What a ride…

There is nothing
nothing to see, expect, beg for,
include
As we all roll down our
elongated orbital curve, that stretched circle where everything and nothing repeats again and again
an arc recapitulated by planetary mass as
angular momentum seals our fates
an arc reflected in a caterpillar eye, in the curves of its protoplasmic self
in the catastrophic change it endures

Nothing that tells you what you will be next
where you will find release, wholeness, surcease

But, in this age of extinction
it is going to be
an interesting ride

Copyright © 2024 Kim Whysall-Hammond

My debut pamphlet Messages from the Road is now available from Palewell Press at: https://palewellpress.co.uk/bookstore/lost-wellbeing/mftr/

This poem is about ending- and has been written for an excellent prompt over at DVerse this evening.
https://dversepoets.com/2024/09/17/tuesday-poetics-endings/

We are given a choice of ways to end our poem and I have chosen to use a known phrase- in this case, the phrase

”it’s going to be an interesting ride “

They are not Venus Statues

It is her own self
that shape carved and pushed
into polished mammoth bone
to entice a soul from
the other place to this world
soft mounds of flesh
growing and plumping
fecund hopeful happy
bulges where they are supposed to be
for the life burgeoning within

Her eyes dance with delight
as sisters and brothers braid her hair
adorn its tight curls with herbs
scents to lift the mood further
to cleanse, to promote
what they all want
a little one, helpless and soft
they long for the wail of the new

She caresses the small statue
that is giving life and strength
her strength for the birth
and the milk after
strength to the new life
hope for an easy transition
from there to here
a safe birth for both

All is preparation and happiness
all is her
her own self
shaped in the bone

Copyright © 2021 Kim Whysall-Hammond

They are not Venus Statues was published in Amethyst Review Oct  2021

On-line launch is today!

Remember that my Zoom launch is today!!!

“All has changed / yet nothing has changed”

Kim Whysall-Hammond takes the wheel for a road trip through sameness and change, progress and frustration. There is grieving here, for self and the planet; but we face it together, and our driver steers us towards hope.

 Jo Bell

Join us at 7pm BST on 12 September for readings and the true story behind these poems:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84196514816?pwd=F8JsCj0zd9an2a9PMvia1OwOGEk3LI.1

Meeting ID: 841 9651 4816
Passcode: 036275

https://palewellpress.co.uk/calendar/item/53380689

Seen on the Road

Mud and leaves adhere to bikes
hung from the back of speeding cars
testimony to busy weekends

Folded in amongst trees
tiny white washed cottages
almost in the traffic

Profiled against a cloudy sky
highlighted in verdant green
deep ditches from an ancient time

Copyright © 2024 Kim Whysall-Hammond

My debut pamphlet Messages from the Road is now available from Palewell Press at: https://palewellpress.co.uk/bookstore/lost-wellbeing/mftr/

This poem has been linked to the Dverse OLN (Open Link Night),

https://dversepoets.com/2024/09/12/open-link-night-369-live-edition/

More reviews for my book: Messages from the Road

More great reviews for my debut poetry chapbook! (Or pamphlet as we say in Britain)

Heather Wastie says:

“A meditation on today’s everyday, with love of family and planet at its heart.”

Preorder here: https://palewellpress.co.uk/bookstore/lost-wellbeing/mftr/ 

 Marius Grose says:

“Kim Whysall-Hammond’s debut poetry collection is fascinating and thought provoking. These poems take us on a voyage in what it means to be alive at this time.”

Join us at 7pm BST on 12 September for readings and the true story behind these poems:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84196514816?pwd=F8JsCj0zd9an2a9PMvia1OwOGEk3LI.1

Meeting ID: 841 9651 4816
Passcode: 036275

https://palewellpress.co.uk/calendar/item/53380689

Preorder here: https://palewellpress.co.uk/bookstore/lost-wellbeing/mftr/

Midocean


A furious scrum of fishes

contest over I know not what


Eagle rays glide between islands


Atlantic swell buffets our boat

Dolphins sway and swerve

deep below sperm whales call

Copyright © 2024 Kim Whysall-Hammond

This poem was written for the latest prompt over at DVerse: http://dversepoets.com.

We are writing poems about seas and oceans- do please join in the fun!

