Woken by the sound of birdsong,at first a distant tin whistle of a song,I pull on a sweater and step outside,where a pink and yellow colourwash creeps across the sky. When spring is almost at its peak,with blackbird, thrush and robin spilling music from their beaks,I can’t help but join in the joyful roundnow the […]
Tag: NaPoWriMo
Casting On With Grandmother
She taught me the art of patience,guiding awkward childish fingersto draw a loop around a needle,keep going until too-tight, sweat-soaked woolbecame a square. Knit was the basic stitch, purl soon followed,we explored more complicated structuresmore colourful and designs until, together,we conjured up a rainbowfrom cheap or unravelled yarnthat itched. Later, at parties, that knitterin the […]
Glazed
The clay is moist in our hands. We probe it with damp fingers, feeling resistance until we simultaneously throw it on our wheels with a wet thud. Percussion. The rhythm of the kick wheel gives us impetus to knead and sculpt, and shapes emerge, breathing together with their creators, merging into a breeze, a windy […]
Behind a library shelf…
1. You breathe in earthy, musty, woody redolenceof paper, inky words, dreams,the comforting scentsof stories, poetry from past ages,paper that was born in reamsand cut neatly into pages. 2. You touch surfaces caressed by other fingers,pristine, dog-eared, annotated,abused, their colours:white, yellow, dessicated;the satisfying sussurusas you turn each page over. 3. You peruse crisp, fresh print […]
Diamond
He was wealthy, with a reputationfor breaking hearts and violencein his quest for love, not infatuation,an elusive gem in a mine of loneliness. Diamonds are darkling magnetsfor women of a certain kind;they attract gossip and rumour,but this kingpin didn’t seem to mind. He pulled each giggling, mindlessdebutante in a whirl of tipsy parties,always on the […]
Twisted in a Mini Ritz
Summer days in a silver Mini Ritzwith red racing stripes, bucket seats,and the perfect sound system,on the way from Twickenhamto Fulham. I had my windows down,stuck in jam, suffocating heat easedby a warm breeze, jazzing alongto ‘Twisted’: “My analyst told methat I was right out of my head”,enjoying dog days of freedom,doing my best Joni […]
The Egg and the Key
I found an egg, smooth and new;it was warm so I gave it to you –I wanted to see what you would do. Flocks of birds surrounded us two,they dived and swooped and flewuntil the sky turned a leaden hue. You took my hand, so I followed youto the aquarium at a nearby zoo,and the […]
Clair de Lune
On a bright summer’s day in Cologne,the leaves infused with rays of sunlighton a tree-lined street, and quite alone,I was delighted to hear moonlighttumbling from the strings of a guitar.I lingered by an open window, listeningto blue notes above the hum of cars,caught in a dream, like glimpsinga crescent moon through cloud.I leaned against the […]
Persistence
Echoing rain muffles the air.Distance seems to be lost to cloudsclosing in like damp sheep. Sheeting raindrips and drums, persistent and loud.At the window, I hug a mug of tea, distantly,listening to rain disappear into the distance. Kim M. Russell, 15th April 2025 On 15th April we are halfway through NaPoWriMo, with the online gallery […]
On the Norfolk Broads
It’s never silent among the reedsand water lilies: inquisitive swans gliding in a boat’s wake hissand honk; there’s the bittern’s boom, an otter’s splash, and a breezewhistles through overhanging leaves. Passing boats rumble, blast their hornsby the bridge, the tide slaps at moored-up craft rockingand swaying in the moorings. But at sundown, everything is quietin […]
writing in north norfolk 