Tessera

Ian Brownlie

@ianbrownlie.bsky.social

Writer of poetry/fiction for children (Dirigible, Tyger Tyger, Little Thoughts, Nimblewitlit, The Toy) and adults (Shine, Viridine, Underbelly, Rough Diamond) | Pushcart nom '26, Times/CH LL | he/him

690 Posts791 Follower 1017 Folgt

stace.bot @stacebot.bsky.social · 6d ago

For this week's #PoemsAbout #LastTrains, I'm thinking: how does the world know something is coming? @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetry #poem #writing #PoetryCommunity #BlueSkyPoets #writingcommunity

last train

in the break between
stillness and startle

the whistle
comes.

before
the rails confess.

before
the windows gather light.

before
the sound of your voice
arrives.

Merril D. Smith @merrildsmith.bsky.social · 6d ago

Good morning! Happy Friday! For #PoemsAbout #LastTrain Thank you, as always to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk

Poem:

Vantage Point

I never rode the City of New Orleans
or the Orient Express, no train to Marrakesh
or across frozen steppes,

I’ve heard freight trains sigh,
clang, and clatter, just a trace
of Woody Guthrie and hobo blues

in their doleful whistles
as they carry chemicals and coal.

My dad wanted railroad magic,
sleeper berths gently rocking him through
western mountains and deserts,

“Such beautiful vistas,” he wrote.

I hold the postcard,
braked at the junction of memory and regret,

we think there will always be another train.

Sue Ibrahim @sueimnw.bsky.social · 6d ago

For this week's #PoemsAbout #LastTrain @thebrokenspine.co.uk - so many possible responses...

Jen Thorne @jenthorne.bsky.social · 6d ago

Happy #PoemsAbout day everyone. Here is my offering for #LastTrain. I can't wait to read everyone else's. With thanks as always to @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk Have a great weekend all ❤️ #poetry #choo-choo

The Last Train

I am a witness
to the lairy, blaring call
of rowdy rogues returned from revelry.

The subdued quiet
of the nurse,
longing to kick off sensible shoes
and dance.

The hushed husband
accepting the gin‑soaked airing
of his inadequacy.

The impatient sigh
of the lost girl,
searching for
the last breath of warmth
before the cold night claims her.

I am a witness
to the carriage as confessional,
to the tracks that hum with stories
no one meant to tell.

I am a witness
to the sway of strangers
bound together
for one brief, rattling moment,
before scattering like sparks
into the dark beyond the platform.

I am a witness.

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 6d ago

A #villanelle today! I haven't written one in a while, and the repetition felt like it fitted what I was trying to achieve. @thebrokenspine.co.uk #PoemsAbout #LastTrain

down in the train station

i know that this will cause some pain
as flurries strobe the station’s light
for me it’s gone, the final train

no use glancing down the tracks again
timetables mocking hopeless sight
i know that this will cause some pain

the shelter’s only shelter from the rain
not shadows lurking in the night
for me it’s gone, the final train

no phone or cash, thoughts start to drain
though i underestimate my plight
i know that this will cause some pain

voices now invading my domain
phlegm-flecked they rasp with spite
for me it’s gone, the final train

it’s what they need, not what they’ll gain
yielding, there is no flight or flight
i know that this will cause some pain
for me it’s gone, the final train

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 2w ago

A slightly more personal idea for #BadHabits came to me this afternoon. And I thought about just holding it back (because, you know, some places don't take poems that have been shared on social media already).But...maybe #PoemsAbout is addictive? @thebrokenspine.co.uk

putting in the work

i started smoking
not because i wanted to smoke
and certainly not because i enjoyed it
not even because it felt cool

but because
i wanted to smoke weed
which certainly did feel cool
or 'draw'
which was the name
by which we referred to it then
and i had been told that
i wouldn't be able to smoke it
wouldn’t get the benefits
without developing my lungs
by smoking tobacco first

