August 25~ IAN BROWNLIE

Welcome back, poetry fans! Today SHINE is putting the spotlight on UK-based writer, Ian Brownlie. I admire the simplicity of these pieces which really pack a punch. Enjoy! Thank you, Ian, for sharing your love of words with SHINE international poetry series.

the audience is waiting

i leave
my completed
crossword grids
at the foot
of hedgerows
because how else
could i allow so many people
to see my work

alas the magic is gone

the magic is gone
alas
alack
the house white as a newborn swan
was mercy-burned
as mercy dashed
back deep inside
interred by glass

down unbirthed panes
faint tracks of tears
roll back roll back
tattooing smears
roll back roll back
that then erupt
roll back roll back
their trip a sham
roll back roll back
that ends unseen
roll back roll back

the magic is gone
alas

dream machine

i dreamed they’d invented a machine
that could punch deep square holes into the earth

the transparent coffins were lowered mechanically
down
ready to pop back up at the touch of a button
if a loved-one was passing by
and felt the urge to see the person they’d lost
rescue them
from the earth

awake now
thinking what a clever use of space
thinking about the effect of memory on grief

but the dream failed to address key concerns
one
was the person in the coffin preserved naked or clothed
two
could anyone press the button to temporarily release
a person from the earth
three
there might be too many visitors
at once
or too few

it wasn’t a perfect dream

Ian Brownlie is a writer/poet from the UK. He can be found on BlueSky: @ianbrownlie.bsky.social.