Wednesday 30 November 2016

short forms 30th November 2016

demons
inhabit minds
far more insidious
than the ones we can all see at
parties


© Rachel Green 2016

frosty morning
the drooping nasturtiums
shedding flowers


© Rachel Green 2016

Christmas shopping
Gifts for the partners
found online
My searches include 'pagan'
'weird' 'demonic' 'Satan'


© Rachel Green 2016

dog toy
bought from Wilko
my new best friend

Soulless Sheep
with blank white eyes
and constant stare

It completes me.


© Rachel Green 2016

Her desire not to write humour.

© Rachel Green 2016

Tuesday 29 November 2016

short forms 29th November 2016

Chloe
more serious
Channeling Iain Banks
to make the novel as good as
Sally's


© Rachel Green 2016

hard frost
sunlight on frozen wires
cheerful crow


© Rachel Green 2016

Awake
a nagging headache
behind the temple
Concentration becomes difficult
writing


© Rachel Green 2016

old friend
ripped apart
with a saw

I break his arm
remodeling pose
offered gift

Transgender boy


© Rachel Green 2016

The dead eyes of Soulless Sheep

© Rachel Green 2016

Monday 28 November 2016

short forms 28th November 2016

one hand
held up to ward
away racist insults
Her Ukrainian mother rolls.
Gravebound.


© Rachel Green 2016

lavender flowers
bordering the path
drifts of fallen leaves


© Rachel Green 2016

Dear Larry
I loved you muchly
my deer child
You were inconvenient
so I've mounted your head


© Rachel Green 2016

new hard drive
installed and working
more space

I've still lost the work
but at least I can play games
and install programs

pretty hate machine


© Rachel Green 2016

weight loss. Slow but steady. Pleased

© Rachel Green 2016

Sunday 27 November 2016

short forms 27th November 2016

a ghost
embodies her
as an external Self
doing all the things she wishes
she could


© Rachel Green 2016

a crease
among the frost-burned clouds
sunlight


© Rachel Green 2016

existential guinea pig
stares into an empty food bowl
thinking of the void
Does the void stare back?
He doesn't really care.


© Rachel Green 2016

bonfire
garden tidying
clearance

the last wooden chair
dilapidated bird table
Lina's room tidying

pulling out buddleias


© Rachel Green 2016

aching wound. A rusty garden nail

© Rachel Green 2016

Saturday 26 November 2016

short forms 26th November 2016

her dog
is her best friend
and never judges her
though he's really rubbish at fetch.
Dead things.


© Rachel Green 2016

thrush
on a telephone wire
three starlings


© Rachel Green 2016

Hard drive still not replaced
PC4U customer service
lacks positivity
Actually, it doesn't:
they're positive they've already had our money.


© Rachel Green 2016

loft clearance
begins anew
too many paintings

too much artwork
old and out of date
paintings and tags

clearance sale?


© Rachel Green 2016

depression preys on her self-confidence

© Rachel Green 2016

Friday 25 November 2016

short forms 25th November 2016

the dog
scavenges food
but never gains any weight.
Shame Chloe has the opposite
problem


© Rachel Green 2016

magpie
examining the leaf litter
easy pickings


© Rachel Green 2016

thanksgiving dinner
went off without a hitch
no-one took our house or land
Our American friend
offered us smallpox blankets


© Rachel Green 2016

to do list:
write more Chloe
get meds, Lu's meds

see DK's new horse
go to the gym
return hard drive

cry over lost words


© Rachel Green 2016

guinea pig. The smell of urine

© Rachel Green 2016

Thursday 24 November 2016

short forms 24th November 2016

her dog
joyful again
moving reunion
growling at a spot on the wall.
Freaky.


© Rachel Green 2016

silver birch
clutching its yellow heart leaves
evergreen Rosemary


© Rachel Green 2016

aargh
the window cleaner
unexpected visit
thankfully I have the cash
DK gave me earlier


© Rachel Green 2016

jiu-jitsu lesson 11
becomes high cardio
workout

I am paired with a Polish lad
220lbs of muscle
trained in Krav

dude! I'm fat, frumpy and fifty-three


© Rachel Green 2016

She eats a biscuit. Fat girl.

© Rachel Green 2016

Wednesday 23 November 2016

short forms 23rd November 2016

Gryffin
her canine friend
lost to the boating lake
and buried with all due honours.
Undead.


