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Dawn McLachlan

@deemclachlan.bsky.social
2.4K followers 1.3K following 957 posts

Poet, painter, printmaker, planter - for hire or loan. Won some poetry prizes. Account is stuff from a small rural town in NE Scotland. Kitten content warning! Once a librarian…. #FridayPoem She/Her dawnmclachlan.com

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Reposted by Dawn McLachlan
Brenda Blue @brendafromia.bsky.social · 7h
#7syllablesquad is a placeholder until Gabe returns for #7syllablesentence. Here is the current schedule: Oct 4th - Oct 10th: @deemclachlan.bsky.social Oct 11th - Oct 24th: @lifelovelily22.bsky.social Oct 25th - Oct 31 @451degrees.bsky.social Today’s 9 to 5 prompt is #jump
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Brenda Blue @brendafromia.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#7syllablesquad is a placeholder until Gabe returns for #7syllablesentence. Here is the current schedule: Oct 4th - Oct 10th: @deemclachlan.bsky.social Oct 11th - Oct 24th: @lifelovelily22.bsky.social Oct 25th - Oct 31 @451degrees.bsky.social Today’s 9 to 5 prompt is #Stretch
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CL Hellisen @clhellisen.com · 29/09/2026
oh no it's me
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Brenda Blue @brendafromia.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
#7syllablesquad is a placeholder until Gabe returns for #7syllablesentence. Here is the current schedule (corrected): Oct 4th - Oct 10th: @deemclachlan.bsky.social Oct 11th - Oct 24th: @lifelovelily22.bsky.social Oct 25th - Oct 31 @451degrees.bsky.social Today’s 9 to 5 prompt is #yawn
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Dawn McLachlan @deemclachlan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I can’t thank @alcs.co.uk enough for watching over my published works for me. Yet again they’ve managed to find money I didn’t know existed. Easily the best membership I have. Thank you so much!
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The Broken Spine (SUBS OPEN) @thebrokenspine.co.uk · 27/09/2026
Next up: #Rot. Flowers rot. Houses rot. Governments rot. Love can rot beautifully if you leave it somewhere warm enough. New theme begins Friday. Don’t post early. Use Alt Text. Tag #PoemsAbout. Read. Repost. Reply.
A dark, close-up photograph of wilted and decaying flowers, their curled brown petals lit by warm orange light against a near-black background. The Broken Spine logo appears at the top left and @thebrokenspine.co.uk at the top right. White text at the bottom reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #ROT”.
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The Broken Spine (SUBS OPEN) @thebrokenspine.co.uk · 28/09/2026
For #LiftToTheSky, name someone who makes this space better.
A black-and-white photograph of seabirds flying above a calm sea. Gentle waves roll toward the shore beneath a pale sky. In the centre of the image, handwritten-style text reads “#LIFTTOTHESKY,” with “@thebrokenspine.co.uk” beneath it. The Broken Spine fountain pen logo appears in the top right corner.
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Learn Dirt @learndirt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The first step to healing the planet is believing it can heal.
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Madi; fighting myself to stay alive 🇵🇸 @madi-faith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
; ...but have you ever questioned your own existence? do you ever doubt that you are real? #7syllablesunday #7syllablesquad #7syllablesentence #doubt
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Brenda Blue @brendafromia.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
#7syllablesquad #tumble Tumble weeds just toll along; The desert’s sweeper of sand.
static.klipy.com
Hop On The Cycle Frontier
ALT: Hop On The Cycle Frontier
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Fleur Du Pseudonym @fleurdu.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
• Tumble words to make poems • #7syllablesquad #tumble Thanks for stepping in @brendafromia.bsky.social
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RobinJP @robinjp.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Doubt I could do life better. #doubt #7SyllableSquad #7SyllableSentence #lovedogs #photography
blond poodle sitting, looking back over his shoulder towards the camera... in a field of grass. looks like he's smoking.
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Brenda Blue @brendafromia.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
#7syllablesquad is a placeholder until Gabe returns for #7syllablesentence. Here is the current schedule (after this week). Oct 4th - Oct 10th: @deemclachlan.bsky.social Oct 11th - Oct 17th: @lifelovelily22.bsky.social Today’s Dolly Parton 9 to 5 prompt is #tumble Also check out #7SyllableSunday
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Steve Silas Hendrickson (Hiatus) @phylogeneticsteve.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Hello #7SyllableSquad! Thank you for the well wishes, I will be logging off shortly but before I do, we have the following people who will host in my stead. 💜 Thank you for this, I wish I didn't have to do this but I need to take care of myself first. Love you all, see you in November ✨
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Faith K. Falkner @faithfalkner.com · 27/09/2026
Be patient and kind to those who are making art right now. We're all self-funded and the richest, worst people in the world are trying to plaster over and erase our hard work.
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Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Every time someone links to this film, I have to repost it. It's one of the most significant bits of British 20th century art. Everything about it is incredible. Groundbreaking music production by Daphne Oram. Amazing camera work by Wolfgang Suschitzky (who later filmed Get Carter).-
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Matthias (watering thoughts) 🦄🧚‍♂️🐉 @ignorantfairy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
clouds bleeding scarlet ferocious crimson sunset painting autumn sky #dailyhaikuprompt #poetry #haiku
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stace.bot @stacebot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
For this week's #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters I'm thinking about what has to die for a letter to be dead. @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk #prompt #poetry #blueskypoetry #writesky #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity #poets #creativewriting
dead letter

