off to Morrisons
with a jar of warm urine
cancelled Doc's appointment
© Rachel Green September 2026
Mr Frost
took the road less travelled
and it made all the difference to him.
I took the road less travelled
and it led to victimisation,
oppression and a loss of my job
along with the hatred of the right wing pundits.
The road less travelled
is good only for cis, het men;
but the road more popular
there might still be work available.
© Rachel Green August 2026
Slow PC
time to bite the bullet
windows reinstall
© Rachel Green September 2026
Shadows and Light
Take away my Fear
that I might understand freedom.
Take away False Hope
that I must face consequence.
Take away Obedience
that I understand free will.
Take away Certainty
that I experience doubt.
Take away Righteousness
that I can take responsibility.
Insist on Compassion
that I might be human.
© Rachel Green August 2026
weight gain
from depression eating
makes me depressed
© Rachel Green September 2026
Streetside Beauty
wedding dress
made of recycled plastics
and the bride doing laundry
outside the supermarket
skirts blowing in the wind
an enticing glimpse of stocking top
for the half-price breakfasteers
© Rachel Green September 2026
"Rat's Moon"
my seminal work from 1989
reproduced
© Rachel Green September 2026
No Smiling By Order
Chesterfield; so named
from the Roman 'Cesterfeld'
or 'Field by the Fort'
where the men are utterly miserable
without a pint of beer and a cigarette
and the women sulk past
with pramfuls of sour faces
and nary a smile between them.
But there's me
with my smiles and 'good mornings'
and my insufferable air
of happiness to exist
on a sunny September day
© Rachel Green September 2026
John Inman
gave me permission to be me
I was free
© Rachel Green September 2026
"Two Airedales" (Oil on Canvas 1988)
Early nineties
and the last recovery:
possessions from my studio
filling a skip in the loading bay
all those paintings gone to landfill
along with the memories
of my father's dogs.
© Rachel Green September 2026
nightmares
the anxiety of possessions
overburdened
© Rachel Green September 2026
Things I cannot say aloud (v)
Why yes; I do use AI apps
when writing - and yes, I know
this rankles many of the purist folk
who write without, but let me ask:
do you use prompts to spur your thoughts?
For that I did as well: my books
were constructed of such things where groups
online or off would set such tasks as
"craft a tale of horror based upon a clock"
and even now I read such things;
but even those who wrote by hand their tales
of courtly life were spurred by thoughts "what if?"
I do not beg forgiveness for my use
of AI checks upon my spelling
and my grammar both (and take some heart
I do not blindly trust its words)
for I make no money from my work
and can't afford an editor.
© Rachel Green September 2026
remind me
never to comment on NextDoor
death threats
© Rachel Green September 2026
Things I cannot say aloud (iv)
Do you yet feel joy?
for joy is nothing
but the foreteller of doom
for without joy
there can be no despair;
Your constancy might be a joy to some
but its withdrawal brings destruction.
What is your love but to bring about
the incompetence of Self;
to make us docile to fate;
for indulgence, not fulfilment
is what the world allows.
© Rachel Green September 2026
