Three o’clock finds me up early,unsettled by hoots, shivery calls and a swirlyglittering dome of stars in obsidian sky. Pale clouds wisp across fathomless darkand an owl magically curves an arc,low and slow, before it lands on the bark of an ancient tree. And then there’s me,face pressed against cold glass to seewhat I can […]
Tag: Open Link Night
Grandma and the Red Umbrella
Whether it’s for protectionfrom the bullion blazeof the sun or acidic city rain,the red umbrella draws the gazeof everyone on Grandma’s street. It’s with her whenever she goes out,furled or unfurled, swung or twirled,you can see her coming in the distance,dancing and tripping on the pavement. She is the personification of jolly,always ready for gossip […]
A Breath of Sea Air
The gulling of waves takes our breath away, puffin and skirling with the chill. Latter-day Canutes, we crave to tern the sea away, but salt water cormorants and spills onto our feet. This day is another one that will stay in our hearts, a snapshot and a guillemot thrill. Kim M. Russell, 1st June 2023 […]
Assignation with Apples
Nature’s fruits and their aromas are laden with sweet memories: a windfall of sparkling baubles or a bird café of dulcet squabbles over worms in russet orbs that end as feasts for our feathered friends. Each bite of your acidic sweetness arouses a harvest of ripe blushes in an orchard under cover of night. ‘We […]
[when i think of you]
after e.e. cummings i see your bike left haphazard on the edge of the forbidden cricket pitch fringed with golden hued birds-foot trefoil and clover, sky overhead cross-hatched with vapour trails, like the lines that sketch your face now; your face then was freckled, your breath sweet with bubble gum, lips stained orange with the […]
Reviewing a Pomegranate
We purchased it for mixingwith garlic and honey, a dressingfor grilled halloumi and sourdough toast. Its orb glowed crimson,the blade split smooth skin,spilling the ruby jewels within, and stained our fingers with fruity blood.Its sticky flesh held heavenly food,the luscious seeds tiny surprises crushed between our incisors,trickling juice upon the tongue,a fecund fruit with a […]
Why Spillage?
Why did you ponder on that daythat started with a shower of rain?You could have started with a rayof sunshine and then waylaidus with a downpour.Just saying. Why did you have to go on aboutthe many hues of green and shoutthe praise of buds that sproutand burst with leaves, withoutconsidering the soil?I’d like to know. […]
An Easter Love Sonnet
Yours is the face I see when I awake,its slumber-toasted skin is pillow-creased,a welcome comfort to the nightmare achefrom which I have been recently released. You stir – and in that moment I must smile,the naked truth of your expression slaysmy fragile heart and I must sit a whilepondering fond memories of days and nights […]
A Serpent’s Tale
This month in Visual Verse: An Anthology of Art and Words, we have an unusual image by an unknown artist from the Wellcome Collection, which has inspired a wealth of strange tales and poetry. I look forward, on the first of every month, to the Visual Verse challenge of one image, one hour, 50-500 words. […]
In a Dusty Window in Delft
It was Easter, we were looking for something to eat before a gig; we were tourists wandering a street, canal on one side, on the other a row of houses. Our eyes slid sideways to glimpse through windows, idle curiosity in a city we had never been before, the picturesque home of pottery and Vermeer. […]
writing in north norfolk 