i wash the dishes
in the dark

because i know
where everything is.

the tap.
the soap.
the chipped glass
you always said
to throw away.

remember when
you said
nothing mattered
and i said nothing.

it does.

the glass slips.
i hear it break
somewhere in the sink.

for a while
i leave my hands
where they are.

the tap keeps running.

i am quiet.

you are far away.

or whatever
you are.

eventually
i put my hand
back in the water.
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Penstricken @penstricken.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
We're passionate about providing an ad-free platform for writers to freely share their #fiction, #poetry, and #writing but we rely heavily on donations from our supporters to stay afloat. If you like what we do, visit penstricken.com/support-us to see how you can help us to keep going. Thank you 🙏😍.
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Paul Marvin @paulmarvin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#SomethingEveryday #Dream @sonnetsmith.bsky.social when I dreamed I loved to fly over my old paper routes or Gumby glide across town for cloud fluffy pancakes and coffee now with a few extra pounds and a flaccid uvula my wife is usually jabbing my kidneys before I get my snoring ass off the ground
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The US war against Iran is going so well that the US Naval Blockade which was just a few hundred KMs from Iran up till the start of September is now 1200+ km away from Iran. Due to Iran's new anti-ship missiles with a 1200km range It's not even a blockade any more Just give up
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yaoi gagarin @mel.bzky.team · 25/09/2026
ed sheeran brought the snakes back to ireland
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Mizz Whozza Whazzit @mwplovesmusic.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#poemsabout #deadletters #poetry
Love,
Dare you not speak my name,
you have betrayed me the last time
with promises of acceptance
and security only to give me
rejection and fear;

Love,
You have shamed yourself,
all of the beauty and wonder
only brought ugliness and 
misery;

Love,
You are-
dead to me,
over and over I give you a chance,
but I swear to you, swear to you
this is our last dance
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Merril D. Smith @merrildsmith.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Good morning and happy Friday! Here's an old poem I revised for #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters. Thank you as always to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk
Poem:

Erasure

Here is where time unfolded wings
and flew from 

the straight path I had imagined

the stars have shifted, I cannot
navigate this whirligig expanse,

the parallel universe
where you wrote her letters
and she slept in my place.

