David Karlsen
@vonkarlsen.bsky.social
Prose writer and poet. BA (Hons) Humanities, Literature. Non-binary. Interests: The Arts, Natural History, Geology. Vegan. Francophile. X 🌈🏴 🇪🇺
©️David Karlsen [All poetry, prose and photographs]
Paintings, etc. belong to the artist I repost. NO CHAT!
©️David Karlsen [All poetry, prose and photographs]
Paintings, etc. belong to the artist I repost. NO CHAT!
Red Kite
sailing blue sky
white cloud rising
shape prehistoric
imitation throwback
a mere seventy five
million years
cliff's grits four hundred
darkness reigning
rain continuous
still filling oceans
while you and I merely teeter
feet on the edge
of time
watching a red kite
#poetry
sailing blue sky
white cloud rising
shape prehistoric
imitation throwback
a mere seventy five
million years
cliff's grits four hundred
darkness reigning
rain continuous
still filling oceans
while you and I merely teeter
feet on the edge
of time
watching a red kite
#poetry
November 14, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Red Kite
sailing blue sky
white cloud rising
shape prehistoric
imitation throwback
a mere seventy five
million years
cliff's grits four hundred
darkness reigning
rain continuous
still filling oceans
while you and I merely teeter
feet on the edge
of time
watching a red kite
#poetry
sailing blue sky
white cloud rising
shape prehistoric
imitation throwback
a mere seventy five
million years
cliff's grits four hundred
darkness reigning
rain continuous
still filling oceans
while you and I merely teeter
feet on the edge
of time
watching a red kite
#poetry
how a year flies
I sit wonder why
you voted me out
the bees will
sting your hearts
in their absence
I am an innocent
refugee
fly across borders
remove
dead carcasses
you kill with cars
with worms gone
burn all your bodies
with money
kill your atmosphere
while my ghost flies by
#poetry
I sit wonder why
you voted me out
the bees will
sting your hearts
in their absence
I am an innocent
refugee
fly across borders
remove
dead carcasses
you kill with cars
with worms gone
burn all your bodies
with money
kill your atmosphere
while my ghost flies by
#poetry
November 14, 2025 at 9:37 AM
how a year flies
I sit wonder why
you voted me out
the bees will
sting your hearts
in their absence
I am an innocent
refugee
fly across borders
remove
dead carcasses
you kill with cars
with worms gone
burn all your bodies
with money
kill your atmosphere
while my ghost flies by
#poetry
I sit wonder why
you voted me out
the bees will
sting your hearts
in their absence
I am an innocent
refugee
fly across borders
remove
dead carcasses
you kill with cars
with worms gone
burn all your bodies
with money
kill your atmosphere
while my ghost flies by
#poetry
Sunlight and Shadow
demarcating sand lines
and the broken waves
one could be between
a forest and dark cliffs
or spreading time in foreign
days marking hours off
after finally making every
grain in the Gobi your last
breath a search party
finds you mouth parched
at dead dream's end
#poetry
demarcating sand lines
and the broken waves
one could be between
a forest and dark cliffs
or spreading time in foreign
days marking hours off
after finally making every
grain in the Gobi your last
breath a search party
finds you mouth parched
at dead dream's end
#poetry
November 13, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Sunlight and Shadow
demarcating sand lines
and the broken waves
one could be between
a forest and dark cliffs
or spreading time in foreign
days marking hours off
after finally making every
grain in the Gobi your last
breath a search party
finds you mouth parched
at dead dream's end
#poetry
demarcating sand lines
and the broken waves
one could be between
a forest and dark cliffs
or spreading time in foreign
days marking hours off
after finally making every
grain in the Gobi your last
breath a search party
finds you mouth parched
at dead dream's end
#poetry
We do miss seeing you Ruby. Here's a photograph of our cat, she's called Belle; she's 13 and her human parent died. She is a sweetheart. I know you love cats and have one. X 🐾💜💫
November 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
We do miss seeing you Ruby. Here's a photograph of our cat, she's called Belle; she's 13 and her human parent died. She is a sweetheart. I know you love cats and have one. X 🐾💜💫
Leaves
have left us
all behind
they're
trapped in some
other
photographic
world parallel
to my camera
take
as everyone is
who lives
in another
album
lying in a time
reversing universe
#poetry
have left us
all behind
they're
trapped in some
other
photographic
world parallel
to my camera
take
as everyone is
