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, […]

Lost

I think I’velost my mind; it’s beena while since I felt anything. I lockedmyself away in case it broke like an egg  insidemy head. If you gave me yourhand, I’d give you my heart,only it’s shapedlike a box,and lost with my mind forthe last few weeks. Kim M. Russell, 20th February 2024 Image by Gaelle […]

Words Above the Door

This is a space for books and words,stories and poetry live here,with enormous windows for watching birds,cats and occasional deer.The garden outside is wild and green,a space filled with shrubs and trees,while the inside breathes imagination;when you enter, a line or a poem, please,or a prayer for further creation.Bric-a-brac fills all available space,on the walls […]

(G)love Story

Enclose my hand with yourslike a glove of velvet or woolthat swallows my hand whole. Caress my tingling fingerswith the fabric of your soul,whether rough or smooth. Let me slip into every finger-hole,feel the warmthand comfort of weft and warp. Enclose my hand with yours. Kim M. Russell, 2016 Detail from Man with a Glove […]

Music of the Moorings

A sunny afternoon spent by themoorings watching boats; a smelldrifts off the water ofsun cream, lazy days and freedom,when days are long and warm,and barbecues singe gentle winds.Holidaymakers escape the limits ofsweltering city life in summer;I watch them navigate the dyke as I lingernear a patch of water lilies inthe shade of trees. I feel […]

Dancing, Naturally

A murmur of whirring wings,an eddy of starlingsconverges and separatesin the helices and pirouettesof an aerial ballet. Follow the moon and Earthas they trip a tantriclight fantastic,cheek to cheek, face to face,inhaling each other’s breath. Why let words get stucksomewhere between uswhen hands and bodies talk?Express them in movement,in the way you dance and walk! […]