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Olivia Dawson
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the poet
Discovering poetry as a mature Open University student, Olivia Dawson went on to publish her debut pamphlet, Unfolded, in September 2020. Her poems have appeared in many journals, including Magma, Under the Radar, Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, 14 Magazine and Eye Flash Poetry. Her work is also in the anthology, Time & Tide. Originally from London, Olivia now lives between there and Lisbon, where she's the area's Poetry Society Stanza representative.
the poems
Kylerhea Ferry Slip –
Isle of Skye
Two moon jellyfish tremble
close to shore where chill water
licks slippery rocks. The sea pleats
like accordion silk until an otter
stirs the surface, twitches drops from whiskers,
peers about, chases his tail
then deep dives to re-emerge
alongside the white flash of a fin
zinc against teal, tacking a seam
through spindrift like running stitch.
Uncertain Coast
Found poem with words from the Met Office online
Sunnier drizzle will probably spread
through variable conditions with a risk
of wet and dry. Somewhat changeable,
but more settled, however perhaps
cloudier thunder in odd spots
should be expected, at times
from the West, even the South. Elsewhere
a chance of mist, the spread of an average,
the possibility of breezy seas,
scatterings of outlook, bright fog
interspersed with isolated dying.
Cold spells bounce back slowly,
wintry snow patchy in occasional places,
uncertain coast likely to last until May.
Cosmetologist Creates
Shampoo Infused
with Sound
It’s hard to trap snuffles of a baby’s breath,
the sssh of foam at low tide or the exhausted sigh
of a heart when it breaks. I need silence, a sleight of hand,
butterfly nets, Blu Tack to catch elusive threads,
a freezer set to hoar frost until echoes split
ready to be grated and mixed with white peach.
Of course I make mistakes: the last batch picked up
the zing of a trampoline spring from over the garden wall.
But uncork this flask and what do you get?
Why – use your imagination!
Publishing credits
Kylerhea Ferry Slip – Isle of Skye:
Coast to Coast to Coast (Special Aldeburgh Issue)
Uncertain Coast: 14 Magazine (Series 2, Issue 2)
Cosmetologist Creates Shampoo Infused with Sound:
exclusive first publication by iamb
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