middle aged man
with a mundungus odour
greets me by name
© Rachel Green August 2026
Men, take note:
No matter how cute they are
all chicks get sexed
and while the hens get to lead short,
hopefully productive lives
the cocks get tossed into a grinder,
still alive mind,
and processed into chicken mince,
sausages, animal feed and,
as you might guess,
chicken feed.
There's only room for one cock
even in a barnful of hens.
© Rachel Green August 2026
pantry sort
a quarterly task
briefly tidy
© Rachel Green August 2026
Wine
Cabernet Sauvignon
only five pounds a bottle
good for sink cleaning.
Poured away,
and the bottle rinsed
filled with Four-Berry
home made from garden fruit,
corked, shrink-sealed
and wrapped for the suitcase.
© Rachel Green August 2026
the need to clean
does not come naturally.
daily tasks list
© Rachel Green August 2026
Cookie
Barking
Barking
lunging at cars
dragging my shoulder out of line
when he sees another dog
(as long as it’s far enough away)
lunging at men who smell of cigarettes
Barking
Barking
putting the brakes on when there's a sniff
that needs investigating.
Barking
Barking
Barking
© Rachel Green August 2026
market day
everything from Temu
triple the price
© Rachel Green August 2026
Aki
Stuart taught me to shoplift
starting small
with sweets and sodas
and then to comics
buy one, get ten free...
books, magazines, clothing.
His dad had a caravan in Weston
his mom, a flat in Birmingham,
but they had sterilised milk
so I never stayed for tea.
© Rachel Green August 2026
tiny bites
taking away the world
drone strike
© Rachel Green August 2026
nightmares
may instead be prophetic visions
mountaintops
© Rachel Green August 2026
colonoscopy
recite another Hail Mary
Pretend it's Father McCandless
© Rachel Green August 2026
what happens
when they make noiseless flight?
the world will be quieter
and let us live more peacefully
until the silent drones
controlled by independent AI
fire silent needle guns
charged with infections
© Rachel Green August 2026
bags of nuts
sorted into 100 calorie bags
twenty grammes each
© Rachel Green August 2026
stainless steel bowls
reflecting circular light
on sale at Lidl
and, coincidentally.
I often make round paintings
just not quite this small.
I've always had trouble
in framing round canvasses
Is this the answer?
I will find out.
© Rachel Green August 2026
Cookie poops
twenty yards after the last bin.
He won't go back.
© Rachel Green August 2026
There is some dog food
just outside the kitchen door
it's under green tarp
if the dogs are needing more
The magpies can't get in
its just a case of tins
Cookie doesn't like them
but in speechcraft they win
I try to feed them with
the food that's mostly meat
I can't afford the raw meat
that the dogs should really eat
Widget may turn her nose
up at the mushy stuff she gets
but add a little water
if the biscuits are not wet
It's only ten more days
and they'll see me again
they have no concept
of just waiting until then.
Maybe I will die out there
not destined to return
but if I don't come back
my paintings you must burn
This poem's darker now
I need it to be fun
so roast my memory
on bonfires in the sun.
© Rachel Green August 2026