who lives
in another
album
lying in a time
reversing universe
#poetry
November 13, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Leaves
have left us
all behind
they're
trapped in some
other
photographic
world parallel
to my camera
take
as everyone is
who lives
in another
album
lying in a time
reversing universe
#poetry
have left us
all behind
they're
trapped in some
other
photographic
world parallel
to my camera
take
as everyone is
who lives
in another
album
lying in a time
reversing universe
#poetry
the cormorant doesn't have
so much oil in its wings
as other sea birds do
this allows them to dive
far deeper for their food
that's why you see them
drying out their wings
we have an outcrop
near to us that allows
all six to dry themselves
like little angels standing
there in silhouette
#poetry
so much oil in its wings
as other sea birds do
this allows them to dive
far deeper for their food
that's why you see them
drying out their wings
we have an outcrop
near to us that allows
all six to dry themselves
like little angels standing
there in silhouette
#poetry
November 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM
the cormorant doesn't have
so much oil in its wings
as other sea birds do
this allows them to dive
far deeper for their food
that's why you see them
drying out their wings
we have an outcrop
near to us that allows
all six to dry themselves
like little angels standing
there in silhouette
#poetry
so much oil in its wings
as other sea birds do
this allows them to dive
far deeper for their food
that's why you see them
drying out their wings
we have an outcrop
near to us that allows
all six to dry themselves
like little angels standing
there in silhouette
#poetry
Brahms
Kazu was to play Brahms
that evening
morning was a blue
cold extraction that would
later turn colder
for November
cloud hung as if waiting
for Brahms to release day
into night
for Kazu to wonder why
the composer had written
only three piano sonatas
this last
at twenty years old
#poetry
Kazu was to play Brahms
that evening
morning was a blue
cold extraction that would
later turn colder
for November
cloud hung as if waiting
for Brahms to release day
into night
for Kazu to wonder why
the composer had written
only three piano sonatas
this last
at twenty years old
#poetry
November 12, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Brahms
Kazu was to play Brahms
that evening
morning was a blue
cold extraction that would
later turn colder
for November
cloud hung as if waiting
for Brahms to release day
into night
for Kazu to wonder why
the composer had written
only three piano sonatas
this last
at twenty years old
#poetry
Kazu was to play Brahms
that evening
morning was a blue
cold extraction that would
later turn colder
for November
cloud hung as if waiting
for Brahms to release day
into night
for Kazu to wonder why
the composer had written
only three piano sonatas
this last
at twenty years old
#poetry
Clarice
remembered summer days swimming with Flavia from the small hidden beach she owned
that last swim ending
in Laura shivering
too thin to cope
in Autumn's chill
clinging to Anaïs
afterwards
in the house
today laptop open
Clarice changed
her novel's short
eponomous title
#poetry
remembered summer days swimming with Flavia from the small hidden beach she owned
that last swim ending
in Laura shivering
too thin to cope
in Autumn's chill
clinging to Anaïs
afterwards
in the house
today laptop open
Clarice changed
her novel's short
eponomous title
#poetry
November 12, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Clarice
remembered summer days swimming with Flavia from the small hidden beach she owned
that last swim ending
in Laura shivering
too thin to cope
in Autumn's chill
clinging to Anaïs
afterwards
in the house
today laptop open
Clarice changed
her novel's short
eponomous title
#poetry
remembered summer days swimming with Flavia from the small hidden beach she owned
that last swim ending
in Laura shivering
too thin to cope
in Autumn's chill
clinging to Anaïs
afterwards
in the house
today laptop open
Clarice changed
her novel's short
eponomous title
#poetry
Ferry Sailing
valediction sounding
bass bassoon
lost in a wave
they watched it leave
walking round
the headland
small bay with leafless
trees a few raindrops
as accompaniment
Laura wore her pixy hat
and Anais suggested
the Ocean Lab Café
asked why they called
them "Belgian" buns
#poetry
valediction sounding
bass bassoon
lost in a wave
they watched it leave
walking round
the headland
small bay with leafless
trees a few raindrops
as accompaniment
Laura wore her pixy hat
and Anais suggested
