Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in August 2023) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the first poem in the Fairyland section of Chapter 9, Humour, Fantasy, and Fairyland: Timeless
Where Have The Fairies Gone?
Deep in the enchanted woods
Under mossy rocks and water-reeds
I saw an iron-bar prison door
Lying over a cave in the dry creek bed
I wondered and yelled out
“Hello! Is anyone down there?”
Eerily, a gentle voice whispered
“Do not worry, we are sheltering here.”
“Why are you hiding?” I inquired
“We are waiting for humanity
to stop the carnage on our planet.”
Then, peeping up from lower in the chasm
I witnessed that the small luminous eyes
Of Earth’s guardian faeries
Were joyless and crying
Music/Video: by Sigur Ros, “Ylur”, translated means, Warmth
.
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 © January 2026
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 
This is a truly poignant piece, ivor. The juxtaposition of the enchanted woods with the stark “iron-bar prison door” immediately sets a powerful tone of captured magic. The poem’s strength lies in its quiet, devastating simplicity—the fairies aren’t gone, they are imprisoned, not by a villain, but by the need to shelter from our carnage.
The most moving detail is the “small luminous eyes,” once full of wonder, now “joyless and crying.” It transforms the fairies from whimsical figures into Earth’s grieving guardians, making their plight our profound responsibility. A beautiful, timely, and haunting allegory for our world.
Thank you for sharing this “throwback.” It speaks even more powerfully today. Wishing you all the best with the upcoming Time Hears No Sound—this poem promises a collection of both depth and delicate, important magic.
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Thank you for your brilliant summary/interpretation of my thought-provoking poem. And I must say your words have captured the essence of what I am trying to convey to my readers. Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed essay, Srikanth… 📖😍🌏📘💙
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I wish they would open and Air B&B- I wanna hide too!
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Beautifully heartbreaking, dear Ivor.
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This is very touching.
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