nightmares stirred by moonlight. It’s in the chill of the floor before you find the bedroom light switch, check under the bed, remember what was said in the heat of an argument, even if […]
Peace
Perfectly quiet, except for my beating heart and echoing ears. Crows gather in the tall trees. Evening creeps in long shadows. Kim M. Russell, 29th May 2019 My response to Poets United Midweek Motif: Peace
writing in north norfolk 