© Rachel Green 2016

earthworms
among the wet leaves
sweet wrappers


© Rachel Green 2016

note to self:
get your body donation
sorted pronto
You never know when death will come
swift and bloody


© Rachel Green 2016

rewriting
the Chloe story
fourth attempt

lets drop the spy rubbish
and the secret avenger shit
and the daft house ghost

and get back to Faustian pacts


© Rachel Green 2016

wearing a house hat. Cancer chic.*

© Rachel Green 2016

*No, I don't have cancer, I'm just cold.

Tuesday 22 November 2016

short forms 22nd November 2016

Chloe
back to the house
her father has paid for
skeletal scaffolding adorns
the roof


© Rachel Green 2016

mounds of wet leaves
next to recycling bin
a pile of soggy cardboard


© Rachel Green 2016

where do novels go
when they're wiped from existence
by a failed hard drive
No matter how good I am
I can never re-create it


© Rachel Green 2016

all the exercise
my belly still hangs
below my belt

a video of me sparring
shows the behemoth fat girl
vs lithe muscular chap

I despair of myself


© Rachel Green 2016

all those words lost. She's speechless.

© Rachel Green 2016

Monday 21 November 2016

short forms 21st November 2016

rewrite:
house skeleton
can be safely removed
(I was unsure of that subplot)
Angie.


© Rachel Green 2016

incessant rain
a blanket of wet leaves
leaden sky


© Rachel Green 2016

Last try
"freeze the hard drive"
web suggestion
Honestly, I'll try anything
watch this space


© Rachel Green 2016

disheartened:
no words written
over the weekend

I want to finish the novel
but I'm afraid I'll cry
and kill off Chloe

and dead girls love cats


© Rachel Green 2016

Depression is a state of writing

© Rachel Green 2016

Sunday 20 November 2016

short forms 20th November 2016

nothing
can be so bad
that there is no light left
(except maybe Trump's America)
Tunnel.


© Rachel Green 2016

pouring rain
a sea of wet dead leaves
the garden


© Rachel Green 2016

despair
hard drive failure
on the new machine
No, I didn't back up my novel
90K words lost. Stupid.


© Rachel Green 2016

Chloe
idling in despair
a sudden loss of life

Angela's phone call
hysterical, being stalked
by something from her nightmares

a call for a re-write?


© Rachel Green 2016

suicide is not an option. Please.

© Rachel Green 2016

Friday 18 November 2016

short forms 18th November 2016

small boy
staring at her
hasn't he ever seen a girl
soaking in a hot bubble bath?
seems not.


© Rachel Green 2016

small girl
fights her way toward school
wind-blown leaves and rain


© Rachel Green 2016

attacks from mount
mostly chokes and armbars
double attack from S mount
Sparring afterward
I must keep my hands in.


© Rachel Green 2016

morning wake-up
the van driver
come to collect the bed

loft access required
half a ton of pine
for a solid wood frame

My wedding gift to DK and Lu


© Rachel Green 2016

She  breaks her own rule. Hat.

© Rachel Green 2016

Thursday 17 November 2016

short forms 17th November 2016

her crush
offers a chip
and a smile like the sun
while her aunt is less than willing
to help

© Rachel Green 2016

yesterday's wind
the front garden full of leaves
roadside trees

© Rachel Green 2016

the hedging chaps
do a fantastic job
but only one side
"a breakdown in communication"
makes me look naive and foolish

© Rachel Green 2016

monthly fees
due for jiu-jitsu
slight panic

I'm already overdrawn
before I pay them
I can't do without.

no source of income

© Rachel Green 2016

she considers crowdfunding her next novel

© Rachel Green 2016

Wednesday 16 November 2016

short forms 16th November 2016

driving
with her aunty
to feed an old man's dog
jealous when she sees his set-up
PC


© Rachel Green 2016

fierce wind
the dog declines to walk
wet leaves


© Rachel Green 2016

broken roof
the smoking shelter lifts
in the wind
I lob some brick on it
and hope for the best


© Rachel Green 2016

long dream
about a maths exam
I can't finish

I know I've failed
when I don't even complete half
and lose my notes

text too small to read


© Rachel Green 2016

blustery day. Finding comfort in toast.

© Rachel Green 2016

Tuesday 15 November 2016

short forms 15th November 2016

altered
Aunty Yana
as a source of witchcraft
Inherited psychoses are
the norm


© Rachel Green 2016

arum italicum
a bright spot of garden orange
sweet wrappers


© Rachel Green 2016

stray eyebrow hairs
long, grey and wiry
sticking out perpendicular
unable to locate tweezers
I utilise pliers


© Rachel Green 2016

denuding the garden
I freecycle the water irises,
some potted plants

A gentleman from Nottingham
very pleased with them all
building his first pond

Stone sink sold to man with ducks


© Rachel Green 2016

Unexpected pain. That finger never healed.