Now I burn every word,
all the traces, hints, glimpses–

love and us,
erased.
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Dawn McLachlan @deemclachlan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A #fridaypoem for @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poemsabout #poetryprompt #deadletters #sorrynotsorry #alttext #PoemAltText #poetry #poetrycommunity
Dead Letters
By Dawn Mclachlan 

You said you said sorry
but that’s not what I heard
from words that struggled for air
and writhed in the death of Meaning
Words distorted in the telling 
as Reason chased its tail

You said you said sorry
but that’s not what I heard
because I was watching high cirrus clouds
smudge the perfect blue with icy veils
and as sure as night follows
I knew the rain would come
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Matthias (watering thoughts) 🦄🧚‍♂️🐉 @ignorantfairy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy Friday! My contribution to #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters Many thanks to @thebrokenspine.co.uk and Alan Parry #poetry #poetrycommunity
oblivious postcards

pfauenauge you would call me
as I called you poppy blossom

exploring the capital on foot
still blistered from my first
pride parade — vinyls and
movies about love crossing
borders while our chances
withered like the poppies 
of that summer I loved you
in Berlin, in Portugal, absent
through time cutting me open

string of postcards ruptured
loss written with red liner
promised scars and nothing
but my own breathing through 
an empty receiver.
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Jan Peters - Solivagant Wisdom @janpsolivagant.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#PoemsAbout #DeadLetters @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetry / #photography: ©Jan Peters, 2026/2024 #poetrycommunity #BlueskyPoetry #Grief #Loss #DeathAndDying #WeatherInversion #SignsAndWonders
Weather Inversion

Grief tags me when I learn that
You have just months left to live.

Mythos and lore speak of a 
Sacred threshold that is 
Crossed at such moments:

Brittle ground I tread - 
Fragile air I breathe.

Late winter, two months before
You pass:

Thick fog squats down to dampen
Town and valley in a rare
Weather inversion that leaves
Peak and big sky unsullied.

Murk in April -
Two days after you pass -
Dulls my brain,
Muddles my sight.

Large, booming bird - 
Rare in these parts - 
Takes flight from an islet in the 
Old abbey fishpond. 

Heart gleams,
Vision brightens - 

Now
I understand.


©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2026

©Jan Peters, 2024

Valleys and lower hills swathed in fog as a result of an early-autumn weather inversion. Southern Harz Mountains, Germany
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Sue Ibrahim @sueimnw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
For this week's #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters with thanks to @thebrokenspine.co.uk Out most of the day - will try to catch up with everyone later.
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Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 25/09/2026
#poemsabout #deadletters I'm a little out of practice...
The usual guff about life after death - I reckon that I must have enough for a small pamphlet by now.
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roger waldron @throwawayreg.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
morning Friday you get more autumnal every time I see you which I don’t mind tbh🍁 here’s my little “throwaway” poem for #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters and thank @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk have a lovely weekend everyone everywhere 🛋️🍁🍂
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The Broken Spine (SUBS OPEN) @thebrokenspine.co.uk · 25/09/2026
#PoemsAbout #DeadLetters is live. Address it. Stamp it. Confess something. Then decide whether it deserves to arrive. Post from today through Thursday. Tag #PoemsAbout. Use Alt Text. #TakeRisks #EndOnAnImage #AvoidCliché Read 3+. Repost. Reply.
A dark still-life photograph of old handwritten letters and envelopes layered across a surface, some decorated with postage marks and small pressed-flower designs. The Broken Spine logo appears at the top left and @thebrokenspine.co.uk at the top right. White text at the bottom reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #DEADLETTERS”.
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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#PoemsAbout #DeadLetters @thebrokenspine.co.uk It helps to know Bu Shi is a muse/alter ego I created in the early 2010s to post haiku/senryu, it also helps to know they don’t use the lettters L and T, but the poem uses all of the other letters. Our pseudo relationship is sometimes contentious.
DUBIOUS BU

bu emerges from a crack underground
open hand punch
hammering an arc of misshapen force

nor misspoken nor misheard

was a bad poem worsened
by jagged end rhymes
before even being conceived

weaned on my screams and misgivings

bad karma broken casino spinner
dopamine miser sucking my money sac
receiving receiving receiving never giving back

aces queens and princes join voracious jokers

oversized zippers sever
spewing sacred sera in free mason jars
examined by hydrographic surveyors

bu says form precedes usage

do you agree
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Jane Dougherty @janedougherty47.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Not feeling very profound today #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters @thebrokenspine.co.uk Not the house style, but there you go.
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Clare O'Brien @clareobrien.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This one's probably pretty self-explanatory. #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters @thebrokenspine.co.uk
OBITUARY
By Clare O'Brien

