Until I rampaged into womanhoodand found myself adrift on the sea of life, you were a gorse bush flaming through my childhood,golden, scented with coconut, alive. You were my harbour when I shipwrecked motherhood,a beacon when relationships capsized. You encouraged me to be cautious in my adulthood,and always try to see through another’s eyes. Your […]
Tag: Mother
Time to Say Goodbye
February frost petals frozeonebyone, brittle tears of ice. Their shards pierced my heart,knowing that I had no partin your funeral, except I wrote a poem and read it out loud,proudto be your daughter. I blew my nose,tried to expel the bitter-sweet notesof Andrea Bocelli (not my choice) that reminded me that it was timeto say […]
I Dreamed of You
I woke on the edge of dawn,roused by a blackbird’s songin the first pink flush.Shadow-lit and milky-greyin the cosy embrace of blanketsand the fug of morning breath, I remembered dreaming of youand was reminded of your death. I clung to the edge of dawn.A sparkling new day had arrived,the cold, refreshing scentof dew-soaked grass waftedthrough […]
Fifth of July
I remember your birthdays as always sunny, with an occasional shower, maybe, but I only ever picture you with golden shimmers. Your smiles started as honeyed glimmers reflected in your sky-blue eyes, rapt with homemade gifts, so badly wrapped. Once, we took you to a restaurant; inside was candlelit while summer blazed outside. Tipsy with […]
The last time I saw her
there was a clamour in my soul’s anatomy, a sixth sense enmeshed in a daughter’s flesh. I held her fragile hand, touched fingernails, like fractured shells embedded in sand. The lump of imminent loss stuck in my throat like a dry piece of toast can never be swallowed. I cannot forget how her sacrifice spread […]
Like Marilyn
In those old photographs, I see a teenager, pale and lacking confidence, happy to allow mother or sister-in-law to take over for a while, united in womanhood, your blonde hair curled around your face, like Marilyn’s. I arrived too soon. The sparkle of the glamorous life you hoped for faded into monochrome. You grew up […]
Mother’s Algebra
Joined still to her mother’s placental algebra, she solves puzzles of love, life and parabola; sucking subtractions at a withering breast, expressing equations many years suppressed. Mathematics learned at the maternal knee curves and circles into geometry. Kim M. Russell, 9th August 2018 My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Wordy Thursday with Wild […]
This Little Piggy
A little girl holds on to a chair, teetering in her mother’s shoes, shiny leather stilettos, her feet squashed down into the toes. Granny smiles, forgets for a moment the bunions on her aching feet, the pain when walking down the street, the raw skin and unbearable heat. After bath time, with pyjamas on, they […]
A poem in this month’s Visual Verse
I missed the deadline for Visual Verse in February while staying with my daughter before Mum’s funeral, so I was keen to submit a poem this month. I’m pleased to post a link to the March issue, Vol. 4, Chapter 5 of the online Visual Verse anthology. You can find my poem ‘Mothering’ on page […]
Honesty Seed
a silvery moon rustles with a puff of wind releases its seeds creating separate moons in orbit round the mother Kim M. Russell, 2017 Image found on Pinterest My response to Carpe Diem #1120 Seed I am late in responding to this prompt because of the death of my mother on Monday morning. Please appreciate […]
writing in north norfolk 