This island was mine, I lived alone with everything upon it, unnamed but known to me. Fresh springs sparkled for my eyes only. Twanging music accompanied the lullaby of voices on the wind and waves. Now I collect sticks for firewood and share the bounty of my isle, with no hope of unconditional love, a […]
Tag: Play It Again
A Wing and a Prayer
The wings of my prayers are capricious, unlike my solid carapace, too delicate to reach the height of heaven, too flimsy to withstand the heat of hell. Tickled by the honeyed scent of spring, I open my elytra, ready to spread my alae, about to fly – when I’m thwarted by the shadow of a […]
at the water’s edge
a boy crouched at the water’s edge his fingers felt the waves the pull of the current tangle of chickweed wash of passing swan tickle of trout inhaling scents of far-off places breathing them out he watched his toy boat skip ripples on the breeze blow under willows where ducks gather water voles bask in […]
Twisted around her wrist…
a bracelet of cowslips and oxeyes, meadow flowers of summers long gone. Her refusal to add pimpernels, rubies among silver and gold, surprised me. But she was drawn with childish glee to sunny dandelions and buttercups that cast a buttery glow under her chin. So many seasons of bracelets twist around the couplet of our […]
Lockdown with Cat
I am the cat who walks by herself, proudly practising social distancing from others. I purr at the spring sun stroking my fur, while my human peers from a prison of windowpanes, longing for a friendly hug, a shared coffee and conversation. In the meantime, we’ve had to ration cat food until the next delivery. […]
Space Origami
earth is still distorted by pollution like a piece of paper folded into an origami globe, its faces and edges blurred with rubbing here in an ever-shrinking space, it’s hard to remember how primroses and daffodils turn their faces to April sunshine air and water are clearer now, canals and rivers abound with fish and […]
Tender Buttons: Fern
A potted fern rusts in the corner. Why is it trapped in porcelain? An alveolus from the lungs of a forest, a socket for the wind’s teeth. the fern in the pot sucks and nibbles at the room’s stale air, exhaling just enough oxygen to stir the net curtain. Kim M. Russell, 4th April 2020 […]
Life Goes On
This strangely cocooned life is dominated by reflections. Just months ago, we still had visions. All we see now is on a TV screen and framed by windowpanes. Without us, life goes on. Clouds drift, a bird flies by, a flower blooms while we reflect in our shrinking rooms. Will the cloud, the bird, the […]
Writing on the Wall
I suppose you think I do this all the time, the rest of the graffiti really isn’t mine. The corona virus has me out of my mind bored, and the best thing I could find on my way out for my daily walk was this stubby piece of chalk. I considered hopscotch but there’s no […]
April is a Fool
April’s entrances are never the same, peek-a-boo is her favourite game. Some years she has played the fool and surprised us with snow, or she’s been cruel, raised our hopes with a taste of sunshine, and then showered us with torrential rain. This year, March pre-empted her, keeping us inside our homes while April was […]
writing in north norfolk 