the Ocean Lab Café
asked why they called
them "Belgian" buns
#poetry
November 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Ferry Sailing
valediction sounding
bass bassoon
lost in a wave
they watched it leave
walking round
the headland
small bay with leafless
trees a few raindrops
as accompaniment
Laura wore her pixy hat
and Anais suggested
the Ocean Lab Café
asked why they called
them "Belgian" buns
#poetry
valediction sounding
bass bassoon
lost in a wave
they watched it leave
walking round
the headland
small bay with leafless
trees a few raindrops
as accompaniment
Laura wore her pixy hat
and Anais suggested
the Ocean Lab Café
asked why they called
them "Belgian" buns
#poetry
Leaving
under no duress
who can stop
machinery's death
call you obey
rules as we all do
a yearly grind
and those who say
otherwise acting like
Methuselah go down
some kick and scream
but you colouring
so beautiful attempt
no foolish self-love
you were willfully
leaving all behind
#poetry
under no duress
who can stop
machinery's death
call you obey
rules as we all do
a yearly grind
and those who say
otherwise acting like
Methuselah go down
some kick and scream
but you colouring
so beautiful attempt
no foolish self-love
you were willfully
leaving all behind
#poetry
November 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Leaving
under no duress
who can stop
machinery's death
call you obey
rules as we all do
a yearly grind
and those who say
otherwise acting like
Methuselah go down
some kick and scream
but you colouring
so beautiful attempt
no foolish self-love
you were willfully
leaving all behind
#poetry
under no duress
who can stop
machinery's death
call you obey
rules as we all do
a yearly grind
and those who say
otherwise acting like
Methuselah go down
some kick and scream
but you colouring
so beautiful attempt
no foolish self-love
you were willfully
leaving all behind
#poetry
Drystone Walls
you cover the country
in beauty in structured
stonework various
horizontal vertical
you're placed strategically
centuries in existence
repaired at times by adept
hands that never lose skills
handed down by generations
outlast rotting fence poles
in material local to locality
#poetry
you cover the country
in beauty in structured
stonework various
horizontal vertical
you're placed strategically
centuries in existence
repaired at times by adept
hands that never lose skills
handed down by generations
outlast rotting fence poles
in material local to locality
#poetry
November 10, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Drystone Walls
you cover the country
in beauty in structured
stonework various
horizontal vertical
you're placed strategically
centuries in existence
repaired at times by adept
hands that never lose skills
handed down by generations
outlast rotting fence poles
in material local to locality
#poetry
you cover the country
in beauty in structured
stonework various
horizontal vertical
you're placed strategically
centuries in existence
repaired at times by adept
hands that never lose skills
handed down by generations
outlast rotting fence poles
in material local to locality
#poetry
Kazu saw coastline
a sky broken with tender
light
recalled that first winter
living in this country
she had grown to love
had it been that cold
or was it just her slow
acclimatation
Anais had told her Belgium
could be far colder
here on a coast
they had the Gulf Stream
its passing warmth
#poetry
a sky broken with tender
light
recalled that first winter
living in this country
she had grown to love
had it been that cold
or was it just her slow
acclimatation
Anais had told her Belgium
could be far colder
here on a coast
they had the Gulf Stream
its passing warmth
#poetry
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Kazu saw coastline
a sky broken with tender
light
recalled that first winter
living in this country
she had grown to love
had it been that cold
or was it just her slow
acclimatation
Anais had told her Belgium
could be far colder
here on a coast
they had the Gulf Stream
its passing warmth
#poetry
a sky broken with tender
light
recalled that first winter
living in this country
she had grown to love
had it been that cold
or was it just her slow
acclimatation
Anais had told her Belgium
could be far colder
here on a coast
they had the Gulf Stream
its passing warmth
#poetry
Yes, they're still being built; they're a beautiful form of artwork as well as being practically useful. I think I read somewhere that their artform was brought back quickly when the right people realized they were dying out; here in Wales they're part of our cultural heritage, in all structures.
