Today’s choice
Previous poems
Michelle Diaz
The Fallen Angel
This is just a woman,
sticking her life back together
after years spent recovering.
But the sky blackens,
everything grows dark and minor.
Unasked for, he appears again.
What instruments does the demon use?
Metal spoons on corrugated iron.
A cacophony of slammed doors.
Which smell does he summon?
Unbreathable rage,
with a hint of sulphur.
What is the essence of the visitation?
All hell let loose in a terraced house.
A loss of compass bearings.
Which God does she call on?
The one she’s always known.
The only one she can depend on.
Will the heavens intercede?
Let’s call it a work in progress.
Michelle Diaz has been published by Poetry Wales, Under the Radar, 14 Magazine and numerous poetry journals. Her debut pamphlet The Dancing Boy was published in 2019 by Against the Grain. Her pamphlet Raising Ghosts was published in 2026 by Atomic Bohemian.
Play, National Poetry Day: Heather Hughes, Laura Webb, Jude Brigley
We searched so long for that clover.
Every time the sun shone we scoured
the fields and woods, running past
the children playing with skipping ropes
Play, For National Poetry Day: Suzanna Fitzpatrick, Charlotte Dormandy, Lee Fraser
10 Children dart in the dark, screamers
streaming sweets and neon, their parents
Play, for National Poetry Day: MD Bier, Catherine Sweeney, Rachel Burns
Those hot hot summer days. Hair curling against sticky clammy foreheads.
Pony tails, pig tails or braids. Keep it off our neck and backs.
Play, for National Poetry Day: Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana, Ruth Aylett , Brian Comber
They can imagine a forest,
we don’t need this minimalist tree,
we’ll represent a place to live without walls, without foundations or a hearth.
Play, for National Poetry Day: Jennifer A. McGowan, Judith Shaw, Robin Houghton, Wendy Klein
Over and over, you are Dorothy
or Glenda the Good,
me the Wicked Witch of the West
Play, for National Poetry Day: Oenone Thomas, Seán Street, David A. Lee
Every evening at the care home, I pull in
two armchairs til they’re facing. Opposites,
we never fist bump, high-five or
touch each other’s vying outstretched fingers.
Play, for National Poetry Day: Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, Paul Stephenson, Jem Henderson
How two men can become
four men can become
eight men
Play, for National Poetry Day: Elena Brake, Karen Downs-Barton, John Mole, Eleanor Holmes
Take eight each of hex bolts
washers, locks…
it’s important
to fasten these tightly.
Jade Wright
Things have been rough lately.
It seems impossible now,
as the breeze relieves us