Dawn McLachlan

@deemclachlan

Poet, author, bookseller, allotmenteer - for hire or loan. Won some poetry prizes. Account is stuff from a small rural town in NE Scotland. #FridayPoem She/Her

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Bluesky

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Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· 21d

A #fridaypoem for the @thebrokenspine.co.uk prompt #badhabits #poetrycommunity #anaphora #poems #badhabits. #poems #poetsofbluesky #AltText #useAltText #PoemAltText

Speaking Back
By Dawn Mclachlan

She's so mouthy
They said
Never shuts up
They said
Brought it on herself
They said
Asking for it
They said
But in the silence that came after In the healing time
There was a brewing
Of words
And when they returned
They were all mouth
And teeth
And cold intent
And knowing
They carried ideas above stations
Where the road ran fast and slick
Like tongues
Bringing horizons closer
But she never forgot
The time they said
Her voice brought the blame

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· 23d

An extra #poem for @thebrokenspine.co.uk prompt #ExitWounds When poetry gets personal. #grief #griefpoems #poetrycommunity #poetsofbluesky #poems #poemsabout #poemsaboutlife #poemsaboutgrief #AltText #UseAltText #PoemAltText

Exit Wounds II
By Dawn Mclachlan

Bring me sunshine
Bring me remembrance of things past
And sweet things yet to come Bring me the time that heals
All wounds
Show me the blue birds over
And the sunny side of the street I am done singing in the rain
Bring me so much lemonade
That these lemons run dry
Bring me all the silver linings
And show me the sun coming
Over the hills
In the darkest hours
Just before the dawn
Bring me that bowl of cherries
Because today has none

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· 24d

Something from my latest poetry book (see pinned post). I wrote this last year when I was working on a series of poems about women in historical storytelling. Giving Penelope’s view. #odyssey #poetry #poets #poetrycommunity #classics #PoemAltText #penelope

Penelope's Web
By Dawn Mclachlan

I am wrung out by fading hope and the cruel deceptions of Time
Shall my husband live forever in the tapestry of sailors' rhyme?
When the salted sails of rumour blow and the wind whispers his name
As the lonely night falls like the rain I will dress my weeping hands again

If he returns he'll find me aged Frayed by grief, unlaced by want bent and branch-like at the loom Shrouded by memories that haunt In the long and tangled hours
Fingers oakum raw, bloodied and in pain
As the lonely night falls like the rain I will dress my weeping hands again

Safe here in our olive-boughed bed
In the sweet blue blanket of eve
Unthreading warp and pulling weft praying for a homecoming breeze I am slowly turning back this clock returning cloth to skein
And when lonely night falls like the rain I will dress my weeping hands again

© Dawn McLachlan

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· 25d

My beloved old Buttons died this morning. He was the very best of boys and his favourite thing was getting a new bed. He was blind and I suppose he never knew how lovely his smile was. I’m going to miss you, darling. Prince of Cats.

A black and white cat smiles while sitting in a pink bed shaped like a crown.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· 25d

Lots of extra followers this weekend from a viral #niceness post. Just a heads up that my posts are pretty much all #poetry #bookshops #reading #wildlife #allotments #scotland and #castles. Oh, and George. He accompanies me when I’m giving castle tours. If that’s not your bag… sorry in advance.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· 26d

Yeah, the coastline is pretty spectacular up here and the weather last year was incredible.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· 28d

A #fridaypoem for the @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetryprompt of #exitwounds I strongly advise folk to look at the #Exitwounds tag today because this prompt is very powerful and the work coming from it is extraordinary. Anyway, here’s mine. It’s okay. #PoemAltText #UseAltText #AltText

Exit Wounds
by Dawn Mclachlan

I expected more in the days after
I expected the wound to feel
raw and torn
fire and brimstone
I expected
the pain to vice my heart
with fear and loss
I expected the horrific void
to swallow me whole
but in the numbness
as I took my place
settling in the rising tide of anticipated grief
there was just a deep blue breath of cooling melancholia
I expected more
in the newness of the injury
but there was just the light
and i walked into it

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jul 10

A #fridaypoem for the #poemsabout prompt #powercut Thank you @thebrokenspine.co.uk as always. Remember to check the hashtag - read, like, share the love. #alttext #PoemAltText #PoetryCommunity #poetsofbluesky #poetry #poems

Power, cut
By Dawn Mclachlan

There were raised hands and voices
Before she fell like wind-blown lines
Into the evening blue
And all the world forever changed
With such rapid power loss
She lay in fearful stillness
Gathering dampness in her bones
Later, when all was white
And clinical brilliance
They asked “did you see stars?”
The words would not come but
In silence she remembered
The torn jasmine
Casting scented constellations
Across the summer lawn
And nodded

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jul 9

Toadlet migration season is upon us. So many will die on roads and footpaths so if you see trapped ones give them a hand. Take time to see which way they are going and give them a lift up kerbs. Never put them back in the water! Toads are born there but they don’t live there. #toadlets #toads

A common toad toadlet. You can see the warty looking skin.

