I watched the movie of this summerfrom inside, shielded from the unrealityof vacant sunny days, no traffic noise,a drought of touch and laughter. I lived each day in the now,no plans for the after,uncertain if there would be any kind of future. And now, at the tail end of this summer,rain-diamonds decorate the windowpane,mornings are […]
Tag: Open Link Night
Lazarus
Mynamecrumblesfrom my mouth,a piece of coral. You might think I’m smiling but it’s rictus –I’m as terrified of youas you are of me. If you could seeinto my spine,you’d find it’s hollow,encased in an armoury of external teeth –all the better to eat – and my eyes are even bigger than my mouth –all the […]
The Leap
I have a poem in this month’s issue of Visual Verse, in which writers have been inspired by an image by Andi Sapey and Other Dance Art. I’m in great company again, with poets such as Misky Braendeholm and Sarah Connor. You can find my poem on page 22 of Visual Verse Volume 7 Chapter […]
Hunger
is a baby bird,a swallowscreaming for dinner,its beak wide open,a black holeready to swallowits mother whole. The raging acid oceangripes and grumbles,piranha enzymes frenziedby the food that tumblesdown the open gullet. But oh, the satisfactionof the elephantine belly,the joy of different flavoursthat coat the tongueand tease the gustatory cortex,a sweet and savoury tangobefore the chemistry […]
Bird-scribbled
‘A little bit of bread and no cheese,’ the scribble larks* beg – I know, they feast on bugs and seeds – the notes of their familiar song fall like rain from the sky. At my feet, another message scribbled in the intricate patterns on an empty egg, a warning of their demise through dearth […]
Sprung from Richest Rain
Early spring ice melts channels in mountains, fields and hills, loosens hardened sods under the metal plough’s thunder. Grey crusts and clods break in the furrows’ crumbling wake, surfed by flocks of gulls and crows pillaging carefully crafted rows. Later in the ripening year, earth fulfils the farmer’s prayer; tender growth greens the plain, rapeseed […]
Fancy!
I have a poem in this month’s issue of Visual Verse, and I’m in great company again, including Jane Dougherty and Frank Hubeny, to name but two of the writers. I really like the sepia-toned image by an unknown artist (circa 1880) from the Getty Open Content Program, which inspired me to write something lighthearted. […]
When the Jackdaws Clatter
Visual Verse has found another unusual image, this time by an unknown artist, from the Getty Open Content Program, which is the inspiration for a wide range of writing in the May 2020 issue, Vol. 7, Chapter 7. You can find my poem on page 35 or you can link directly to the poem, entitled […]
A Common Blue in May
flashing butterfly among the honeysuckle a neon blue spark Kim M. Russell, 14th May 2020 A haiku for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night It’s my husband’s birthday today, so I’m keeping it brief with a haiku and a small butterfly.
Mind Map of a Forgotten Coast
Our coastal skin shrank as knowledge grew; why have we forgotten paths and dunes devoured by an increasingly hungry sea? Never sated, the leviathan lingers on the shore until its rumbling belly sends it back for more. Ancient rock has turned to crumbling cliffs and sand. There are no maps to fathom what lies beneath, […]
writing in north norfolk 