Month: March 2024

Heat Wave




Heat Wave




My bedroom felt like a furnace

As rays of molten light

Penetrated the blinds


The midday sun pelted down

And a heat haze shimmered across the land

As the hot northerly wind fried

The sticky sweat on my brow








Until Eyes Hear Sound
Not available on Lulu or Amazon yet … but you may purchase it from me, via this web page or my email >> ivorrs20@gmail.com

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/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com



Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

Our Kingdom in the Sky (a Tanka)


Our Kingdom in the Sky (a Tanka)


Up there above me

I feel the sun within me

In the same blue sky

I see the moon watching me

The universe protects me




“There Is a Kingdom” Lyrics by Nick Cave

Just like a bird that sings up the sun
In a dawn so very dark
Such is my faith for you
Such is my faith
And all the world’s darkness can’t swallow up
A single spark
Such is my love for you
Such is my love

There is a kingdom
There is a king
And he lives without
And he lives within

The starry heavens above me
The moral law within
So the world appears
So the world appears
This day so sweet
It will never come again
So the world appears
Through this mist of tears

There is a kingdom
There is a king
And he lives without
And he lives within




Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

How Far Must I Fly?

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word: Timeworn. You may visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here
My poem is about the “Timeworn” cry for PEACE …



How Far Must I Fly?




The earth is a worn and bloodied mound

Time for me to leave this tormented ground

Before the new world destroys every living tree

And the arising desert dunes drown me


I will soar beyond the Golden Fleece

Avoiding the manmade black cables and wires

That carries those unheeded calls for peace

Silent messages that forever swoon above alien skies


How wide and how high must I fly?

Until the sounds of war

Empty from my crying eyes








Until Eyes Hear Sound
Not available on Lulu or Amazon yet … but you may purchase it from me, via this web page or my email >> ivorrs20@gmail.com


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/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com




Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

Five Short Poems

I am extremely proud and humbled by the acceptance of five of my poems by the amazing Susi Bocks, Editor-in-Chief at The Short of It! “Hot off the Press” and released for publication today!

Ivor Steven

PUBLISHED ON 

Kunj Parekh – Unsplash

New Light

Cascading sunshine
Falls into my cloudy eyes
Cold ponds feel new light

Further Down

From the Pandemic’s
Depressing downs
Into my Covid
Dressing gown

Finality

after we have consumed
the leftover wine
and desecrated the sundial’s shadow
the dark side of the moon
will finally recede from view

Co-existence

Beneath the trees and bushes
Lives an underground network
Prospering on giving and receiving

Our Time

Time waits for no one
Everyone passes in time
Time hears no commands

~~~

Ivor Steven, formerly an Industrial Chemist and then a Plumber, is now retired; he has been published in numerous anthologies and online magazines. He has two self-published books, Tullawalla and Perceptions. Ivor is an active member of the Geelong Writers Inc.(Australia) and an appointed writer for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA). He was first featured in 2022 and was nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize for his piece – The Sum is One. You can read his features and reblog by clicking HERE.

Untitled

If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.









Ivor Steven (c) March 8th 2024

Throwback Friday, Wonderment Rings True

Yesterday, Michele Lee (>>https://myinspiredlife.org/2024/03/06/paper-airplane-pilot/) asked me about my “Itmims” spacecraft, which prompted me to post this poem from September 2020.



Wonderment Rings True


My imagination’s beaming

Alive and dreaming

Even when I’m sleeping

Tired eyes are peeping

Searching for the milky-way

Flying there, on my open sleigh

And sailing the air-waves

High above broadway




Steering my spacecraft, Itmims**

While reading The Brothers Grimm

And playing a tune on my old violin

The theme from ‘Lord of the Rings’




I’m a visionary Sky Pilot

With a handful of violets

Travelling beyond a silvery moon

To float upon our blue lagoon





**Itmims; ”Ivor’s Time Machine In Micro Space”….








Until Eyes Hear Sound
Not available on Lulu or Amazon yet … but you may purchase it from me, via this web page or my email >> ivorrs20@gmail.com

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/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com


Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

 “The Dark Chasm”, is in this week’s edition of Coffee House Writers Magazine.

Hello dear readers and followers, I am again writing for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a fortnightly basis, and my poem “The Dark Chasm”, is in this week’s edition of Coffee House Writers Magazine. …
To Read my poem, please click on the link below to visit the article, at Coffee House Writers Magazine.
>>https://coffeehousewriters.com/the-dark-chasm/







For, Coffee House Writers Magazine
By, Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

Sharing My Coffee and Cake

Max the magpie joins us and then starts nibbling on my cheesecake.

Max slurps up the cream, as Frankie nonchalantly looks on





Sharing My Coffee and Cake


We were at the Moorabool Valley Cafe

For an afternoon coffee and cake

Unexpectedly, a feathery friend joined us

Max, the Cafe’s resident magpie


While introducing ourselves

In the blink of an eye

He leaned over and began nibbling

At my chocolate cheesecake and cream


Peck, peck, his beak dipped in

And soon his nose was covered in cream

Meanwhile, Frankie nonchalantly looked on

As Max mischievously gave me a wink and a nod

Before jumping across to the next table







Until Eyes Hear Sound
Not available on Lulu or Amazon yet … but you may purchase it from me, via this web page or my email >> ivorrs20@gmail.com

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/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com


Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

Snippets of Rhyme





Snippets of Rhyme

 

Glowing from behind the trees

I saw the sunset, so bright

Or did I see the trees

Reaching up, in front of the light

 

Dusk is like a Venetian blind

Narrow ingots of time

Casting snippets of rhyme

Upon my black and white lines







Until Eyes Hear Sound
Not available on Lulu or Amazon yet … but you may purchase it from me, via this web page or my email >> ivorrs20@gmail.com

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/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com


Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

Grey Clouds Have Rainbows





Grey Clouds Have Rainbows


The night is not always dark

You know

The moon has a bright side

The other side hides

in the Sun’s shadow


An icy pond’s reflection

Has the wrong image

Of whom was right

And grey clouds have rainbows




 




Until Eyes Hear Sound
Not available on Lulu or Amazon yet … but you may purchase it from me, via this web page or my email >> ivorrs20@gmail.com

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/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com


Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

Side By Side

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Colour Challenge for March is; White … you may visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here. There is no mention of ‘White’ in my poem, but there is certainly plenty of ‘White’ in my bird photos …




Side By Side


Side by side

We shall soar

Beyond these shores

Side by side

We shall soar

Toward our final encore



We will explore

The unknown

Then, we will look for

The way home







Until Eyes Hear Sound
Not available on Lulu or Amazon yet … but you may purchase it from me, via this web page or my email >> ivorrs20@gmail.com

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/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com


Ivor Steven (c) March 2024