This tiny toadlet has only just lost his tail and is now on a migration away from the water where he was born.

At this time of year hundreds of thousands of toads in your area are leaving rivers and ponds to head to where it is the mysterious toad spends its life. It will only return to the water to spawn. Amazing creatures

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jul 8

A poem for @janpsolivagant.bsky.social #promptcombo #bestiary One of mine from the poetry anthology Heroes and Villains pub. by @panmacmillan.bsky.social The original is illustrated by the genius Chris Riddell. I’m always rather humbled when I see it. Anyway - Yet, I Hope you like it. #poems

УЕТ, І
The incomers do not believe in me
And yet...
I am here
I walk alone along the roof of the world
Where the bright blue belly of the sky is pierced by crags
And jagged peaks snag the clouds
I brush frost from my fur
And shake falls of snow from my shoulders
The climbers do not see me
And yet...
I am here
When the moon turns the slopes blue and silver
And stars rend the fabric of the night
With their scattered brilliance
In dazzling mornings, I taste the oncoming springtime
On green air rising fresh from the valley
I know the mountain
And the mountain knows me
The travellers do not believe in me
Yet I am
Yet, I

By Dawn McLachlan

Image shows a pen and ink drawing of a yeti next to the poem from the previous image. The illustration is by Chris Riddell from the MacMillan published poetry anthology- Heroes and Villains

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jul 7

This is George. George likes biscuits. He also loves castle guides. These two things are connected. #castles #scotland #corvids #crows #tourguidelife #wildlife

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jul 5

A #haibun for @jenthorne.bsky.social and the #poetsofdoom prompt #happyplace - thanks for hosting! I absolutely love writing #haibuns and this is one from my new poetry collection - June Somewhere. #poetrycommunity #poetsofbluesky #AltText #PoemAltText #poems

Blossom
a haibun
By Dawn Mclachlan

We walked up the last hill. I knew the old man would say that it wasn't fair horses had to risk slipping pulling that weight just for him. He need not worry, they were steady and true, tossing their plumes with admirable grace and elegance. He always loved walking that road. The stubby trees garlanding the kerb with petals in late spring. He'd sing - "cherry pink and apple blossom white, the poets say..." as we ran and whirled around him beneath the windblown cascade at imaginary future weddings.
The trees were heavy with their confetti that final day. It seemed fitting we should pass beneath them on our way. I wanted to stop and dance again, but it was far too late.

The sky seemed too blue
On a day that called for rain
Petals in black manes

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jul 4

It’s currently hanging on my workroom wall. All of the illustrations in the book are my own too. All from hand cut linoprints. Zero AI. All original work. Thanks for standing up for illustrators! Totally support your stance.

Two oil paintings on a wall. One is of a path through a field of rapeseed and the other a completely blue seascape

A desk covered in linoprint illustrations including a cow, a toad, blossom, a tree and two birds.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jul 3

A #fridaypoem for @thebrokenspine.co.uk prompt #cheapmotels Thanks to poet and curator @alanparrywriter.co.uk #poetrycommunity #poetryprompts #poetsofbluesky #poemAltText #UseAltText #AltText #poets #poems #poemsabout #poemsaboutlife #poemsaboutlove

Postcard
By Dawn Mclachlan

Beyond the yellowed net
and sun-bleached curtains
the river of the restless road
flowed past
a room too hot for sleep
and too remote to leave
Stranded on this island
of fuel and Fate
she waited

In the drawer
beneath torn Gideon verses
she found a postcard
curled and unsent
crisped by age
no one had ever
wished they were here
He said it was a beginning
but all she felt was the end

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 28

Holiday snapshot #watercolour #sketchbooks #painting #landscape #tweedvalley #scotland

A watercolour painting of cloudy blue skies over a countryside scene.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 26

A poem for @thebrokenspine.co.uk prompt - #TheLook #poemsabout #poetrycommunity #poems @alanparrywriter.co.uk #poetsofbluesky #AltText #PoemAltText #FridayPoems #PoetryPrompts #poets

The Look
By Dawn Mclachlan

I know it now
as I knew it then
the look that turned
pleas into pebbles
that gathered on my tongue
and in my throat
Muted by such cold stones pressed home with the glare
of othering
my words remained unsaid
But here
closeted in a space beyond sight they hung like winter coats waiting for the right season concealing the way beyond revealing another world

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 26

Time for another #FridayPoem #poetrycommunity #poetrysociety #poetsofbluesky #naturepoems #poets #poems #PoemAltText #AltText

Nocturne 26
By Dawn Mclachlan

A storm broke the night
into silver shards
of jagged brilliance that pressed
darkness back into the trees
Before the downpour came
we stepped outside
and felt the air electric
raising hair that only
cool sheets could settle

Rising from damp and fitful rest
we found a bruised morning
veiled in mist
from the torn bellies of clouds
still snagged in the forest canopy
Far up the valley
the storm lingered
like an argument
In the thin early light
Tattered butterflies settled upon us
seeking refuge from the rain