then for fifteen years
cigarettes helped
with the prompt smoothing of anxiety
a sense of closure after food
and the avoidance of social situations
none of which were ever adequately replaced

i loved the taste too
that bittersmoke rasp
so sue me

now i don't smoke
for the usual reasons
i gave up drinking too
and i haven't touched
illegal substances
in even longer

which just goes to prove
absolutely nothing

Matthias (watering thoughts) 🦄🧚‍♂️🐉@ignorantfairy.bsky.social · 2w ago

#poetry in #alt-text #🕯#queer

vigil

another one
terrorist attack
they say

I breathe in
light a candle
in my heart

another one
there are so many
already

hard to find
a dark space
I breathe out

we're still here
we're still queer
mourning
marching
loving
surviving
...

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 2w ago

#poemsabout #BadHabits An interesting challenge this week... let's go visit a dusty old classroom in the 1970s

No... it isn't true... I made the whole story up... (apart from the twitching cheek of a teacher reputed to have been a prisoner of war in Japan)

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 2w ago

I have plenty of #BadHabits, I just decided not to write about any of them. #PoemsAbout #Limerick @thebrokenspine.co.uk

There was a peculiar rabbit
Who had a bad nail-chewing habit
Now I don't like to moan
But they were seldom his own
If your finger went near him he'd grab it

stace.bot @stacebot.bsky.social · 2w ago

For this week's #PoemsAbout #BadHabits, I'm thinking about the difference between inevitability and choice. @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetry #poem #writing #PoetryCommunity #BlueSkyPoets #writingcommunity

Common Gardening Advice

Violence
doesn't have agency.

We give it
verbs.

We strike.

We name.

The knife
never asked
to become

a sentence.

Bad habits
survive
on repetition.

Hands
forget
which one
is holding
the other.

The blooming bushes
know:

Growth
follows
the knife.

Alom Shaha @alomshaha.bsky.social · 2w ago

The only review “Why Don’t Things Fall Up” got in mainstream media was a Daily Mail one. It was incredibly complimentary but I told publisher I did not want it printed on the paperback. We can all do little things like this to push back against the awfulness if we want to.

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 2w ago

My publishers were going to put a Daily Mail quote on the cover of the paperback of this but I told them there was no way I was going to let that happen. I don't care if the Daily Mail gave it a good review. The name of that shitrag is not sullying the cover of my novel.

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 2w ago

After resisting the urge to write a poem about bottoms (again!) I managed to come up with this more considered effort. @thetoypress.bsky.social #WordOfTheWeek #Moon #PoetryCommunity #WritingCommunity #KidLit

The Pool

Trapped inside
The moon soaks up water
Like a fresh sponge
In a bath of twinkling
And popping
Starry suds

The Toy 🍩🦜🍑🌻🌈🪐🛼🎈🐢@thetoypress.bsky.social · 2w ago

Here is your #wordoftheweek! #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #writingforchildren #PoetryforChildren

John Dredge @johndredge.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Toy 🍩🦜🍑🌻🌈🪐🛼🎈🐢@thetoypress.bsky.social · 2w ago

Here is your #wordoftheweek! #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #writingforchildren #PoetryforChildren

Viridine Literary @viridinelit.bsky.social · last mo.

☆ ISSUE 07 IS LIVE ☆ We're so proud to be able to share the incredible work in this issue. You can download and read it for free here: viridineliterary.wixsite.com/viridinelit/... ✨️

Cover of Issue 07: Public Transport, Summer 2026. Mauve background. Cover art: 'The Train in Hokkaido' by Rachel Turney (a stylistically blurred image of train windows).

Mike O’Brien @zoomburst.substack.com · 3w ago

#PoemsAbout #ExitWounds

I’m in hospital again! Not as badly off as the guy in the poem. Raised heartbeat. Hoping they don’t keep me in.