Also:

Join me for readings and fun in the Zoom launch of my book on the 12th September 7pm BST: 

Meeting ID: 841 9651 4816
Passcode: 036275

BST is GMT + 1 hour, so 7pm UK time on 12th September will be 8pm in most of Europe, and in selected USA time zones:

14:00 Eastern Time / 13:00 Central Time / 11:00 Pacific Time

Stranded Vehicle (Messages from the Road)

Milky starglow ribbons across the night
sparkling speckles litter my darkness
feel their way into my skull
penetrate bone, spray brain tissue
with spontaneous joy
at creation’s vast majesty

The chance actions
that brought me here
for this moment
this breath
releases a catch
somewhere deep

Each time I get to
a difficult crossroad
I will go back to this sky
let illumination in once more

Copyright © 2024 Kim Whysall-Hammond

This poem was written for my first poetry book, Messages from the Road.

Join us for readings and fun via Zoom on the 12th September 7pm BST: 

Meeting ID: 841 9651 4816
Passcode: 036275

BST is GMT + 1 hour, so 7pm UK time on 12th September will be 8pm in most of Europe, and in selected USA time zones:

14:00 Eastern Time / 13:00 Central Time / 11:00 Pacific Time

The online launch of “Messages from the Road” is on Thursday !

A quote from Palewell Press:

Each poem in Kim Whysall-Hammond’s iconic pamphlet collection, Messages from the Road,has a motorway sign as its title. She uses these messages to jump into narratives about love, loss, grief, childhood memories, joy, journeys in all weathers and journeys into the human condition. Join Palewell Press on Zoom to hear Kim read from the collection and talk about what inspired her to write the poems.

You can buy the book here: https://palewellpress.co.uk/bookstore/lost-wellbeing/mftr/

Join us at 7pm BST on 12 September for readings and the true story behind these poems:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84196514816?pwd=F8JsCj0zd9an2a9PMvia1OwOGEk3LI.1

Meeting ID: 841 9651 4816
Passcode: 036275

Reviews of ‘Messages from the Road’

I’m getting great reviews for my debut pamphlet, Messages from the Road!

“All has changed / yet nothing has changed”

Kim Whysall-Hammond takes the wheel for a road trip through sameness and change, progress and frustration. There is grieving here, for self and the planet; but we face it together, and our driver steers us towards hope.

 Jo Bell

Join us at 7pm BST on 12 September for readings and the true story behind these poems:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84196514816?pwd=F8JsCj0zd9an2a9PMvia1OwOGEk3LI.1

Meeting ID: 841 9651 4816
Passcode: 036275

https://palewellpress.co.uk/calendar/item/53380689

Purpled with Heather

In summer, purpled moors
can be hot, dry, pitiless
while summer storms slash rain
to surge and tumble down narrow gorges
flood lowland fields and towns
take lives and livelihoods.
Drainage improvements dried
destroyed the great sponge of the moor.
Here where rivers are born beavers now
embroider pools and lakes on barren cloth
stitch missing parts back into the land.

Today we have walked far to see an infant lake.
A group of children and I wait
for a small brown head to poke above the water surface,
to see the large strong teeth that find a way through wood.
I have carried on my back, in a special harness,
a tiny frail one who laughs and chatters gleefully
overjoyed to be out on the high hills
so rare for one who cannot walk.
We have seen wild chestnut ponies with their soft pale mouths
found tragic little skulls, last winters loss
startled semi-wild ewes and lambs
spied a many antlered stag on the far horizon.
Now we find the beavers
and delight once more.

One day I see beavers not just in the empty lands
but at the headwaters of the Thames, Dee, Humber and Clyde.
It is not all our work to do,
the great green will ramble and roll
her creatures can thrive
build a better land with us.

Soon saplings will be planted in hollows and folds
cosseted until they are strong enough
to spread against the heathers sway.
Less purple, more green, more water, more life
we are all beavering away.
The little things add up, always.

Copyright © 2024 Kim Whysall-Hammond

This poem was first published by Littoral in May 2024.

Join us for readings and fun via Zoom on the 12th September 7pm BST: 

Meeting ID: 841 9651 4816
Passcode: 036275

BST is GMT + 1 hour, so 7pm UK time on 12th September will be 8pm in most of Europe, and in selected USA time zones:

14:00 Eastern Time / 13:00 Central Time / 11:00 Pacific Time