Marked only by a rusted cross of curlicues among rows of lichen-covered stones, your final resting place has churchyard hues, this peaceful housing of your crumbled bones. I know your name, Alice, when you were born and the date of your last breath. Not a trace of family, no husband or child left to mourn. […]
Tag: Tuesday Poetics
Morning Showers
sky water wood earth early morning elementals broken plumbic thunderclouds faint whiff of damp bark and rain-softened soil single jigsaw piece of sky a stray ray of sunshine silvers the rioting dill pearled with raindrops from the last smur* sky water wood earth Kim M. Russell, 2nd June 2020 My response to dVerse Poets Pub […]
Chickenpox
Summer was the worst time to be sick, tucked up tight in bed, restrained by grandmother’s hospital corners, bullied by the clock’s resonant tick. The room was stifling, even the sticky Lucozade was too warm to fizz, and the fly too drowsy to buzz and batter against the window. Outside, neighbourhood children played, lawnmowers droned […]
Holes
I have torn holes in life, portals from one self to another, city to city, country to country. I have adapted my nostrils to different scents and smells, my tongue to sweet and sour. I have adjusted my eyes to everchanging landscapes, falling from another sky to land on concrete or grass, sometimes on my […]
Seeds of Doubt
Aurora flamed across the golden acre, begging me to dig and till the soil, plant seeds tender and true, until I felt beholden. Persephone had done her magic, sewn the landscape up with flowers, sprinkled rain among the sunshine, birthed earthly, aerial and aquatic and I knew it must be done. Pots of seedlings were […]
Beyond the Periphery
The solitary universe of a poet can be blinkered by introspection. We follow a narrow route from desk – to fridge – to bath- room; it’s the poet’s fertile imagination that wanders a path between bluebells and wood anemones. In our current virus-infected situation we gather in a virtual world to share maps of secret […]
Florence
She is surrounded by patchwork fields as vivid as an artist’s impression: here and there a stone church or umber farmhouse scattered across her apron stained with hues of olive, grape, tomato, and scented with rosemary, basil, oregano, zesty lemons and aromatic espresso. She stretches her limbs along the Arno, terracotta roofs reflecting heat and […]
My Feline Muse
I did not choose my muse, the god Bastet owned me; I fell for the sunrise in her eyes, her tamed ferocity, soft fur, and her full throttle purr. She favours my chest and hip as the spots on which she sleeps, riding the waves of dreams with me, kneading us into shape, a comforting […]
A World of Order
I like lists and ticking off items when complete, the regularity of paving stones beneath my feet, avoiding cracks and walking firmly in the squares, so as not to be eaten by predatory bears. I like to peg laundry neatly on a washing line, different coloured pegs for your clothes and mine. I like arranging […]
Corona
It came in the guise of a gaseous envelope in the sky of sun and other stars. No eclipse this time – just a pearly glow around the muted disc of moon. Chinese New Year celebrations were cancelled and Italy’s strict lockdown won’t be lifted soon. How appropriate that this is the year of the […]
writing in north norfolk 