Avery Lark ✨@thebisylarke.bsky.social · 3w ago

a poem in two pieces for #PoemsAbout #ExitWounds I made several attempts at this prompt but I think this one is my favorite. Love the prompt. Feels very timely for me! @thebrokenspine.co.uk

Exit Wound, Stage Left

The stage set by mother’s eyes—
oppressive, boring through the
keyhole of my buried hatchet hands.
A flock of mourning doves bullets
through the clouds. Only one lands on
the window feeder, pecking seed from
my starless face in spades, beaked
blade blistering fresh wounds.
Never enough lucky ladybugs
to save us now.

Every entrance has an exit.

Temporary falling finds me on
the bathroom floor again.
A tombless corpse with a sunset
gash in my stomach.
Deep down dumbstruck,
always knowing it would end
like this—keys in hand
dirty from attempts
at unlocking life.

The coffin door is heavy.
Not heavy enough for my
hollow-tree heart, empty
with the weight of years
unlived. The rose window
shatters with gunfire
revelation:

This is it.
This pile of prescriptions.
This shed serpent skin.
This hole I’m in.
This manuscript
of changing leaves.

If all I can become is
this tale,
tell it to my enemies.

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 3w ago

Very pleased to have some short fiction published in the fantastic @underbellypress.bsky.social today! Read my story Everything Beautiful is Far Away and all the other excellent work here: underbellypress.wixsite.com/home/issue-s... #WritingCommunity #FlashFiction #ShortFiction

Simply the title and byline:
IAN BROWNLIE
Everything Beautiful is Far Away

The cover of Underbelly Press issue 7 Summer 2026.

The picture is a yellow bird, I'm assuming dead, lying down amongst some black and white sticks, leaves and maybe hay?

A one paragraph extract from the story:

Nathan gesticulated wildly, making the large balcony feel tiny. He
punctuated his stories of betrayal and disappointment with sweeping arm movements and low, forceful kicks to reinforce his points. In-between these he stalked the balcony like a pathetic King Kong, sidelined halfway up a building, no planes being scrambled to meet him.

Underbelly Press@underbellypress.bsky.social · 3w ago

I'm delighted to share Issue 7 of Underbelly Press! Our website features a PDF copy to download or read as a flipbook: underbellypress.wixsite.com/home/issue-s... Happy two years of Underbelly Press!

New release
Underbelly Press
Issue 7
17 July

Jen Thorne @jenthorne.bsky.social · 3w ago

Yay it's #PoemsAbout day again. Here is my offering to @thebrokenspine.co.uk for #ExitWounds Have a good weekend everyone 😊 #Poetry #Home

Exit Wounds

We close the door on twelve years,
on a house that learned our footsteps,
moulded its walls around our living,
and sheltered us through every storm.

Now it stands
hollow,
echoing bedtime stories and laughter,
whispered fears,
the lives we lived inside it.

Scratches on the door jamb,
each one a celebration
of legs stretching longer.

The dent in the wall
where the sofa refused to turn the corner
still smiles at us,
a stubborn reminder
the furniture remembers too.

Nail holes pockmark the plaster
where photographs once clung.
Faded squares linger,
where smiling toddlers
in floppy hats once watched us.

We leave behind the marks
of having endured.

The house will heal.
Paint will cover.
New laughter will fill these rooms.
But these scars are ours.

We walk away knowing
a home is never just bricks.
It is every wound we made,
and every wound we mended,
inside its walls.

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 3w ago

Thanks to @thebrokenspine.co.uk #PoemsAbout #ExitWounds

an exit wounds

recycled air breaks
through the apartment's wind tunnel
carving new paths
around
the now emptied spaces

a bullet never says goodbye

Underbelly Press @underbellypress.bsky.social · 3w ago

Short Fiction: ☆ Angela Joynes @angelajoynes.bsky.social ☆ Huina Zheng ☆ Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social ☆ Kathy Prokhovnik ☆ Katy Goforth @katywrites.bsky.social ☆ Kelly Murashige ☆ Madeleine Armstrong @madeleinewrite.bsky.social ☆ Megan Hanlon (CNF) @sugarpigblog.bsky.social ☆