November 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Yes, they're still being built; they're a beautiful form of artwork as well as being practically useful. I think I read somewhere that their artform was brought back quickly when the right people realized they were dying out; here in Wales they're part of our cultural heritage, in all structures.
In Wales David, if it's not raining where you are it probably will be in the place you're travelling to. ☔
November 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
In Wales David, if it's not raining where you are it probably will be in the place you're travelling to. ☔
our ash has lost most leaves
they cover lawns a kitchen
garden
lying against winter
cabbage waiting
for the gardener's rake
and time's reprieve
as mulch mixing with other
endings to a rotting year
#poetry
they cover lawns a kitchen
garden
lying against winter
cabbage waiting
for the gardener's rake
and time's reprieve
as mulch mixing with other
endings to a rotting year
#poetry
November 10, 2025 at 1:15 PM
our ash has lost most leaves
they cover lawns a kitchen
garden
lying against winter
cabbage waiting
for the gardener's rake
and time's reprieve
as mulch mixing with other
endings to a rotting year
#poetry
they cover lawns a kitchen
garden
lying against winter
cabbage waiting
for the gardener's rake
and time's reprieve
as mulch mixing with other
endings to a rotting year
#poetry
Moon Snow
if a sky threw itself around
at night
they all went walking
under cloud bright passages
happy without stars
drama overhead part obscuring
moonlight
made fields of snow
when not a flake had fallen
and if the moon
became a dead dark bulb
they were never far from home
#poetry
if a sky threw itself around
at night
they all went walking
under cloud bright passages
happy without stars
drama overhead part obscuring
moonlight
made fields of snow
when not a flake had fallen
and if the moon
became a dead dark bulb
they were never far from home
#poetry
November 9, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Moon Snow
if a sky threw itself around
at night
they all went walking
under cloud bright passages
happy without stars
drama overhead part obscuring
moonlight
made fields of snow
when not a flake had fallen
and if the moon
became a dead dark bulb
they were never far from home
#poetry
if a sky threw itself around
at night
they all went walking
under cloud bright passages
happy without stars
drama overhead part obscuring
moonlight
made fields of snow
when not a flake had fallen
and if the moon
became a dead dark bulb
they were never far from home
#poetry
sound sight clear stones
lying as if placed
accordingly
by a thoughtful mind
and all the time this rush
continued played
over and over except
what was present there
we both knew would find
its way into the sea's wide
mouth
so we quickly threw off shoes
trod wet present
and the future too
#poetry
lying as if placed
accordingly
by a thoughtful mind
and all the time this rush
continued played
over and over except
what was present there
we both knew would find
its way into the sea's wide
mouth
so we quickly threw off shoes
trod wet present
and the future too
#poetry
November 9, 2025 at 4:09 PM
sound sight clear stones
lying as if placed
accordingly
by a thoughtful mind
and all the time this rush
continued played
over and over except
what was present there
we both knew would find
its way into the sea's wide
mouth
so we quickly threw off shoes
trod wet present
and the future too
#poetry
lying as if placed
accordingly
by a thoughtful mind
and all the time this rush
continued played
over and over except
what was present there
we both knew would find
its way into the sea's wide
mouth
so we quickly threw off shoes
trod wet present
and the future too
#poetry
Before Time Stopped
there was a second
in which to gather
past experiences
either to take with me
or discard into oblivion
I didn't want to be like
a lost word on a novel's page repeated perhaps, a clone; a simple conjunction or a noun like door
I wanted to be
a Mozart an Einstein
#poetry
there was a second
in which to gather
past experiences
either to take with me
or discard into oblivion
I didn't want to be like
a lost word on a novel's page repeated perhaps, a clone; a simple conjunction or a noun like door
I wanted to be
a Mozart an Einstein
#poetry
