21st February 2026

 

dinner with friends

the echoes of a resonating gong

early Floyd

© Rachel Green February 2026

His Rod and Staff

"It is God's will."

He whispers in the darkness

of a silent confessional

leaning into the voices

from the smoke-blackened statues.

His is the Word of God

and the Creator's words

filtered, interpreted,

while a CD of choirists

plays softly through the speakers

of a deserted pulpit.

◊

driving toward redemption

the Right Reverend Stephen Conway

slumbers in the House of Lords

while the three people still awake

debate "What is a woman?"

  

He already knows

God told him

in the darkness of his church

by His Divine Will

◊

"Let God enter you,"

He grunts in the chill of the vestry

his cassock up around his dangling breasts

heavy from the roasted quail

serves in the private restaurant

lifting his belly high

to release the Staff of Christ

and cleanse the penitent arse

splayed over the child-painted backdrop

they used for the Harvest Festival.

◊

"As God is my Witness"

A print of Mary Magdalene

washing the crucified feet

of the only man who loved her

as he thrusts,

thrusts,

the Will of God

◊

Once

Twice

Three times.

He is denied,

but in the ornate trappings

of his mortgage-free mansion

his memory readjusts,

allows him Rapture.

Only God

can be his judge

but the Lincolnshire Police

will do their fucking best.

© Rachel Green February 2026

Bishop of Lincoln arrested in sexual assault inquiry