Dawn McLachlan
LightNews LightNews
banner
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Dawn McLachlan
@deemclachlan.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.1K following 510 posts
Poet, author, bookseller, allotmenteer, for hire or loan. Won some poetry prizes. Account is stuff from a small rural town in NE Scotland. Seeking publisher
#FridayPoem
She/Her

https://dawnmclachlan.com/dawnmclachlan-author/Blog%20Post%20Title%20One-pdlbl
Posts Replies Media Videos
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Today’s #fridaypoem inspired by the #poemsabout prompt #imps
I’ve suffered from trauma related night terrors for most of my life so this sprung to mind when imps were mentioned.
#poetry #poems #nightmares #nightterrrors
The Mare by Dawn Mclachlan For too long you slept upon my chest with threat of eternal catastrophe my damnable familiar pressing dreadful weight upon me caustic mutters of a million fears turning goodness into dark skulking in the frequent pauses of my joy scraping the thin cracks with long claws waiting in the empty spaces to drown hope with dread watching for rare bright glistening To fill with whispering shadows I know you and I will break your grip throw your hold and turn my face to the moon
December 5, 2025 at 11:18 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
How about a wildlife camera for the garden? My husband-who-wants-for-nothing has had great fun with his. We even took it on holiday.
A red squirrel is looking into the lens of a wildlife camera.
November 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #fridaypoem and it’s another #haibun
There was a time I thought I had #nofuture and this is a glimpse for #poemsabout

#poets #poetrycommunity #poems #PoemAltText #haiku #haikusociety #UseAltText #poemsaboutgrief
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 blossom in late spring. He’d sing - “cherry pink and apple blossom white, the poets say…” as we ran and whirled around him beneath the wind blown cascade at imaginary future weddings. The trees were heavy with blossom 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
November 28, 2025 at 9:14 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
The hour turned quick from day to eve
On frosted snow beneath my feet
Shadows chased across the walls
In fleeting patterns darkness falls
Long the reach of trees now bare
I walked on knowing you’re still there

#huntlycastle #buster #inremembrance #winterpoems
The sun sets in winter yellow behind the ruined walls of Huntly Castle in Aberdeenshire. The foreground is brushed with snow and the bare winter trees are silhouetted against the distant hills. The castle cat died suddenly last week and I miss him. I feed the biscuits in my pocket to the crows and together we think about him.
November 26, 2025 at 10:06 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
This is an easy one for me, because I’m also in it.
(Long story)
Movie poster from the film Confessions of a Pop Performer.
November 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #FridayPoem. Still struggling with the #poemsabout prompt this week so instead here’s the fresh start of a snowy day in a #haikuset
#haiku #poetry #poems #poets #poetsofbluesky #poetrycommunity #alttext #HaikuAltText #PoemAltText
Whiteout a haiku set by Dawn Mclachlan In the silent night Snow came down like memories and cleansed the landscape Smoothed to sugar-white Harshness sweetened to the eye Winter confection From the far forest Rooks rise in conversation Punctuating sky Now the dead trees In the disguise of winter Cannot be discerned In the pink of dawn An unexplored day stretches As if newly born
November 21, 2025 at 2:25 PM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #FridayPoem
I’m enjoying exploring the #haibun form so here’s another one. This for the #poemsabout prompt #desire . I’m afraid I’m not a brutalist poet so you’ll just have to make do with my soft nature work again!
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
#poetrycommunity #poets #poems
Desires a haibun by Dawn McLachlan Like so many others we went to the park at the first snowfall. I wondered if you'd be warm enough but you hardly seemed to notice how thin your jacket was. I did my best to control my shiver in case you offered it to me. The air was bright and brittle with the sudden arrival of winter. Across the newly covered grass people had already worn fresh tracks that meandered far from the paths we knew. They wound their way around the dazzlingly fresh snowy field turning velvet into lace. "Desire lines," you said. We sat on the bench watching people ignore the common ways and instead follow their own routes. We watched until the brown earth showed through the trampled snow and the cold seeped into our bones. In landscape smoothed white With all our paths now hidden We follow our desires
November 14, 2025 at 9:21 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
I absolutely love hollow ways and in the summer I wrote this villanelle about them.
Hope you like it.

#poetry #poetsofbluesky #naturepoems #poetrycommunity #poems #hollowways
#poets #villanelle #PoemAltText #UseAltText #AltText
The Hollow Ways By Dawn McLachlan We shall walk together in the hollow ways On days when colour is blurred by morning rain And worries will be lifted to drift away Through sunken lanes in sun-dappled rays We'll travel slowed down along ancient veins We shall walk together in the hollow ways As high above the great green canopy sways We'll dawdle then until the afternoon wanes And worries will be lifted to drift away In susurrations come whispers of forgotten days Hearing echoes of the distant past and the arcane We shall walk together in the hollow ways In an ancient place, away from sun's blaze We find our own place in a wild domain And worries will be lifted to drift away As the real world feels like a distant haze Take my hand, and walk with me here again We shall walk together in the hollow ways And worries will be lifted to drift away © Dawn McLachlan 2025
November 11, 2025 at 10:18 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
A #sundaypoem
This one is a #haibun

