Ian Brownlie
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Ian Brownlie
@ianbrownlie.bsky.social
650 followers 880 following 300 posts
Writer of poetry/fiction for children/adults | Fiction: Times/CH LL | Poems: Dirigible, Tyger Tyger, Little Thoughts, The Toy | SHINE, streetcake, Audi Locus | Pushcart nom '26 | he/him
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
My brain couldn't get past the sex pistols for this one.
#PoemsAbout #NoFuture
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
punked in 1977 the sex pistols sang about there being no future were they just getting ahead of themselves or is the no future the one we are currently living through
November 28, 2025 at 7:53 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Lots of kinds of #Cycle to choose from for @thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek. So I didn't.

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
The Life Cycle of a Poem Motorcycle Riding fast Unicycle Clown flies past Spin cycle Wash with haste Recycle Eco waste Water cycle Land, air, sea News cycle Update me! Batcycle Comic fun Broken cycle My job’s done
November 24, 2025 at 4:41 PM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Short this week, and not particularly sweet.
#DogTags #PoemsAbout #Haiku
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
Snow blood-stained and wrapped In a muddle of bodies Metal tags unread
November 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Having a teenage daughter, #ship only has one meaning for me these days.
@thetoypress.bsky.social
#WordOfTheWeek #WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
'I'll show you a ghost ship!' claimed Prue Spooky stuff, so right in my purview But then she said 'Nowt's sublimer Than this picture of Slimer Who I ship with – from Mario – King Boo!'
November 19, 2025 at 9:03 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Looking forward to reading all of the other #PoemsAbout #Desire. Here's mine.
@thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk
run i want what i want what i need what i lust after must i forget the regret the forced laughter the demons that purr in my soul tear a hole take their toll on my psyche and make it unlikely to love and feel love and be loved and to feel this is love
November 14, 2025 at 8:02 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Time to get back on #track with @thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek. Or is it?

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
Do You Really Want to Get Back on Track? Like a train tied to stations, in the same old locations, always on fixed durations, with no chance of vacation. Is there not some temptation to resist this stagnation? Perhaps instead take advantage of coming off the rails. Glide over the countryside, towards a port. Chug up to a ferry, and take a trip overseas. Join a traffic jam and blare your superior train horn, then break free and pick up speed. Do the locomotive in a town you don't know the name of. Head deep underground. Take flight, if you can, or simply jump up and feel the air step aside as you rise. And then, one day, return to your rails. Or don't.
November 11, 2025 at 10:02 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
My #PoemsAbout for the prompt #LockedDoors
Thanks @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk
It's a counterpoint to my children's poem Outside In, which ends:

"But where else can we all explore
A world with countless open doors?"

dirigibleballoon.org/poem/Outside... @northernjim.bsky.social
inside a door two doors some doors multiple doors as many doors as you can think of plus one door and one more door all locked
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Thanks to @thetoypress.bsky.social for their #WordOfTheWeek #Spark. Here's where my brain went this week:

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
Super-disappointing Lightning Lady and Water Man went out on their first date. She bolted there quite early, but he flowed in rather late. He dampened down her glow talking of his best friend the shark. “This isn’t working out,” she said. “I just don’t feel a spark.”
November 5, 2025 at 10:07 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Delighted to have my poem 'haircut' in the new issue of Cosmic Daffodil, The Body Archive. Check it out here:

cosmic-daffodil.squarespace.com/ebook-collec...

#Poetry #Poem #WritingCommunity #PoetryCommunity @cosmicdaffodil.bsky.social
haircut, by Ian Brownlie From Cosmic Daffodil Journal XII: The Body Archive haircut cutting my own hair became the only viable solution because it minimised social interaction discomfort unknowability lost control but now i kneel naked watching clumps of hair fall around me  and i see the greying flecks among the brown  grey growing gaining ascendancy in the barber's chair i would not notice the grey as it slipped to the sticky floor to be swept away by someone who wasn’t me i have no difficulty getting up from the hard floor but in that recognition itself i feel the future coming for me  cost  that was another factor in cutting my own hair you have to consider the cost
November 3, 2025 at 10:17 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
My final ticket to scaryness.com on the Poetry Express. The spookiest of all #poetry forms: the villanelle! Mine is called, errr, Villainelle.

scaryness.com/cobweb-vines...

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #Halloween #ChildrensPoetry #HappyHalloween
Villainelle (a villanelle) I put a spell on her and him – And you? Yes, you’re enchanted too. Your chances of escape are slim. The future now is looking grim. Your friends they didn’t have a clue I put a spell on her and him. The magic fills you to the brim – There’s really nothing you can do, Your chances of escape are slim. The panic through your mind will swim. You’re frozen to the spot, it’s true, I put a spell on her and him. You’ll tear my enemies limb from limb, Now I control this trusty crew. Your chances of escape are slim. Three minions bending to my whim Will now my villainous bidding do. I put a spell on her and him, Your chances of escape are slim.
October 31, 2025 at 2:07 PM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
This is actually not the first #Poem I've written about blood. This week. Thanks to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and
@thebrokenspine.co.uk #PoemsAbout
my blood my blood is better than your blood that's what this comes down to my blood is a deeper and therefore more satisfying shade of red my blood is known for its viscosity my blood coagulates so efficiently my blood is always ready my blood is often requested by kings my blood can pass for fake ketchup in movie scenes my blood can bench press more than you’d think my blood is what Paul Thomas Anderson was talking about my blood doesn’t care what you think of it but my blood does care my blood is better than your blood it's undeniable what do i win?
October 31, 2025 at 10:03 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
A creepy 14 word micropoem for blackboughpoetry.bsky.social. Felt like this one needed the rhyme.
Dark brown background with sharp thorns towards the bottom of the picture. Poem: new blood scarlet from a thorny crown old blood rusty on a ripped nightgown
October 30, 2025 at 1:50 PM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Here's the second of three #poems I have on the spooky #ChildrensPoetry website scaryness.com. #HappyHalloween!

scaryness.com/cobweb-vines...

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #Halloween
A Devilish Limerick There was a young demon from Hades Who did nothing but drive his Mercedes The Devil said, “Son, I hate spoiling your fun, But at least could you eat a few babies?”
October 30, 2025 at 10:10 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
One of three #poems I have on this scary(ish) #ChildrensPoetry website. #HappyHalloween!

scaryness.com/cobweb-vines...

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #Halloween
The Lionsies and the Tigerlings The Lionsies and the Tigerlings had just the cutest names. The Lionsies and the Tigerlings had quite the softest manes. The Lionsies and the Tigerlings are such a playful bunch. The Lionsies and the Tigerlings would still eat your arm for lunch.
October 29, 2025 at 10:37 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
It's nearly #Halloween so perhaps not surprising that
@thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek #Back took me in a slightly spooky direction!

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
The Egg Here at the end of the room in the gloom as I bend by my leg is an egg. Nobody knows why it's there they don't care why it glows and how come there's a hum. This eerie sound like a spell from the shell floats around everywhere in the air. I hear a tap. What is hiding inside? Rap-rap-rap and again and again! Then the shell splits and I jump my heart thumps. And my wits! Things go black. IT IS BACK.
October 28, 2025 at 10:22 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Here's a video of me reading Ali the Artist, a poem based on the picture Portrait Painting by Olivia McGinty, and originally published in the Ekphrasis Adventure issue of @littlethoughtspress.com: www.littlethoughtspress.com/issues
October 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
I completed 'the assignment' for #PoemsAbout #BurnForTheCamera. Thanks @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk
the assignment the shutter clicks he looks hot and he knows it click leaning in smouldering click looking like he owns the place click on the way down here we passed countless other souls click he barely gave them the time of day while they stared up at him with awe with fear click click with love? click the evident raw power of his red body as I crouch low to fit it all in the frame click click click and not a drop of sweat to be seen on him despite wild fires jabbing at his abs and pecs click my eyes connect directly with his for just a moment and i wonder what ever made me believe that this being this fallen god would return me to the surface when my assignment was over the shutter clicks
October 24, 2025 at 7:29 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
There was some stopping and starting on this one so didn't think I'd end up posting it at all. Glad to get the #Sub above the surface.
@thetoypress.bsky.social
#WordOfTheWeek #WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
The Green Submarine Captain Kim dived down deep into the ocean In her green submarine called ‘The Gherkin in Motion’. Weaving past whales with the help of Ed 2, Who steered the sub like a foot guides a shoe. The Gherkin sped on ‘til it reached the sea bed. From a map in her lap, Captain Kim calmly read: “At the great anchor, turn sharply north-west.” Ed 2 said “Aye aye!” and pressed on with their quest. Past anglerfish, tuna and even a shark, They gunned for a tunnel disguised by the dark. The sub reappeared in a shower of light As before them appeared a mythic delight. The Gherkin in Motion was a sub full of glee: A glittering city submerged by the sea! Their eyes bulged out wide like a great Praying Mantis. Captain Kim and Ed 2 had discovered Atlantis!
October 22, 2025 at 7:37 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
treatment, for #PoemsAbout #BreakTheMould
@alanparrywriter.co.uk @karenpgonzalez.bsky.social @thebrokenspine.co.uk
treatment i broke the mould by berating him for hours by telling him that i didn't care for his rank musty odour  or the stains he left in his wake or that stubborn look on his fuzzy bloody face or that he was always spoiling things for everyone in his now defeated state the mould begged and bargained but i told him that it made no difference that i did not care how many people told him he was kind of a fun guy
October 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Am I late for #poemsabout? Perfect.
#ImperfectMe
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
dog walking the man crouches down to stroke my dog i float behind like a deflating balloon tethered to a child their exchange is silent and so personal that i feel the need to look away the man stands up eyeing the balloon properly for the first time then walks away as if confused by its presence
October 11, 2025 at 8:21 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
My edible offering for @thetoypress.bsky.social #WordOfTheWeek #Bake.

It's a little late as I didn't hear the oven timer go off, and after cutting off the burnt edges only a limerick was left.

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
There once was a baker from Goring Whose cakes were a little bit boring He baked rainbow iced buns And stacked them high as twelve suns Which people had more trouble ignoring
October 4, 2025 at 11:21 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
For this week's #poemsabout
#mannequin
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
watching all the pretty mannequins dance i dress them place them  set them spinning  a line of mannequins imperfect in their various stages and states  costumed to suggest personalities that i assign and will shine through their blank expressions  so that i can picture their dreams look at them i want nothing more than this though need yes need still exists and the only real dream that each mannequin has is to make it back to their loved ones alive
October 3, 2025 at 9:42 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Happy #NationalPoetryDay! Let's #Play with 'The Ball'.

And in video form: www.youtube.com/shorts/2rUEf...

First published in the Dirigible Balloon by @northernjim.bsky.social #WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit
The Ball by Ian Brownlie The ball moves quickly through the air, Surprising Dwight, who, unaware, Is standing (sadly) in its way, Soon to find it’s not his day.
October 2, 2025 at 8:49 AM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Wow. If only you'd scrolled down the page a bit.
Screenshot of the BBC Sports page clearly giving a big clue to the fact that Aston Villa won the European Cup. I mean, really.
September 30, 2025 at 5:43 PM
ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Off sick from work today, so was able to finish The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington. I wouldn't advise anybody in less than prime condition to read the last 50 pages of this book, but that's how the poisoned fudge crumbles sometimes. (With thanks to @backlisted.bsky.social anyway. Loved it.)
Book cover of The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington (Penguin Classics)
September 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM