I look back on my life,trying to find the splicebetween child and adult,and find iton a train ride home. I’m not long off the Oostende ferry,all set for a week in London;I have a poem half-done,balanced on my knees. From the open window, a sharp breezethreatens to blow it away;I tuck my notebook under my […]
Tag: Tuesday Poetics
On Opening a Book
earthy musty vanilla redolenceerupts into comforting scentsof paper inky words dreams stories poetry from past agespaper that was born in reamscut neatly into pages book weight in happy handshas a balance of coverand leaves caressed by fingers pristine dog-eared annotated abusedthe satisfying sussurus as they turnand the individual paper colour white yellowed crackling edgescrisp fresh […]
Hippy at Heart
I look back on those carefreedays of the nineteen-seventiesand smell pungent Afghan coats,see maxi skirts and knee-high boots,although I preferred to go barefoot.I loved Indian cheesecloth blouses,bangles, beads and loon trousers,bird-covered and scoop-neckedt-shirts, and velvet Biba rejects,patchouli oil, hats and mood rings,and so many other thingsthat I thought made me differentbut, of course, it was […]
Boxing Clever – a cento
Within my rooted being lies a box of green,lined with dewy moss to quench and revive,clasped onto my sea-shell collection.A self-portrait, the stones I carvedby the sea with salt in its veins,embryonic, in a cosmic womb,its dark edges are still dissolving.Wrapped around a framework of bonesoverflowing with ragtag paraphernaliaof my stumbled tumbled dreams,a hazy recollection […]
I Stood by the Lychgate
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 […]
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. […]
writing in north norfolk 