stinky bedroom
at six in the morning
Cookie's diarrhoea
© Rachel Green October 2026
Manners
do you remember when we were kids
we walked to Rowney Green
and bought a packet of crisps each
and a bottle of pop between us.
You walked backwards up the hill
eating Walkers Sweet and Sour,
spitting out the sour ones
onto the hot, dry road.
The women behind you asked you why
and you said you didn't like them
and I was so embarrassed by you
I never went there again.
© Rachel Green October 2026
frightened cat
racing through a fence gap
Widget follows
© Rachel Green October 2026
Temptation
I was tempted by someone
(most would say 'the Devil'
but He doesn't do that)
to buy a bacon cob
in a crusty white bap
with a fried egg and cheese
and a free coffee.
I considered it
for the length of time it took
to walk past the shop
and far enough away to not turn back
because the smell was wonderful
but I gave up meat
because pigs are as intelligent as dogs
and an octopus even more so
and if I ate pig now
(barring starvation and end-of-world scenarios)
where would it lead?
I've heard the warnings:
one bite of bacon
is a downward slope to snatching babies
and frying them with mushrooms and onions
Society as a whole frowns on that
and bake you to death
in your own kitchen oven.
© Rachel Green October 2026
telling a lady
she looks fabulous
big smile
© Rachel Green October 2026
No Rosie in Sight
it doesn't matter that you're fragile
you'll get the blame anyway
for their foul mood
you've just got to smile and stand back
and let the man go first
because he can barely stand upright
and needs his lager refunded
so he can buy cider instead.
© Rachel Green October 2026
dizzy feeling
as my gait veer to the right
cambered paving
© Rachel Green October 2026
Not a Fetish*
I've been a woman
longer now than ever I was a man
and my family knew I was trans
from as early as I can remember
it's not a fetish -- it's not a fad --
but if my existence threatens you
ask yourself why?
I'm not asking for your money
(except in exchange for art)
I'm not abusive to anyone
and I'm certainly not starting wars
molesting children (or anyone else)
or inciting xenophobia in a nation.
I'm not knocking down a house
that doesn't even belong to me
or falling asleep in meetings
with heads of state and ministries.
I'm not robbing old ladies,
revoking women's rights,
initiating ethnic cleansing,
or going door to door
telling folk that your god hates you.
What I am doing
is spreading some good will,
writing to entertain
and picking up the litter
your local electorate dropped.
And if you're a lesbian woman:
I'm so sorry that you presenting as masc
makes people think you're trans;
but it's hardly my fault
that people you don't know
don't know that you're being you.
© Rachel Green October 2026
*response the the butch lesbian posting she's ashamed to be LGBTQ++
because of all the bastard transfolk it includes.
morning rain
the ground littered with chestnuts;
beech husks
© Rachel Green October 2026
My name is -- and I am fat
in line
at the slimmer's weigh-in
quietly confident I've done well
after the depression gains
I miss my turn once, twice,
distracted by a small lady dog
who waits for adoration.
any more for the raffle?
the closing cry of the weigh-in
before the stories start
© Rachel Green October 2026
bark practice
he judges all the car speeds
former life
© Rachel Green October 2026
sometimes
the teeth dissolve
in the stomach acid of pigs
but you can't count on that
because mostly they pass through
and get pooped out
for John the farmer to collect
in his repurposed coffee jars.
© Rachel Green October 2026