© Rachel Green 2016

Monday 14 November 2016

short forms 14th November 2016

discharged
with conditions
psychologist report
on a week-by-week basis for
six months


© Rachel Green 2016

raindrops
from the hands of mannequins
falling leaves


© Rachel Green 2016

selling England
one piece at a time
on Gumtree
Free mannequins, free plants
come, take them away


© Rachel Green 2016

kennel cough
sweeps through the house
First Jack, now Trickster

She coughs all night
waking Lu and me up
dry heaving

Amos pinches her bed


© Rachel Green 2016

another two pounds lost. Iron will.

© Rachel Green 2016

Sunday 13 November 2016

short forms 13th November 2016

specters
on her radar
or is she now on theirs?
She represents a doorway to
living


© Rachel Green 2016

yellow streetlight
vanishes in the night fog
urban fox


© Rachel Green 2016

damaged skin
on the base of my toes
bleach rot?
I can only think
it's dojo related


© Rachel Green 2016

yesterday's task
to fix the washing machine
flooded kitchen

several hours
and a broken part
it starts working again

four quid in the filter


© Rachel Green 2016

losing weight slowly. Her resolute diet.

© Rachel Green 2016

Saturday 12 November 2016

short forms 12th November 2016

long talk
with the doctor
child psychologist
turns out to be some random bloke.
Charming.


© Rachel Green 2016

mannequins
forlorn under the rain
dead leaves


© Rachel Green 2016

story line
beginning to pick up
30K to introduce character
Now the protagonist
descends into madness


© Rachel Green 2016

poorly dog
we discuss his kennel cough
with the local vet

there's nothing they can do
but offer some steroids
if he gets a lot worse

honey and coconut oil


© Rachel Green 2016

She should have called herself 'Clint'

© Rachel Green 2016

Friday 11 November 2016

short forms 11th November 2016

her Aunt
knows quite a lot
about seeing the  world
without the glamour induced by
angels


© Rachel Green 2016

Welsh poppies
blooming through fallen leaves
bread bags and chip wrappers


© Rachel Green 2016

wasted time
chatting with Luisa
over breakfast
a run of ideas for businesses
and second-income streams


© Rachel Green 2016

triangle choke
switched to omoplata
belly down armlock

calmness
becomes everything
a sea of tranquility.

let the fear flow through you


© Rachel Green 2016

he advises fudōshin. Letting anger go.

© Rachel Green 2016

Thursday 10 November 2016

short forms 10th November 2016

Night staff
can be friendly
when there's nothing better
a long chat about hopelessness
with ghosts


© Rachel Green 2016

yellow hearts
beginning to fall
birch tree love


© Rachel Green 2016

there's been a boom
in the sales of vinyl records
I got rid of all mine.
YouTube streaming
Pink Floyd compilations


© Rachel Green 2016

group jiujitsu
we go through lesson ten
"managing conflict"

"What's the problem?" I ask
my training partner feigns anger:
"You are the problem,"

"Oh, baby," I reply. "I'm the solution."


© Rachel Green 2016

Full length mirror. She's enormously fat.

© Rachel Green 2016

Wednesday 9 November 2016

short forms 9th November 2016

welcome
to the machine
Chloe's vision of Hell
unfolding on the news channel.
Hatred.


© Rachel Green 2016

despite the frost
nasturtiams still flowering
weighed by wet leaves


© Rachel Green 2016

a sad day
not just for America
but for the world
I think it's cold now
I dread the nuclear winter


© Rachel Green 2016

moving the bikes
one to the repair shop
the other off the road

DK's won't start
I push it across the road
and up over the kerb

I'd forgotten how heavy that bugger was


© Rachel Green 2016

five kilometers rowed. Twenty-three minutes.

© Rachel Green 2016

Tuesday 8 November 2016

short forms 8th November 2016

his fear
an MRI
hospital appointment
an aneurysm in his brain
goes pop


© Rachel Green 2016

autumnal chill
a pocketful of toadstools
crow's chatter


© Rachel Green 2016

despite the bad press
and accusations of whitewashing
I enjoyed 'Doctor Strange'
If 'The Ancient One' had been a Tibetan monk
wouldn't it also have been racial stereotyping?


© Rachel Green 2016

veering into the unknown
Chloe's fascination with cloud programming
impinges on chaos theory

seeing spirits in the water
and the ghost of a long-dead girl
in her bedroom

her bff, unexpectedly killed


© Rachel Green 2016

hunger: the enemy of dieting. Water?