#poetry #poems #poetrycommunity #poemsabout #poetsofbluesky #poets #poemsaboutlife #autumn #poemalttext #usealttext #AltTextPoetry #AltText
Logs A haibun by Dawn Mclachlan From a high window I watch upturned clouds fill the valley and blur the silhouetted forest. The logs remain tumbled together in a giant bag in the yard. In a fit of hubris I dig out a pair of thick gloves and decide to move and stack them on my own. By the time I manage to haul everything in and fill the shed, the mist has arrived and stealthily smothers the town. It clings to me like sweat as I tug the day's splinters from my blistered hands. As streetlights signal the arrival of evening I shake beads of water from my hair like a dog and think of the supper I have yet to plan. Shrouded in the mist Fearful of Winter's sharp teeth I stack logs alone
November 9, 2025 at 10:28 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
A #FridayPoem for the #poemsabout prompt of #lockeddoors
This time a #villanelle I really enjoy working in this form.
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
Hope you like it.
#poetry #poetsofbluesky #PoemAltText #AltText #poems
Lock the doors A villanelle form poem by Dawn Mclachlan Lock the doors, slide the bolts again Across the water far distant islands sleep Rest easy now for only peace remains The storm will rage turning enemy to friend Dark night shifts windows to mirrored keep As we lock the doors and slide the bolts again Our stories dark with Memory's sanguine stain Thoughts of those we lost to endless sleep Can we rest easy now where only peace remains? At hearth and home we draw out such wraiths With restless dreams of towering mountains steep We lock the doors and slide the bolts again Come rest with me, we'll talk through the pain And softly dwell upon the loves we made to weep But rest easy now, for only peace remains With the air too thick with souls that creep And long fireside shadows that dance and leap We shall lock the doors and slide the bolts again And rest easy here, for only peace remains
November 7, 2025 at 9:18 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #Fridaypoem
#poemsabout #poetry #poemsonbluesky #poetrycommunity #poetrysociety #poemsaboutlife #funeralpoetry #poemsaboutgrief #PoemAltText #AltText
Ghosts by Dawn Mclachlan The dead return on stealthy feet and in the quiet ways Not in the shrieks of myth Or the clanked chains of literature Not in spectral bloodied cloth And creaks of floor They require neither season nor reason Instead they appear in the watch unwound The drawer jammed by a rusted penknife They rise from a homeless key And a half- remembered phone number They tumble from yellowed photo albums slipping from unused tools in spider-webbed racks They linger in restless moments passing through childhood towns They surprise us in the expression of a child Or the saying of a friend They return not in the fearful dread But in the sorrowful silence Or in a distant song that snatches breath And brings an unexpected smile
October 31, 2025 at 10:52 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
A #Fridaypoem for the @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poemsabout prompt #blood
Thank you #poetrycommunity as always.
#poems #poetry #PoemAltText #AltText #poemsaboutlife
Harm by Dawn Mclachlan I didn’t recognise these wounds their depth deep their cause subtle But years later tattooist ink replacing the lace of silvered lines I remembered ruby jewels worn in secret and thought of you
October 31, 2025 at 10:30 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
It’s a trap!

#tourguidelife #scottishcastles #castlecats #catlife #cats
Buster (a black and white cat) lies on his back with his paws curled in the air in front of a medieval castle.
October 28, 2025 at 7:17 PM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Why on earth are there AI pics of cats? Surely there’s enough real cat pics to sink the internet already?
Here’s one of Buttons. He knows he’s pretty.

#HaikuAltText
Check for the #Haiku in the #AltText #poets #poetry
In the morning sun Buttons seems to glow with light Despite being dim
October 26, 2025 at 11:15 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #fridaypoem
A light one for the impending darkness. It’s that time of year again…
#poetry #poetsofbluesky #poetrycommunity #poemsabout #poemsaboutlife #moonpoems #autumnpoems
Fall Back, a poem by Dawn McLachlan That blue morning the last Sunday of the month I was far too cold to leave my bed And the moon far too pretty for hers Making no excuses for her hesitancy Spilling silver to hold back the gold Agreed, unspoken, this uneasy truce with my blankets tugged ever higher Sharing time misplaced by tradition I slowly turned back the hands She kept her bright watch Together we waited For the day Footnote - this is a shape poem in the shape of a full moon
October 24, 2025 at 2:39 PM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
A poem for #poemsabout prompt #burnforthecamera
This #haikuset is for J who passed away suddenly at Christmas. So missed. So loved. “Sail on, float free, just be” Miss you.

