A Fantail’s Flighty Tale, or a Tricky Tail

Sometimes the morning gifts me a little magic.
Yesterday’s wander with Frankie brought a flurry of feathered moments — a Fantail on a rail, a Magpie mid‑grumble, a Mudlark caught in a swirl of tiny bravado. These images arrived with such charm and mischief that the words followed instantly, light as a breeze. What began as a simple set of photos quickly turned into a playful tale of one tiny bird bossing the bigger ones about, all in good humour and whimsy.

The cheeky Fantail and the grumpy Magpie


The twirling Fantail and the brave Mudlark




A Fantail’s Flighty Tale, or a Tricky Tail

I’m not a fiendish tax collector,
nor a fat company director.
I’m not a bossy dictator,
nor a busy Choir conductor.

I’m just a flighty tiny fella
who flits around like a flirty ballerina —
a cheeky little Fantail who unfurls
on the breeze, commander of curls;
Magpie stumbles, Mudlark sighs —
yet all obey my mischievous eyes.





A burst of bright, buoyant energy to match my cheeky Fantail’s playful world — Nick Cave’s “Joy” feels like the perfect musical wink to close this whimsical tale.



Ivor Steven ©  August 2026

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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.

23 thoughts on “A Fantail’s Flighty Tale, or a Tricky Tail”

    1. I was so lucky to witness such an amazing event, the little fantail was certainly having a fun time, while the other two bigger birds seemed to tolerate his flighty mischievous behaviour 🥰🤗🌏📖💕🎶

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  6. Wonderful photo captures! What fun to witness this bird encounter! Often the little one is the one to boss the others! 😉
    Your poem captures, too, Ivor…it captures what you saw in such creative, enjoyable verses! 🙂
    That song is so powerful, so heart-touching…”We’ve all had too much sorrow, now is the time for joy…”
    (((HUGS))) and ❤️❤️❤️ and joy to you and Frankie!!! 🙂

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    1. Oh, I just happened to in the right place at the right time, and it was a truly incredible and magical pleasure to have witnessed the wonderfully fascinating show, Carolyn … (((HUGS))) 🥰🌏🦅💕🤗🐶💙📘

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