November 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Before Time Stopped
there was a second
in which to gather
past experiences
either to take with me
or discard into oblivion
I didn't want to be like
a lost word on a novel's page repeated perhaps, a clone; a simple conjunction or a noun like door
I wanted to be
a Mozart an Einstein
#poetry
there was a second
in which to gather
past experiences
either to take with me
or discard into oblivion
I didn't want to be like
a lost word on a novel's page repeated perhaps, a clone; a simple conjunction or a noun like door
I wanted to be
a Mozart an Einstein
#poetry
Graupel
its arrival imminent
one could tell
slight
temperature rise
Anaïs Laura Kazu
locked
together in sleep
unusual Danish said seeing sky colour
Flavia
agreed over an early breakfast
they walked the estuary calling on Clarice
saw its first appearance
coming in over pines
#poetry
its arrival imminent
one could tell
slight
temperature rise
Anaïs Laura Kazu
locked
together in sleep
unusual Danish said seeing sky colour
Flavia
agreed over an early breakfast
they walked the estuary calling on Clarice
saw its first appearance
coming in over pines
#poetry
November 9, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Graupel
its arrival imminent
one could tell
slight
temperature rise
Anaïs Laura Kazu
locked
together in sleep
unusual Danish said seeing sky colour
Flavia
agreed over an early breakfast
they walked the estuary calling on Clarice
saw its first appearance
coming in over pines
#poetry
its arrival imminent
one could tell
slight
temperature rise
Anaïs Laura Kazu
locked
together in sleep
unusual Danish said seeing sky colour
Flavia
agreed over an early breakfast
they walked the estuary calling on Clarice
saw its first appearance
coming in over pines
#poetry
And
when you asked the question
that summertime
I breathed out into a foggy
world
or the cloudy sky lying on my back
maybe a waterlogged confusion
took hold of me
you repeated the question before
and
after I realized the answer meant you
really
hadn't given me any thinking time
#poetry
when you asked the question
that summertime
I breathed out into a foggy
world
or the cloudy sky lying on my back
maybe a waterlogged confusion
took hold of me
you repeated the question before
and
after I realized the answer meant you
really
hadn't given me any thinking time
#poetry
November 8, 2025 at 7:56 PM
And
when you asked the question
that summertime
I breathed out into a foggy
world
or the cloudy sky lying on my back
maybe a waterlogged confusion
took hold of me
you repeated the question before
and
after I realized the answer meant you
really
hadn't given me any thinking time
#poetry
when you asked the question
that summertime
I breathed out into a foggy
world
or the cloudy sky lying on my back
maybe a waterlogged confusion
took hold of me
you repeated the question before
and
after I realized the answer meant you
really
hadn't given me any thinking time
#poetry
Seaweed
sits on ancient rock
as tide draws out
the skyline is pale
blue
light clouds
have no interest in
precipitation
I'm watching what
you're watching here
just as much
a spectator
except I have a camera
look carefully and you
will see my reflection
I'm
holding Laura's hand
#poetry
sits on ancient rock
as tide draws out
the skyline is pale
blue
light clouds
have no interest in
precipitation
I'm watching what
you're watching here
just as much
a spectator
except I have a camera
look carefully and you
will see my reflection
I'm
holding Laura's hand
#poetry
November 8, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Seaweed
sits on ancient rock
as tide draws out
the skyline is pale
blue
light clouds
have no interest in
precipitation
I'm watching what
you're watching here
just as much
a spectator
except I have a camera
look carefully and you
will see my reflection
I'm
holding Laura's hand
#poetry
sits on ancient rock
as tide draws out
the skyline is pale
blue
light clouds
have no interest in
precipitation
I'm watching what
you're watching here
just as much
a spectator
except I have a camera
look carefully and you
will see my reflection
I'm
holding Laura's hand
#poetry
Dreaming
saw shape relief dividing almost
into silhouette against
a blue sky
passing clouds imitating lover's dreams
and when Anaïs woke
she found herself holding hands with both
one each side sleeping
peacefully
but dreaming was part