© Rachel Green 2016

Monday 7 November 2016

short forms 7th November 2016

chloe book
builds some tension
when her best friend steals
from Harold Waterman's bookshop.
Terror.


© Rachel Green 2016

front garden
suddenly full of leaves
compost bin


© Rachel Green 2016

Monday scales
despite my laziness
a pound lost
Honestly, I'll take good news
however minimal


© Rachel Green 2016

discussion
about the back garden
"destroy everything"

twelve years work
to be reduced to bare grass
no more flowers

I can live with this.


© Rachel Green 2016

a week passes. She wonders if...

© Rachel Green 2016

Sunday 6 November 2016

short forms 6th November 2016

a need
to re-write yesterday.
I don't like the way I wrote
Angela as a bit dozy.
Smart girl.


© Rachel Green 2016

starry night
thousands worth of fireworks
burn-a-Catholic day


© Rachel Green 2016

morning jiu-jitsu
so enjoyable
I wish there was more
Still, at least I'm writing a bit
that Chloe story


© Rachel Green 2016

morning vexation
trying to turn the alarm off
phone failure

when I finally manage
I hear someone in the bathroom
so I stay in bed

twenty minutes of dozing


© Rachel Green 2016

aching neck. Bad jiu-jitsu fall

© Rachel Green 2016

Saturday 5 November 2016

short forms 5th November 2016

bullies
make her head bleed
a missed registration
leads to a phone call from her dad.
Trouble.


© Rachel Green 2016

windy morning
the front garden full of trash
and autumn leaves


© Rachel Green 2016

Composting
seems a fitting end
for a beloved pet
but when I recover the soil
why can't I find the bones?


© Rachel Green 2016

the dog
whines at the guinea pig
(disgusting creature)

I can't trust her
not to hurt him
(she's a ratter, you know)

It ignores her


© Rachel Green 2016

Disappointment. My morning banana remains unripe.

© Rachel Green 2016

Friday 4 November 2016

short forms 4th November 2016

bullied
she plays truant
a trot through the byways
to the new and antiquated
bookshop


© Rachel Green 2016

beads of rain
on hydrophobic nasturtium leaves
yellow mottling


© Rachel Green 2016

fixing
a series of fault lines
the Chloe novel
will I finally manage to complete
the teenager's story arc?


© Rachel Green 2016

Attacks from mount
several lessons worth
include mounted triangle

In sparring
I try for an omoplata
fail the technique

shaky muscle memory


© Rachel Green 2016

Honour: As if Mum was watching.

© Rachel Green 2016

Thursday 3 November 2016

short forms 3rd November 2016

Chloe
her old habits
are hard to kick away
a fondness for chocolate bars
and theft


© Rachel Green 2016

sharp cold turn
joining the morning traffic
with the heater on


© Rachel Green 2016

Amazon purchase
new feeding bottle
for the guinea pig
Did I mention he's moved in with me
rodent roommate


© Rachel Green 2016

dead guinea pig
leaves the remaining one
all alone

Worried about the cold
I offer to look after it
Cue purchase of large cage

My room shifted round


© Rachel Green 2016

nothing done. Thankfully, jiu-jitsu later today

© Rachel Green 2016

Wednesday 2 November 2016

short forms 2nd November 2016

weak tea
at the cafe
some museum musings
a boating lake tragedy is
old news


© Rachel Green 2016

a blast of sunshine
through the silver birch
yellow leaves


© Rachel Green 2016

wanted: ESO players
to form a dungeon guild
so I can play socially
I really enjoyed that one evening
of social interaction


© Rachel Green 2016

two thousand words
but nothing really happened
Chloe steps in vomit

arguments with her friend
about social networks
taking the heat

accidental drowning


© Rachel Green 2016

panicking about writing. Can she? Still?

© Rachel Green 2016

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Short forms 1st November 2016

a stain
on the ceiling
of the master bedroom
leads to speculation about
hauntings


© Rachel Green 2016

morning rain
last nights decorations
bedraggled ghosts


© Rachel Green 2016

Lazy Cow
Bored Panda eats my time
funny stories
I can't seen to get started today
NaNo procrastination


© Rachel Green 2016

product review
expensive dog food
goes down very well

All three dogs love it
even the old fellow
asks for a second serving

Free Range Chicken Food


© Rachel Green 2016

Hallowe'en sweets left over. Don't touch.

© Rachel Green 2016