magpie
checking out the garden
curious dog
© Rachel Green April 2024
Why can't I resist
the purchase of a new fruit tree
when the garden already has plenty?
I read that Seattle,
the city of permanent rain,
is planting Californian desert trees
because in fifty years
they expect desert conditions
and the tree canopy needs to remail intact.
Maybe I should plant peaches,
date palms and olive trees;
so that whoever lives here then
will thank me in absentia.
© Rachel Green April 2024
24-4-24
early birdsong
along the edges of the wood
bluebells
© Rachel Green April 2024
Open Letter to the PM
The heart of the problem,sir,
if you don't mind me saying,
is that you've stopped listening;
at least to the electorate
and now you're just pandering
to the increasingly right-wing members
of your political party.
Britain was built and rebuilt
by immigrants once welcomed
and the Flag of St. George
(a Turkish soldier who never came to England)
has become as synonymous with Fascism
as the German swastika.
© Rachel Green April 2024
magpies
in the apple tree
baiting the dog
© Rachel Green April 2024
"Openly Jewish"
Why do you assume
that all Jews support Israel
over the genocide of Palastine?
Did you assume that all Catholics
supported Mussolini?
And while we're at it,
why does the National Front
keep changing their name?
The Reform party are ditching their blue shirts
for brown ones.
© Rachel Green April 2024
early rain
saturating the garden
Cookie dog
© Rachel Green April 2024
In films, it's always the weird kid
who becomes the reluctant hero;
who meets the ghost
or the friendly alien
and saves the day.
In real life the outsider
is the one who gets blamed
and picked on by bullies.
It's the bullies who set the standards;
who manipulate the media;
who bully whole minorities.
The person you're voting for
is rarely an example
of an humanitarian.
Remind yourself:
they're in it for the money.
© Rachel Green April 2024
sunshine
through the birch leaves
playful sparrows
© Rachel Green April 2024
a flair for the dramatic
she reiterates her latest bugbear
about the potholes the council deems "acceptable"
despite the damage to her car.
Given time,
she'll ramble on with a list
of small grievances,
from the grassing-over of flower beds
to the gradual removal of litter bins
and the introduction of fees
for the emptying of garden waste.
Just smile and nod
and try not to engage her
other than a quick "hello."
© Rachel Green April 2024
night walk
two girls singing from an open window
should keep their day jobs
© Rachel Green April 2024
there's an old adage
that pride comes before a fall
and I've been proud of myself lately,
for cutting down and disposing of
a thirty year old conifer hedge;
twelve feet tall and trunks
as thick as my thighs.
So now I'm worried about the fall:
metaphorical or literal?
and will I survive it intact
when the government is systematically
dismantling the NHS?
© Rachel Green April 2024
slips and rolls
the basics of boxing
night rain
© Rachel Green April 2024
memory failing
I go to sleep
trying to remember the word "immaculate"
and fail, only remembering
it's something to do with Catholics.
And anyway
even if you authenticate that nail
as being from 33AD exactly,
how do you know it was from Iesu's crucifixion
and not one of the two thieves next to him
or one of a thousand others crucified that year,
The whole point of evolution
is to do something better
so why follow the advice
of a thousand year-old book?
© Rachel Green April 2024