#haiku #haikuset #HaikuAltText #poetrycommunity #poetsofbluesky
@thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
Flowers A haiku set For J Oh, how bright we shone In the gold times without end And the days of blue We rode on the breeze And spiralled through the long nights Blown by winds of chance In summers of youth We tossed our beautiful heads And felt immortal No thought of futures Or of winter boughs of grief No fear of old bones I picture you then Somehow lonely in a crowd And I remember © Dawn McLachlan
October 24, 2025 at 10:40 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
A little something for #BlueSkyMonday

The Moray coast, NE Scotland, this weekend.
A white harbour marker stands at the end of a jetty looking out to sea. An almost cloudless blue sky reflects in the smooth wet sand of a wide beach in Scotland A rocky cliff reflects in the wet sand of a retreating tide A small red fishing boat is moored against the harbour wall at low tide. In the background you can see the many spans of a Victorian viaduct.
October 20, 2025 at 8:22 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #FridayPoem
This one for the #poemsabout prompt #breakthemould
Thanks to @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social for overseeing and @thebrokenspine.co.uk as always. Love to all the #poetrycommunity
#poets #poemAltText #usealttext #poetry #poetsofbluesky #poems #poetryforall
Promises by Dawn McLachlan I came back for you And searched the ways of a child In the meanders of the river Where the pools ran deep and cold To where we dreamed of flying Down hills pitted with barbs Among the hollowed trees I walked with crooked gait The paths where I once flowed In the vastness of memory A place so shrunken now And hoped to rescue you still I dreamed I walked with you a while And silvered all the fading scars As if a bright constellation newly fallen All yearning scattered like dust In time I took a different turn The long road curved away and I lost you I promised to come back for you But relieved, I found you gone
October 17, 2025 at 8:02 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
I love how autumn can make scruffy look fabulous

#allotmentlife #allotmentuk #autumnuk #aberdeenshire #scotland #autumninscotland #scottishautumm #autumnvibes
Raggedy golden flowers A scruffy pumpkin patch with golden trees Bright yellow flowers A cherry tree with autumn leaves falling
October 13, 2025 at 9:14 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #FridayPoem

#poetrycommunity #poemsabout #poetlife #poetsofbluesky #PoemAltText #poemsaboutlife
Pareidolia By Dawn McLachlan We threw our wishes into holes in the ground And fast flowing rivers Coins dropped into wet darkness Warmed by fervent hope And tumbled over faces in the stones In clouds we saw the lost The longed for And angelic outreach In the sacred spaces Candles lit with prayers And blown out with fingers crossed Sticky with sugar wrapped sentiment And rules to tell no one We wrote our lists to things of myth For a different time A different place Where wishes were horses And distant planets stared back at us Our desire to see Jesus in the toast When all we had was burnt bread
October 10, 2025 at 8:07 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Time for another #poemsabout day and the theme this week is #ImperfectMe
Thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk as always and everyone sharing and supporting #poets
#poetrycommunity #poemalttext #poetry #poems
Wear the Gloves by Dawn McLachlan In those muddled days after When all was opened doors And emptied drawers I remember them Butter-soft and finest leather Stitching like the whisper of the needle Wrapped still in silvered tissue Faded tags of festive gifting Unworn Saved for a "best" too late to know So if you think me too showy With misplaced colours and gaudy cloth Fine jewellery worn for no good reason It is because I have learned to Wear the damn gloves
October 10, 2025 at 7:22 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Going through the trail cam footage from our holiday in the forest and gathering a short collection I’ve called “rumbled”
Sound on.
October 9, 2025 at 8:19 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
#Portland
❤️

#poetsofbluesky #poetry #abolishICE #stopfascism
In what do you trust? By Dawn McLachlan That night the violinist came And in the storm of raised voices and anger They strung bloody memories along barbed wire and hung from it in crystal notes a past we should not risk forgetting and a future we should not dare allow In notes that choked the throat and pained the heart They played on and laid a pure path over broken glass For those who could still hear
October 8, 2025 at 5:57 PM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
This week’s #poemsabout prompt is #mannequin
Due to illness my poem is short and dark from fever dreams and the news.
@thebrokenspine.co.uk @thepaulconnolly.bsky.social #poemalttext #UseAltText #poetrysociety #poetsonbluesky #poemsforpeace
Mannequins By Dawn McLachlan She thinks of them as mannequins Lined up Nameless Cold and still Too many to count Beyond the rope-stitched canvas She can see rows of them With their hideous labels She thinks of them as mannequins Because to say "shroud" Is to drown in grief
October 3, 2025 at 8:45 AM
deemclachlan.bsky.social
Huge thanks to @thepaulconnolly.bsky.social for advice on a #poetrytheme prompt #amphibian
This #haikuset is definitely better thanks to your help. Thanks for all you do to support poets.
Toad in this pic is also the actual toad that I share my plot with.
#poetrycommunity #haiku #haikusociety
Bufo Bufo By Dawn McLachlan Caught by the weather Pressed to ground by Autumn rain I sit with the toad We hear the river Flowing cold and deluge-deep Spawning memories The toad watches me Verrucose skin glistening Against the damp earth Fixed by copper eyes From cautionary distance Tolerated space In softening eve We rest in the fading light Just me and the toad
October 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM