Resting was originally written in July 2024, and the photos that follow are little scenes from my world — the moments that helped me understand what resting truly means.
For this month’s Dome Poets assignment, we were each handed a Robert Okaji chapbook to spark a new poem. Mine was From Every Moment A Second, a book of luminous fragments that has long kept me company on the shelf.
To visit Robert’s wonderful poetry site, click on this link
>> O at the Edges | Musings on poetry, language, perception, numbers, food, and anything else that slips through the cracks.
Resting (Revised, with lines from Robert Okaji’s book, “From Every Moment A Second”)
Stanza Map
1 — Robert’s Take Away, p.3
2 — Ivor’s Resting
3 — Robert’s Bottom Falling, p.5
4 — Ivor’s Resting (with Okaji’s line)
5 — Robert’s Privilege, p.13
6 — Ivor’s Resting
7 — Robert’s Flame, p.15
Take away the blackness,
what does night become?
Why rest?
Dawn is here again,
another new day
for my persistent pen.
Through the window
I see another bird
rising, unlabelled, unwanted, yet noticed.
Why Rest?
From every moment,
a second emerges.**
Time has no opponent.
Every hour becomes another.
Surrendering minutes, accepting
gain, which gravities restrain us?
But we open the door
and step out, unhindered.
Why rest?
The Age of Aquarius
has been and gone
and the end of beyond
is no longer precarious.
Drifting, she passes through the frame.
Reshapes borders, edges.
Picture a man lighting a candle
where a home once stood.
To close, here’s a song that carries the same quiet breath as the poem — a final touch of calm before you wander on.
Ivor Steven © July 2026
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 
Oh wow! This is glorious, my dear friend. I am touched. And your soundtracking is impeccable, as always. Simply wonderful! 🥰
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Oh, thank you for your wonderful words my friend … this one is dear to my heart, Robert is a very special pen friend who battling cancer … 📖📘🥰💕🤗🎶
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