Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Throwback Friday, It Was Time To Leave

Cousin Lynn and Robin with Mungo and Kelly

Cousin Maureen and doggies Z-Z and Co-Co

Cousin Penny, and then Dave, Penny, and Ivor

Here I am on a Jet Plane, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Therefore today’s Throwback Friday poem is a very appropriate finale piece, to coincide with my amazing adventures in Canada over the past 21 days.

It Was Time To Leave (Revised)

It’s time to tidy up my mess
Clean up the room and get dressed
It’s time to pack my suitcase
Fill the travel bag and vacate this place
It’s time to put on my famous rocker shoes
And walk away from this dream come true
It’s time to say heartfelt goodbyes
To these wonderful Canadian guys
It’s time for final hugs and kisses
Sad farewells and best wishes
It’s time for my usual emotional tears
Separate myself from these every day cheers
It’s time to flyaway from a land of berries and fairies
Leave this magical world of faraway families
It’s time to say a million thank you’s
For making my stay a Really Real great do
It’s time for me to travel back home
With glorious memories of this magical Astrodome

Ivor Steven (c) September 2025

A Blue Sky Rainbow

The day began with a rosy glow, the kind of gentle morning that seems to lean forward and welcome you in. Chrome‑tinted clouds drifted apart, the wattlebirds stirred their songs, and a brightening sky offered a quiet rainbow as a good‑luck sign. With nature setting such a hopeful tone, it felt only fitting that the Market followed suit — a day of kind faces, steady conversations, and a humble sense of things going right.

A Blue Sky Rainbow

Early Saturday morning
and we are out walking
before heading off to the Market

Dawn’s chrome clouds are clearing
the wakening wattlebirds are warbling
and serendipitously
there’s a rainbow in the sky
blithely waving hello and goodbye

Nature’s welcoming signs are favourable
and on this cozy, rosy day,
hopefully, Ivor’s Poetry Book display
will become humbly profitable

As the sky brightened, the music rose with it, and even the morning’s rainbow seemed to hum along.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Coffee House Writers Magazine features my new poem, “Odd Extremes”

Hello, dear readers and followers. I contribute to Coffee House Writers Magazine (USA) every second week, and I’m delighted to share that my latest poem, “Odd Extremes,” appears in the new issue. You can read it by following the link below.
>> Odd Extremes – Coffee House Writers

Beneath this softened hilltop haze, the sun’s stolen streams slip through the sky’s seams — a quiet prelude to Odd Extremes.

And as these stolen sun‑streams slip through the sky’s seams, this song rises like the world remembering its own extremes.

Until Eyes Hear Sound

Amazon >> Amazon.com : Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >> Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)

Perceptions:

Amazon >> Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >> Perceptions (lulu.com)

Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books

OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com … and I can send you a PayPal account,
for the Book, plus Postage.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

My Sign Is On The Climb

The beams that climbed through last night’s clouds left their mark — a quiet moment held in a soft, rising glow that lingered long enough to shape today’s bohemian rhyme.

Over at Weekly Prompts, the weekend Challenge word is Moment/s. To visit their fabulous site please click >> Here.

My Sign Is On The Climb

Life’s arduous and continuous incline
has me staggering beyond my prime.
Here, balancing between the sublime
and the interior of twilight time,
where the pearlised skyline’s
radiant beams are on the climb.

Perhaps I missed tonight’s assuring sign
while writing this bohemian rhyme,
and I didn’t see the clouds talking in mime
while being bedazzled by nature’s pantomime.

And as the sky’s glow drifts upward, today’s rhyme now meets this unforgettable anthem.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Loose Gold Nooses (a Senryu)

“Loose Gold Nooses” — a collage creation by Ivor, blending a silhouetted bird in flight with a golden sunrise, echoing the haiku’s quiet tension and beauty.

Loose Gold Nooses (a Senryu)

There are excuses
For being tied in nooses
Of thin gold feathers

Let the final song unwind the day’s knots, where the gold loosens, the nooses fall away, and the night opens its hands.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Throwback Friday, From the Mountains to the Sea

A year ago, during a visit with my Canadian cousins, I left Vancouver Island for Edmonton and met my Alberta cousin in the small town of Wainwright. Soon after, we set off on a three‑day road trip back to the island, travelling through Jasper and the towering Rocky Mountains — a journey carved into memory.

A Picnic in the Rocky’s

Leaving Salmon Arm

On the outskirts of Vancouver, heading towards the Ferry

The ferry from Vancouver to Sidney (Vancouver Island)

From the Mountains to the Sea

I am gradually drifting down,
From out of the mountains’ smoky shroud,
Toward the seaside playground,
To rejoin a welcoming crowd.

Where, around the magical island,
There will be more stories unfold,
As time quickly filters through my hand;
But these precious moments will be all molded
Into poetic lines, written in charcoal and gold.

My Canadian cousins pointed me toward this Great Big Sea classic — a spirited companion for any journey drifting from mountains to shoreline.

Until Eyes Hear Sound

Amazon >> Amazon.com : Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >> Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)

Perceptions:

Amazon >> Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >> Perceptions (lulu.com)

Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books

OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com … and I can send you a PayPal invoice
for the Book, plus Postage.

Creative Geelong Market Day, This Saturday, September 19th

It’s Market Day this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
* Our popular monthly markets are all undercover at Centrepoint Arcade on the third Saturday of every month.
* They feature art, unique goods from local makers, second-hand goods, plants, books, and more.
* There are also open art studios, Yesterday Vintage, Untether Gallery, and the May’d Shop.

All at, Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
From 10 am to 3 pm

And I’ll be there with ‘Frankie’ and my “New Bookstall Set-up“

Let the quiet magic of Sigur Rós guide you toward a Saturday filled with makers, music, and friendly faces.

Old Goat Blues (a Limerick)

Nancy’s “Feeding Time” post from last week sparked this limerick. A stray comment of mine turned into a tiny blues riff about Billy, the old goat who can’t keep out of trouble.
Nancy >> Feeding Time – The Elephant’s Trunk

Old Goat Blues (a Limerick)

Billy the silly old goat
Instead of his wild oats
He ate the old leathery shoes
Now he needs a glass of booze
To clear his sole full throat

And because Nancy’s goat set this whole thing in motion, here’s a porch‑blues groove with just enough swagger to keep his hooves tapping.

Steve the Snail’s Bookcase

Feature Image Above: Created by Copilot and me.

As twilight settles across the shelves, Steve pauses for thought atop his old bookcase…

Steve the Snail’s Bookcase

I’m sitting in a secret place
on top of this old bookcase —
I’m not a nutcase,
but wistfully wondering about that space
between the sun’s twilight zone
and the world’s traversing horizon.

Is that the mysterious place
beyond third base,
the dark coalface,
that I’m yet to embrace —
my final footrace?

But wait — before I vanish into space
without a trace,
I need to don my carapace
and tighten these slivery bootlaces.

Steve’s gentle reminder drifts in: put your hat and shoes on, and enjoy life while you’re able.

As Steve settles into the hush of twilight, this song drifts in beside him…

Odd Extremes

Beneath this softened hilltop haze, the sun’s stolen streams slip through the sky’s seams — a quiet prelude to Odd Extremes.

Odd Extremes

I see evening sunbeams
stealing through the sky’s seams —
I wonder what it means.

Are they the streams
of forgotten cosmic dreams
breaking free
from the atmosphere’s
holy levees?

Or, are they the cloud’s reams
of unpublished themes
about nature’s unforeseen extremes?

Here on my hilltop’s mezzanine,
pondering the world’s self-esteem,
I wonder if we live between
the surreal supreme
and the planet’s last scheme.

And as these stolen sun‑streams slip through the sky’s seams, this song rises like the world remembering its own extremes.

Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies

Four small lives in motion, each holding a different truth about today… and the uncertain tomorrow.

Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies

The bee’s knees
are busily pollinating
today’s flowers,
for tomorrow.

The bird’s eyes
are warily overseeing
today’s world,
mindful about tomorrow.

The beetle’s legs
are curiously wandering
toward today’s horizon,
still searching for tomorrow.

The butterfly’s wings
are wistfully fluttering,
knowing today’s sunny sky
won’t shine on them tomorrow.

Let the song settle over the small creatures of today, reminding us of how tender tomorrow truly is.