TikTok
supposed to be a daily habit
Bad Rachel!
© Rachel Green October 2026
Frieze Masters
flurries of art
crowed into two marquees;
old masters, recent ones,
and a hundred new to me.
Many I am humbled by,
a few disdainful of
and a few to be inspired by
and a couple I wondered why the artist
would display such terrible skills
© Rachel Green October 2026
flu jab
dragging the dog along
new sniffs
© Rachel Green October 2026
Brand Name
We write 'predator' in inverted commas
because he hasn't been found guilty yet,
but still, he faces of three charges of rape,
three of sexual assault,
and one of indecent assault,
and I really, really hope
I can take off those inverted commas.
Being a personality, TV or otherwise
should not become a gateway to assault
and being voted 'shagger of the year'
should be a source of shame
not fucking pride.
Pun intended.
© Rachel Green October 2026
dental visit
followed by shopping trip
bags of doughnuts
© Rachel Green October 2026
I don't play fair because I am old;
and though I don't tire as easily on the mats
I do get dizzy sometimes
and I'd rather finish fights quickly
than prolong a bout in the search
of the perfect flying armbar.
If it's any consolation
I'll teach you everything I know
all the wrist locks and heel hooks
how to choke someone to sleep
and how to make them cry out in pain
because they tried to hurt you
or someone you were protecting;
and if you're determined to fight
I'll show you how to stay lawful
while sowing chaos on the street.
© Rachel Green October 2026
portraiture
on a television show
Yes! You can!
© Rachel Green October 2026
poetry
from two decades ago --
was I better then?
my writing fresher?
or am I more nuanced?
more focused on the world
instead of always the Self?
Except this one, obviously.
© Rachel Green October 2026
night walk
woodsmoke on the air
deserted street
© Rachel Green October 2026
away, away
away with the doldrums
away with the fairies
the fearies
and the furies
away with the confidence
with the discipline
the self control
and the image projected to the world.
away
away.
© Rachel Green October 2026
blustery day
of course it's bin day too.
airborne plastics
© Rachel Green October 2026
Empty Stadium in Ohio
"There's more ice than ever before," he says,
and I wonder if he means his whisky glass
because he must have had a lot today
to wash down his heart meds, his blood thinners,
and his Alzheimer's relief
because why else would we be uncovering
more artifacts than ever before
exposed by the shrinking ice caps
and the hypocrisy of politics
as backdoor deals are made with China;
with Russia; with North Korea;
and does Sarah Palin still watch "them Ruskies"
from her kitchen window in Alaska
or is she more worried about Danes
and those warmongering Canadians?
© Rachel Green October 2026
rusted metal
rescued, varnished, painted
artistry
© Rachel Green October 2026
Doppel-shift
Maybe what you saw
wasn't me at all; but my co-joined twin.
We were separated after birth
with me, the whole one,
going on to a full, if oddly gendered life
and he, a collection of missing teeth and bones,
studied all his life in a lab
until he escaped at twenty-seven.
We only spoke once,
but he was jealous of my life and loves
and swore to wreak revenge
on anyone I cared for.
They're all dead now, of natural causes,
and it wasn't me, I swear.
© Rachel Green October 2026
