Why is there always a dark side
When the moon shines so bright
Who’s taking us on this blindfold ride
While our reasoning is out of sight
Why is there always a silver lining
When treacherous clouds are hovering so low
Who’s making the lower world enchanting
While our malignant demons grow and grow
Why do we call them magic mushrooms?
When all they bring is gloom and doom
Who’s controlling this aging Mother
While our pleading hands are hustled undercover
Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2023
Happy 47th Anniversary Carole… my sky is still blue and I am still lingering here without you …
Spiraling
I look
upward
near and far
on spiraling
warm air
a white petal
fluttering
like a dove
between
here and heaven
hovering
on a cloud of love
there
waving
from above
my angel
forever
faithful
I wave
“oh, my love,
aren’t you tired yet?”
Spiraling, Appears in my book “Tullawalla” as the ‘Dedication’ poem to my late wife, Carole
Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2023
Today’s cold windstorm
Penetrated every pore
With icy needles
Tullawalla is Available From
Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com
Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’
AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:
Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT
Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com
Ivor Steven (c) September 2023
Today I am presenting another poem that will be appearing in my new book “Until Eyes Hear Sound”. The Tanka is a relatively new poem format for me and “A Window Stain” which I wrote back in January 2021 was my first Tanka, and it will be the opening piece in the ‘Tanka’ section of Chapter 10. Short Poems: Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Others
A Window Stain, (a Tanka)
Evening tears ebb through
The window of last year’s stain
Fear closes the door
Today the pane is clearer
Tonight, the moon is brighter
Tullawalla is Available From
Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com
Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’
AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:
Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT
Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com
Ivor Steven (c) September 2023
Above the Clover
Yesterday’s storm passed over
I am tip-toeing carefully
Above the torn clover
Buried by red autumn leaves
And fallen branches
I am traveling light
But there is shredded debris
Everywhere underfoot
With every step, I feel a crunch
Every crunch, I hear a snap
Every snap, I feel my heart crack
Inside this cracked heart
I see a track
Winding back
To our love shack
Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2023
Hello dear readers and followers, I am now writing for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a fortnightly basis, and my poem “Droplets of Joy”, is in this week’s edition of Coffee House Writers Magazine. … please click on the link below to view my poem, at Coffee House Writers Magazine. >> https://coffeehousewriters.com/droplets-of-joy/
This poem is the second Ekphrastic piece I wrote from the Geelongs Writers Ekphrastic Workshop that I attended last week, and the attached photo below, is of Gale Jarmyn’s beautiful painting “Leaves in the Sunshine”, which inspired me to write this poem “Droplets of Joy”, and after chatting with her at the official opening of the Art Exhibition, (at which I recited the poem), she kindly allowed me to reproduce my photo of her lovely Painting, here on my Poetry Website.
Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2023
“With a little help from my friend” … Ryan Stone, I have changed the finale word from ‘hand’ to Shadow … and presented the poem within my ‘drawing’ of a ‘Waterfall’ … My poem here originally began as a 4 line comment/anecdote on Ryan Stone’s “Hourglass” poem he posted three days ago, and I have rehashed those words and created an interesting “Pyramid Poem” … Thanks to Ryan for being the source of the “Watermarks” poem … please click on this link to visit his fabulous site >> https://daysofstone.com/2023/08/31/hourglass/
Watermarks (Revised)
Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2023
My poem here originally began as a 4 line comment/anecdote on Ryan Stone’s “Hourglass” poem he posted two days ago, and I have rehashed those words and created an interesting “Pyramid Poem” … Thanks to Ryan for being the source of the “Watermarks” poem … please click on this link to visit his fabulous site >> https://daysofstone.com/2023/08/31/hourglass/
Watermarks
(a Pyramid Poem)
rivers flow
tides come and go
footprints in the sand
slip away with the undertow
dreams fade in a cloud of mist and snow
hollow watermarks drift over the poet’s shadow
Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2023
Spring has begun and the trees are In blossom … this glorious spring day has prompted me to repost “Blossom Over Jerusalem” a poem that also appears in my book Tullawalla
Over at Weekly Prompts, for the month of September, the Colour Challenge is: Brown. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> HERE … and here my poem captures the “brown” winter trees blossoming at the beginning of spring
Blossom Over Jerusalem
I write about the purple moon
That eats the night with a silver spoon
I write about the yellow sun
That bathes our day with gold by the ton
I hear the bird’s morning songs
They caress the world’s souls, right or wrong
I hear the animals’ mighty roars
They remind us of the great outdoors
I see the blue sky above
Where life’s white doves carry our love
I see the green pastures, beyond Jerusalem
Where life’s fruit trees blush with blossom
Tullawalla is Available From
Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com
Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’
AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:
Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT
Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com
Ivor Steven (c) September 2023
A big thank you to ‘Eugi’ from “Moonwashed Musings”, with her post “Listen But Hear The Truth”, for inspiring me to write this ‘Senryu’… You may visit her wonderful site via this link >> https://amanpan.blog/2023/08/31/listen-but-hear-the-truth/
Do Not Be Silent (a Senryu)
I’m aged and fading
I listen but do not see
I see but don’t speak
Tullawalla is Available From
Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com
Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’
AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:
Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT
Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com
Ivor Steven (c) September 2023
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 