Thorny climber dog rosemeanders among hedgerows: in springtime flaunting blushing flowers,where insects devour sweetest nectars; in autumn, a birds’ banquet of scarlet hipsand a source of healthy syrups. The Bard stole the name for his constablein Much Ado, comically irresponsible. Kim M. Russell, 18th May 2026 It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, time […]
Tag: Quadrille Monday
Waxing Gibbous
Not yet full,she continues to growand glow, her petals unfold,silver and slow, unscentedin the night’s dome. Anchored to Earthshe cannot roam but she will wax gibbousamong constellations, a single bloomuntil she wanes and fades a flower moon. Kim M. Russell,4th May 2026 It’s the first Monday in May and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, we […]
The Magic of Digging
The soil is dark and damp from rain,the spade lifts it easily, over again—it’s prestidigitation! Hey presto, a robin spots a worm,watches as it wriggles and squirmson the soil-encrusted blade and then swoops in to gobble it down—that’s prestidigitation! Kim M. Russell, 20th April 2026 It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, time for […]
Just Wondering
A caged bird sharpened its beakon cuttlebone. Did it wonder about the cuttlefish,decomposed, washed onto a beach? Was it waiting for an artist to carve itinto something new and beautiful? Maybe a mould for a brooch or pendant —or a bird. Kim M. Russell, 6th April 2026 It’s Quadrille Monday at the dVerse Poets Pub; […]
Waking Silence
In night’s well, the moongreets dawn, and drownsin poems that ebband flow,a quiet heartbeat. From the depths of dreams,the muffled tickof a clockanchors me to morning. Your waking smile is silentyet I hear its messageclearly. Kim M. Russell 23rd March 2026 It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, we are writing silent quadrilles, poems […]
March Birdsong
Songbirds are backin the blossoming hawthorn –a warble, a trill and thenthey are airborne. Early in March,it’s wheatears, or ‘white arse’,with sand martins not farbehind. Chiffchaffs will followbut the true signof burgeoning springare the swallows. Kim M. Russell, 10th March 2026 De hosted the dVerse Poets Pub Monday Quadrille yesterday, those poems of precisely 44 […]
Empty
A city empty of children in a cold, dystopian shell(Janice Turner, The Times, 15th April 2023) After the war, years of hiding,and bombs destroying homes, mothers and children return to subsidingcities of bare bones. Soldiers came, conscienceless;now they’re gone, immune to emptiness, hunger and despair, whilehomeless survivors watch the afterbirth of contrails fade in the […]
Springing
They are springing upeverywhere I look: waxy little snowdropsbobbingin small clumps orcarpetingbetween trees. They’re amongthe hellebores and crocuses,flirting with fritillaries,and sucking upto cyclamen— a spring ball of dancing flowerssoaking up spring sun and showers. Kim M. Russell, 9th February 2026 For the first dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille of February, De asks us to write poems […]
Ravens
Wingtip to wingtip, they jink, tripand wheel with a rhythmic beat. They’re comedians, tar-stainedcroaks telling bad jokes that tumble like hailstones from the sky. Morrigan, transformed, foretells fate,her unkindness of ravens the guardians who guideour sorry souls to the afterlife. Kim M. Russell, 26th January 2026 Today is Quadrille Monday at the dVerse Poets Pub; […]
I Cannot Smile Today
I cannot smile today. All day,tears have leaked, spilled down my faceand under my chin, a mirror of the rainpouring outside. Inside I am mourningthe loss of my feline friend, and I can’t wait for this overcast dayto end. Kim M. Russell, 12th January 2026 It’s Monday and, at the dVerse Poets Pub, we are […]
writing in north norfolk 