I stood by the lychgate of our parish church;confetti drifting across stony graves and crossesreminded me that I had left you in the lurch.In my satin dress, I weighed up gains and losses,but still I could not step inside the porch. The wedding car just left me standing there,my father said he’d washed his hands […]
Tag: Tuesday Poetics
Walkabout
It seems as if I have walked foreverthrough this life, on this pathfrom birth to death. Sometimes I have walked togetherwith friends and family,sometimes alone. Often the path meandered,for a while it took me off course,past woodland, pasture and meadow,past sheep, cow and horse. Now often on my walkaboutI sit down to ponder beneath a […]
Forget Me Not
Gazing at flowery constellationsclustered around the silver birchby the back gate, friends and relationscome to mind in a surge of blue.I don’t need to searchmyself, my heart or mind for embersof memories. I remember you,and wonder who will think of me,perhaps standing beneath a tree,ankle-deep in azure forget-me-notsblinking here on Earth, while Itwinkle above them […]
Mareel
You are a sparkle in the eyeof the ocean of the past,a persistent glint on the horizonof the future, the sea foamphosphorescence of autumn nights.You give me warmth in quiet moments,smiles and laughter through the day,and strength to continue when lifegets harder; you are my mainstay. Kim M. Russell, 16th April 2024 Image by Tom […]
History Box
My box is made of cardboard,the largest of a trio I boughtfor myself: pale blue, adornedwith simple flowers, it hasa metal handle, and a whiteribbon to stop the lid from closingwhen I explore what’s inside.It’s a practical box. In my box are imagesin sepia, monochromeand colour, higgledy-piggledy,no order, like life. Theychronicle a family of fivegenerations […]
Observations from a Hotel
I would love to observe the universein a hotel room almost touching stars.Spread-eagled on the bed,meteors and stardust in my head,the moon and her backing singerswould croon a lullaby, sleep-bringersand universal dream-weavers,rocking this would-be astronaut to sleep, breathless at an altitude of 10,171 feet. Kim M. Russell, 2nd April 2024 Photo by John McKaveney: Orion. […]
On the Hill
On my first visit, looking from the Market,I imagined the body of Robert Ketthanging from its walls,a warning to the rebelswho stood up to wealthy landowners,against unfair land enclosures. I wandered up a mound dug by slaves,to an edifice built over Saxon graves,a symbol of Norman subjugation,to counter revolt and rebellion. Throughout history they rose […]
Golconda
City gents without umbrellasfall from the sky like rain; I feel sorry for those fellas,bowler-hatted, dressed in grey, early for work in the morning,late home at the end of the day. Disenchanted gents are fallingpast suburban windows where their perfect wives are waiting,aprons on, scent behind ears, in their hands a glass of something,a peck […]
Sketches of Delft
The Dutch master at his canvas,holding palette and brush,is bathed in February gold.Delft rooftops are drenchedin the light of the golden dawndripping like honeyfrom a golden goblet.Skaters on still-frozen canalsbecome ice folliespainted in the lemon beautyof the sun’s split corona,a celebration of the fragility,the thin veil between winter and spring. Kim M. Russell, 12th March […]
Naivety
Before knowledgeand creativity,all that humankind hadwas naivety:footprints left on a beach,handprints on cave walls,the remains of simpleartisanal tools –the beginnings of civilisationin a flourishing green world,unaware they wouldbe discoveredthousands of milesfrom their origins,thousands of yearsafter their last breaths,along the North Sea’scrumbling cliffs. Kim M. Russell, 5th March 2024 Free image found on Pexels It’s Tuesday, […]
writing in north norfolk 