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 19

A #fridaypoem for #poemsabout #outaftermidnight curated by @thebrokenspine.co.uk and @alanparrywriter.co.uk Something from my new book. #poemAltText #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetsofbluesky

Nocturne 83
by Dawn Mclachlan
Fast on slick black roads
In a night that tasted
Like lip gloss and bravery
Don't let go
Lean into the electric night
Heartbeat like the static
Of the tuneless radio
Sodium light pulse
Tearing out sleeping streets
Into the endless deep blue Whipping stars in branches
Above the hollow ways
And the sweet cool wind
Like a baptism

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 17

Sigh…. #oneofthosedays #HaikuAltText #haiku

Having little time
We squeeze the bottle too hard
And miss the sandwich

***

Image shows a half prepared sausage sandwich on thick white bread. Sadly the tomato sauce has mostly hit the worktop instead of the bread.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 12

If you’re anywhere near Turriff tomorrow… come and say hi. I’m doing a thing about the wider benefits of allotments. #allotmentlife #allotmenteering #creativity #poetsgetmuddy

A poster advertising the North Scotland Garden Show in Turriff, Aberdeenshire. Post shows Dawn Mclachlan holding large beetroots and a picture of her allotment.
The show runs Friday 12th to Saturday 13th. Dawn will be taking at 12.30 and again at 3pm

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 8

I’m doing a thing at the North Scotland Garden Show on June 13th in Turriff. Talking about allotments, mental health, and unlocking some creativity. Come along! #allotmentlife #allotmenteering #poets #creativity #mentalhealth #getoutdoors #allotments #scotland #aberdeenshire #outdoorcreatives

A composite image showing Dawn Mclachlan with her veg, her poetry book, and her allotment. The poster is advertising a talk to be held within an event on June 13th in Turriff, Aberdeenshire.
Dawn’s talk will be called “The Plot Thickens”

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 6

A bit of Saturday evening fun. Sorrel is a very thirsty and overdramatic little plant. It wilts really quickly and then recovers in about 15 mins when you water it. You can see it move but it’s better in time lapse. Here’s a little time lapse I made today. #timelapse #plants

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 5

All of us librarians tonight are raising a glass. Good night sweet prince. You were one of the best. May your heavenly shelves always be tidy and may your catalogue never fail. #RIPRupert #anthonyhead #librarians

The late Anthony Head in character as the librarian Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 5

A #fridaypoem for #fragmentsfriday from @blackboughpoetry.bsky.social #poetry #poetrycommunity #micropoem #poets #PoemAltText

Cautionary Tales
By Dawn Mclachlan

I walked on broken glass
And hot coals
Because the eggshells
I'd already traversed
Weren't enough for you

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 4

Out and about today with a pal doing free seed bank drop ins at rural libraries. Alice drives very slowly because the lanes are full of hares. I’m so in love with hares. #lesshatemorehares #aberdeenshire #scotland #hares #haikuAltText

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 3

Getting to grips with my new etching press and thought I’d share a new print. My phone keeps autocorrecting the word hare to hate despite the fact that I use hare much more frequently than I use the word hate. Anyway- more hares, less hate please. #drypoint #drypointprinting #hares #printmakers

Image shows a monochrome print of an etching of a hare.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· Jun 3

There’s a lot to be said for all this rain. My allotment is looking gorgeous. #HaikuAltText #PoemAltText #AltText #Haiku #haikupoetry #allotmentlife #allotmenteer

Behind the lupins
The allotment reaches out
In fertile expanse

Broad leaf of rhubarb
Leans towards the bronze fennel
Behind purple chives

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· May 29

It’s been a while since I wrote a #FridayPoem but I’m back on it with one for the @thebrokenspine.co.uk prompt #earntheright Thanks as always to @alanparrywriter.co.uk for hosting. #alttext #poemalttext #poetrycommunity #poems #poets #poetsofbluesky

Earn the right
by Dawn Mclachlan

I don’t have to love you
or give a fuck
for blood or time or promises
made and bound in ink
on paper in rooms of licence

I don’t have to lay myself down
or stand myself up
just for time and aged tradition
on the hills of deathly principles
where others died

I don’t have to slay for you
or live for you
through boiling grief and loss
raging from the fever of youth
to the cool rest of time

I don’t have to
But I will

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· May 23

Going through my snaps from our recent trip to Loch Lubnaig and thought you might like this one of the faery hill - Cnoc an t-Sidhean. Yes, I left them a thank you gift. You don’t mess with the faeries. #scotland #faeries #rainbows

Two small hills across a body of water. There is a burst rain cloud above the hills drenched in light. From the cloud there comes a rainbow.

Dawn McLachlan@deemclachlan· May 1

It’s a Beltane Book Birthday for me as June Somewhere is published today! Order from any good bookshop or from me with extra freebies. Drop me a line. #fridaypoems #poetrycommunity #bookbirthday #publicationday #poetsofbluesky #poems #poetry #poetrybooks #poets