I arrange the words like an oracle,
Pour your thin mystery into shapes I cannot authorise.
Time heals nothing; though I press release,
I liberate nothing. These lines are bloodless traces,
Pencil points, pressed into schoolroom paper
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Bernard Pearson @bernp.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
my thanks to @thebrokenspine.co.uk and @alanparrywriter.co.uk for hosting #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters this was written for my fathers great friend lost when H.M.S. was sunk I have the letter
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Andy Williamson @andywilliamson.com · 25/09/2026
Happy #PoemsAbout folks, here's my quick contribution to #DeadLetters - will check back later to read others! Thanks @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetry #poetrycommunity
Correspondence

every day of summer
I wrote you a letter
heartbeats
hand shaking
ink staining my fingers

I still have them
at the bottom
of a box
at the back
of the attic

I look out
over the sea
and wonder 
how this day would feel
if I had posted them
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Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I hate getting all of these kinds of letters #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters
final form


dear i

i'm so sorry to be contacting you this soon
but it seems that your demise is more imminent
than expected

yes
we all want longer
yes
it is unfair
if you wish to cling to the idea
that fairness is still a thing

no
there isn't anything you can do about it
or anything you need to do to prepare

there is nothing

sorry again

yours

d
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Paul Cannon @pvcannon.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
For #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters With much thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk
A free verse poem that talks about a lost opportunity and the inability of one to communicate with the other after meeting and the grief of hearing of their death many years later.
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Lin Hart @poetry-with-hart.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I wish I could say how much you mattered to me back then when I broke, but words never arrive, and I can't seem to say goodbye. #poemsabout #deadletters #poetry #tanka #micropoem #micropoetry #poem #5amwritersclub #6amwritersclub
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Fleur Du Pseudonym @fleurdu.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#PoemsAbout #DeadLetters #PoemsAbout #Cherita
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Indie Book Spotlight @bookspotlight.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Writers: gen ai is theft Artists: gen ai is theft Narrators: gen ai is theft Environmentalists: gen ai is killing the planet Scientists: gen ai is killing the planet Tech bros: BUT MAKE BRAIN WORK MUCH HARD NEED MACHINE FOR BIG THOUGHT
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Ann Tigone @anntigone.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Who wouldn't do all they can to protect a child? So I hide her inside— behind polite smiles, beneath behaviours that aren't really mine, under stale routines & rituals that keep us safe. I've buried her somewhere so very deep even I can't reach. #mpprompt
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Steve Silas Hendrickson (Hiatus) @phylogeneticsteve.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
40th Day Of #7SyllableSquad (Sept 24) Happy Thursday! Welcome to your daily dose of #7SyllableSquad. As a reminder, this prompt is a placeholder for 7SyllableSentence until Gabe returns. Today's word is #Abyss #7SyllableSentence #writingprompt #poetry #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#7SyllableSquad

Sept 20   Castle
Sept 21   Perfect
Sept 22   Enchant
Sept 23   Secrets
Sept 24   Abyss
Sept 25   Sirens
Sept 26   Turning
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The Broken Spine (SUBS OPEN) @thebrokenspine.co.uk · 24/09/2026
Tomorrow: #PoemsAbout #DeadLetters. Some words miss their destination. Some reach it twenty years too late. Write from there. Don’t post before Friday. Tag #PoemsAbout. Use Alt Text.
A dark still-life photograph of old handwritten letters and envelopes layered across a surface, some decorated with postage marks and small pressed-flower designs. The Broken Spine logo appears at the top left and @thebrokenspine.co.uk at the top right. White text at the bottom reads: “Read Repost Reply #POEMSABOUT #DEADLETTERS”.
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Dawn McLachlan @deemclachlan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Siblings in a nutshell.
Two kittens on a bed. One is sitting peacefully. The other is blurred due to the fact that it is wildly leaping
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Dawn McLachlan @deemclachlan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
#kittentax
Two kittens are sitting nose to nose on a windowsill in front of a window heavy with condensation
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