It germinates in the slow melody of water glinting in the shallows of the mind’s eye, the interplay of reeds and light that whisper through the open window in the dead of night. A brilliant fluorescence lifts and shifts shape into a metallic demoiselle rising in the mesmeric shimmering of wings, and the early morning […]
Tag: Poets United
Punctuation of Life and Death
When you lose someone, the world warps: a comma butterfly (settling on a nettle) distorts – flicks open wings to burnish, only to crisp in the sun. When you lose someone, summer colours tarnish; tastes and smells curdle like mouldy blackberries on a parched tongue, and all the while you long to hear their voice, […]
Bundles of Contradictions
bundles of letters sorted and tied up with string life’s contradictions Kim M. Russell, 1st August 2018 My response to Poets United Midweek Motif ~ “a bundle of contradictions” (from Anne Frank’s last letter) Susan has shared the last entry in Anne Frank’s diary and a range of quotations and poems on the Midweek Motif; […]
Seaside Sonnet
The ice cream drip of summer days leaves sticky stains on memories steeped in salt and vinegar, candy floss, egg sandwiches and seaside rock. Faded black and white photos lack the sunny glare of beach towels, the welcome rainbow of parasols, barking dogs and beach balls bouncing in the sea and then the thrill of […]
Our Wilderness
Our garden is a green wilderness, an overgrown, tangled wildness, where cats stalk zoetic shadows and deer graze freely beneath willows; dragonflies dart between clumps of nettles, ladybirds wander and butterflies settle. No flowers are tamed or lined up in rows; it’s rampant with honeysuckle and rambling rose. Ancient quince, plum and apple tumble from […]
Anguish
Anguished cries of lapwings rise from deep in sedgy fields to sky; their tinny raspings bring to mind an anguish of a different kind: the mewling of a starving child; a young girl’s screams as she’s defiled; a mother’s keening of despair; a grandmother’s calm and care as she sings a soothing lullaby of winter […]
Freed
I remember in 1986 a free concert on Clapham Common when Sade sang. Later, we raised our voices in a chorus to ‘Free Nelson Mandela’. Not long after, he took that long walk to freedom, with dignity and humility, shared his wisdom and showed how one man can unite many. He lived a long life, […]
Summer in Metropolis
The metropolis blooms in wavy heat among paving stones, glass and concrete sprouting with brightly coloured leisure-wear, and parks are littered with deckchairs, where office workers burn like toast as they unfold on the grass to roast. Ties are discarded in the office, water fountains and coolers promise a sparkle in after- noon aridity for […]
Morning
Light like fresh linen breezes into morning, pours its luminescence through lacy blinds and splashes sparkles on a sleep-creased face. It’s a dawn blessing, a tea and toast embrace, and a kiss goodbye to night. Kim M. Russell, 7th July 2018 My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Camera FLASH! also linked to Poets United […]
Flash Burn
After the bomb, when radiation wreaked its devastation and the world turned monochrome, life leached from crooked limbs of blackened trees and poisoned humans. In the midst of chaos and confusion, a mother’s love lit up the sky, just like the radiation before the mushroom imprinted shadows on our souls. Kim M. Russell, 1st July […]
writing in north norfolk 