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
Chesterfield fascist
gets £230K fee waived
is politics Right?
© Rachel Green September 2026
Practical Self Defence
It's not how you dress
that increases the risk of being assaulted
but your gait and your awareness
of your immediate surroundings.
Girls dressed in crop tops and short skirts
are only four percent of the victims
in cases of sexual assault
because they have confidence;
they travel in packs, heads high
and owning the world around them.
The girls in coats and leggings
who shuffle along trying not to be noticed
they're the ones targeted:
they don't notice the bloke following;
the transit van in the loading bay;
the stranger walking the other way.
The girls at the parties
with open glasses and sparkling wine
who accept the thoughtful drink
offered by the friend from college;
the one they've known for years.
who gossips about workmates
and holds your hair when you vomit.
If you're over the alcohol limit
you cannot give consent.
Look up; look confident:
look not at your phone
© Rachel Green September 2026
quality paint
make so much difference
old skills
© Rachel Green September 2026
Things I can't say Aloud (iii)
Why, then, are we even friends?
In real life and online you saunter past
and barely note that I exist
but lo! When I find success, then there thou art
all smiles and gilded leaves
to bask in such reflected light
as from a satellite that orbits in the dark
and offers nothing of itself.
Thou proclaim thyself as one who brings the sun
but art instead a comet
flitting past and shedding shit into the air
and vanishing again into the night.
© Rachel Green September 2026
that heavy feeling
Kate Bush once sang about.
Slimming World
© Rachel Green September 2026
Things I can't say Aloud (ii)
I am no Orpheus;
no music will grace these fingers,
nor spin gold of whispered breath
by means of gilded tongue;
but neither art thou my Euridice
and I would not walk the hidden path
to rescue thee from Hades’ realm
for let us take the minotaur by its single horn,
thou woulds't ne'er keep thine eyes on me.
© Rachel Green September 2026
so much shit
landing on our doorstep.
broken pipes
© Rachel Green September 2026
Things I can't say Aloud (i)
I expect thee not to follow me
to dwell forever in my shadow,
in the company of Hades,
but rather, I prefer you go
without me to those fateful shores
and find whatever joy you need
in the company of those harpies
you loved so much in life.
© Rachel Green September 2026
