morning surprise
from the washing machine
fresh-laundered glasses
© Rachel Green March 2026
Mum was Catholic;
with a bottle of Lourdes water
from a friendly nun who travelled there
that was never, ever opened
because she thought it Holy.
She had a crucifix over her bed
and rosary beads in a little purse;
each bead moving through her fingers
in a Sunday litany of prayer.
Over the stairs hung a picture of Jesus
talking to his dad in the garden of Gethsemane;
a five foot square print under glass in old oak
that she bought for a pound at the jumble sale.
Dad was Church of England.
He only ever went to St Lawrence's
on Remembrance Day
and after the vicar thanked him for coming
never went again.
They let me find my own religion
under the one condition
that I never let the demons I talked to
cross over in the house.
© Rachel Green March 2026
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