of her own unconcious
acting out a certainty
#poetry
saw shape relief dividing almost
into silhouette against
a blue sky
passing clouds imitating lover's dreams
and when Anaïs woke
she found herself holding hands with both
one each side sleeping
peacefully
but dreaming was part
of her own unconcious
acting out a certainty
#poetry
November 8, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Dreaming
saw shape relief dividing almost
into silhouette against
a blue sky
passing clouds imitating lover's dreams
and when Anaïs woke
she found herself holding hands with both
one each side sleeping
peacefully
but dreaming was part
of her own unconcious
acting out a certainty
#poetry
saw shape relief dividing almost
into silhouette against
a blue sky
passing clouds imitating lover's dreams
and when Anaïs woke
she found herself holding hands with both
one each side sleeping
peacefully
but dreaming was part
of her own unconcious
acting out a certainty
#poetry
Painterly
autumn colour reflection
holding onto a mirage
of uncomplicated abstract
or a recognition of surrealist
manner in photography
maybe just another painting
from a painterly brush
I recognize her quick
and horizontal hand at work
#poetry
autumn colour reflection
holding onto a mirage
of uncomplicated abstract
or a recognition of surrealist
manner in photography
maybe just another painting
from a painterly brush
I recognize her quick
and horizontal hand at work
#poetry
November 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Painterly
autumn colour reflection
holding onto a mirage
of uncomplicated abstract
or a recognition of surrealist
manner in photography
maybe just another painting
from a painterly brush
I recognize her quick
and horizontal hand at work
#poetry
autumn colour reflection
holding onto a mirage
of uncomplicated abstract
or a recognition of surrealist
manner in photography
maybe just another painting
from a painterly brush
I recognize her quick
and horizontal hand at work
#poetry
Geological Interests
we were looking at
thin striations of quartz
in Silurian rock
Danish explaining
Flavia fascinated
head inclined
I didn't know she
had such an interest
in Geology but I suppose
an undoubted lifetime
interest in a cello
didn't preclude
an interest in Geology
#poetry
we were looking at
thin striations of quartz
in Silurian rock
Danish explaining
Flavia fascinated
head inclined
I didn't know she
had such an interest
in Geology but I suppose
an undoubted lifetime
interest in a cello
didn't preclude
an interest in Geology
#poetry
November 7, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Geological Interests
we were looking at
thin striations of quartz
in Silurian rock
Danish explaining
Flavia fascinated
head inclined
I didn't know she
had such an interest
in Geology but I suppose
an undoubted lifetime
interest in a cello
didn't preclude
an interest in Geology
#poetry
we were looking at
thin striations of quartz
in Silurian rock
Danish explaining
Flavia fascinated
head inclined
I didn't know she
had such an interest
in Geology but I suppose
an undoubted lifetime
interest in a cello
didn't preclude
an interest in Geology
#poetry
Belgian
boys never interested me
I was too deeply interested in philosophy
Spinoza drew me
Russell grew large when I came here
A History of Western
Philosophy
his autobiography
but it was other women
that taught me so much
about myself
especially love and the
importance of kindness
#poetry
boys never interested me
I was too deeply interested in philosophy
Spinoza drew me
Russell grew large when I came here
A History of Western
Philosophy
his autobiography
but it was other women
that taught me so much
about myself
especially love and the
importance of kindness
#poetry
November 7, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Belgian
boys never interested me
I was too deeply interested in philosophy
Spinoza drew me
Russell grew large when I came here
A History of Western
Philosophy
his autobiography
but it was other women
that taught me so much
about myself
especially love and the
importance of kindness
#poetry
boys never interested me
I was too deeply interested in philosophy
Spinoza drew me
Russell grew large when I came here
A History of Western
Philosophy
his autobiography
but it was other women
that taught me so much
about myself
especially love and the
importance of kindness
#poetry