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 3w ago

I don't generally write poetry about football, or even mention it much on here. But yesterday my club, Aston Villa, announced a pretty diabolical sponsorship deal with Rwanda, and I don't have any other way to get mad about it. (Misspellings are intentional.) #AVFC #Poetry #Poem #Rwanda

sportswashing

visit rwanda
discard support pillars
watch your walls crumble
or watch aston villa’s

be late to a partey
you should not have attended
shred your best work
leave ethics suspended

eat rotten fruit
bet on non-runners
follow the footsteps
of villanous gunners

leave new shirts unworn
lock yourself in a chiller
punch your own face repeatedly
be aston villa

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 3w ago

I have a feeling Clement Clarke Moore would not approve of my version of his timeless classic. I doubt he'd be the only one either. Here's the start of it... #Poem #WritingCommunity #Christmas #Farts

The opening of Farter Christmas by Ian Brownlie (based on Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas)

Farter Christmas

It was twenty past Christmas from city to dell
When through all the hushed houses there came a great smell
No creature did stir, but a big tummy rumbled
And under his breath a brown-costumed man grumbled

Grabbing some loo roll to help guide the way
With a brief bottom-burp, he jumped down from his sleigh
Lowering himself with the toilet-y paper
He soon reached the rooftop, in mists of brown vapour

He adjusted his suit cuffs, which stank of old tripe
And squatted down waiting for something quite ripe
Then swift as the wind, like a jet-propelled dart
Down chimney pots swept the most GINOURMOUS fart!

FFFRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

Well the noses did twitch through all of the houses
On the humans, dogs, cats and even the mouses
Oh goodness! Oh gracious! Oh heavens! Good golly!
So stinky! So toxic! It’s wilting the holly!

Kenn Nesbitt - Poetry4kids@kennnesbitt.bsky.social · 3w ago

Today we celebrate Clement Clarke Moore's birthday! Discover his enduring contributions to children's poetry and timeless verse. Read the linked biography: kennn.com/GITR5n #Poetry #KidsPoetry

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 3w ago

With thanks, as ever, to @thetoypress.bsky.social #WordOfTheWeek #PoetryCommunity #WritingCommunity #KidLit #Limerick

A Limerick I Meant to Post Yesterday

The Champion's victory parade
Was significantly delayed
Crowned best in the nation
At procrastination
It was so late their young fans had greyed!

The Toy 🍩🦜🍑🌻🌈🪐🛼🎈🐢@thetoypress.bsky.social · 3w ago

Here is your #wordoftheweek! #writingcommunity #writingforchildren #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity

Nimblewitlit Mag @nimblewitlit.bsky.social · 3w ago

Submissions for our third issue open AUGUST 1 - SEPTEMBER 15, 2026! Theme: Choices Details: epistemiclit.com/nimblewitlit...

Choices
Submissions open August 1 - Sept 15

Pink cartoon brain holding a megaphone and a street sign with a double headed arrow pointing left and right

The Toy 🍩🦜🍑🌻🌈🪐🛼🎈🐢@thetoypress.bsky.social · 3w ago

Here is your #wordoftheweek! #writingcommunity #writingforchildren #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity

Ian Brownlie @ianbrownlie.bsky.social · 4w ago

I'm aware that this is unlikely to be my most popular poem.

norway

hey jude
don’t take it bad
it’s partly that i just got back
from holidaying
in the gracious land
of your opponents
and partly
because my love for the england team
has gradually swayed and drifted
like waved flags
and drunk football fans
but
I really wish norway had bloody won last night

The Victorian Archivist @victorianarchivist.bsky.social · 4w ago

Librarian here. A "good book" is a book that gets someone reading. If someone who considers themselves a "non-reader" starts getting excited about books that are "fun reads" but u tell them "those are fun, but they're not Good. U should try a Good book" they go back to thinking they're a non-reader

John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 4w ago

#PoemsAbout #PowerCut @thebrokenspine.co.uk Will put a reading in the comments.