Defying the Odds

Featured Images: were taken at the local Kindergarten, where the school’s gardener lovingly maintains the beautiful garden, and she excitedly pointed out that, despite it being the start of winter, there were 2 sunflower plants ‘defying the odds’. and actually thriving and blooming … I smiled at her joyful enthusiasm, however inwardly I was silently weeping for those still suffereing in wartorn Ukraine.
So here today I am reposting “5” of my “Sunflower” poems relating to the “Ukrainian” war.

We Are the Carrier Pigeons


 
Are our Sunflowers wilting? 

Can they survive, prosper, and regrow? 

They will need more  

Genuine assistance 

Our promissory words 

And tuneless birdsongs 

Are not enough 

We cannot forget them 

We all need to speak up 

Let our world of voices be heard 

Draft a poem, a letter 

Of protest, today, tomorrow 

We are the carrier pigeons 

May our messages for peace 

Chime over the people of Russia 


Defiantly (a Haiku)

Sunflowers do bloom

Through the war of destruction

Bravely defiant


An Unseeded Renewal (a Tanka)



Sunflowers of peace

We have not forgotten you

The war has not stopped

Killing fields are still on fire

Young stems need help to survive


A Banner of Sunflowers

Bann
look!

up there

above the War’s

darkest clouds

there is a blue banner

embroided with sunflowers

swaying

through a hole

in the eastern sky

bearing a message

of ‘Hello’

or is it ‘Goodbye’?

a sweeping reminder

from our Ancestors

“we feel your suffering and pain

from the merciless hard rain

blood filled rivers and cratered plains

smoke filled skylines and cracked windowpanes”

“however, we also know

beyond the broken horizon

the sunflower seeds of hope

will germinate again

and future seeds for peace

will regenerate a new campaign“




Sunflower Seeds (a Tanka)

Blue skies were mellow

Fields were peaceful and yellow

Sunflowers grew free

Then foreign tanks squashed their seeds

On tomorrow’s scarred harrows







Ivor Steven (c) May 2023

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ivor20

G'day, and welcome to my blog site. My name is Ivor Steven, I live in Geelong, Australia. I'm an ex-industrial chemist, and a retired plumber, and a former Carer of my wife(Carole), for 30 years, who suffered from severe MS. I Write poetry about those personal thoughts, throughout and beyond my life as a Carer. I've been blogging for over 2 years, and writing poems for 19 years. Of course a lot of my poems are about my favourite subject Carole, but since I've been blogging my writings have become quite varied, humourous, mystical, observational, and even a few monster/horror poems.

20 thoughts on “Defying the Odds”

  3. These poems are powerful and important, Ivor! And that song is perfect for your poems. We must always be willing to care about, and help others. We all need help in our lifetimes. So thankful for the compassionate helpers.
    (((HUGS)))
    🌻💙 🇺🇦 💛🌻

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    1. Thank you Carolyn … my compassion was inspired by a one little sunflower 🌻 determined to survive because he was being nurtured and cared for … amazing what happens when outside love is given 😍🌏🌻🇺🇦🌻🌏😍

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  7. As the war is, currently, ongoing, so far, far away, how many of the, other people in this world, actually, feels, enough pain, to do something to help, and, how are we, little, nobodies, able to, make, any, difference, to better the, situations between the warzones, we are, the, nobodies, but we are, screaming, loud as ever, demanding that the cries be heard, by the, authorities…

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    1. We have to keep trying Cindy
      “You may never know what results of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results” – Mahatma Gandhi

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