2nd March 2026

 

bicycle ride

no brakes on the downhill

stuck brakes on the flat

© Rachel Green March 2026

Progression's Glory.

The dead lie

fondly remembered:

treasured father, beloved mother

their lives condensed to one function

where the horrors of living are glossed over

because the dead must be benevolent.

Murderers, serial killers, rapists, politicians;

their corpses hidden

buried under tons of concrete;

and we act surprised when their houses become tourist destinations

and the memorials of their victims

become pilgrimages

of would-be paedophiles.

And why we glorify the rich

with statues of gold and bronze

we quietly forget they traded in slavery

and slaughtered populations

in the name of Progress.

© Rachel Green March 2026