Author: 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.

Obsidian Eyes

The Weekend Challenge, and the monthly colour challenge for JUNE, “Weekly Prompts” have chosen the colour Obsidian. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking >> Here…. and below is my response to the prompt…

 

Obsidian Eyes

 

Humans are in an anxious whirl

Unaware of nature’s harmonious world

 

Volcanic flames light up the skies

The blazing eclipse darkens angry eyes

 

Lava’s flowing as obsidian rivers

Black glass groans and shivers

Cold black-ice slips and slides

In a chasm of great white walls, either side

 

Sheer ugly mirrors of darkness

Reflecting societies obsidian blindness

Unfathomable statues arise

Like hives of frenetic fireflies

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  May 2020

Opening a Can of Flammable Worms

 

 

Opening a Can of Flammable Worms. A ‘Gogyohka’

 

Anger ignites smoldering flames

A white-man’s racist hatred to blame

The volatile reaction follows

Requiring a King’s pacifying halo

Not a cane, you stupid man

 

Gogyohka, (pronounced go-gee-yoh–kuh), was created by Enta Kusakabe in Japan. It is a “five-line poem” or “song” with no no fixed syllable pattern. It can be written on any subject and use of ordinary, simple language is encouraged. 

 

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  May 2020

Birds of a Feather

This is a poem I wrote for last year’s “National Reconciliation Week”…. and I’m pleased to re-post the words on my site again, during this important week….

Birds Of A Feather

 

to colour us all tanned

black or white

didn’t seem right

even a humorous sight

maybe blue and green

would’ve been a better blight

and I’ve been told orange

is a preferred skin tone

best we have more colours

I’ll go buy the paint drums

toss them together

shaken, not stirred

into one huge cocktail dish

and use a whale-hair paint brush

we’ll all be covered the same

a faded colour purple

like tarnished rain clouds

not too dark

not too proud

not too white

just bright enough

to see the light

 

 

I wonder what has changed since this song was recorded “50 Years” ago….. ??

 

Ivor Steven (c)  June 2020

Back Home

What a difference

Twenty four hours makes

I’m back, on this other side

Of the world

I woke up dreaming

In the southern hemisphere

Feeling inside out

And upside down

I’ve gone from a warm evening

To a freezing morning

I’ve travelled in time

And I’m struggling to find my rhyme

I left my new family behind

All so generous and kind

There’s many stories to be written

About that friendly new kitchen

Now I’m having breakfast alone

But here I am, home sweet home

Ivor Steven (c)  2019

It’s Time To Leave

 

 

It’s Time To Leave

 

It’s time to tidy up my mess

Clean up the room and get dressed

It’s time to pack my suitcase

Fill the travel bag and vacate this place

It’s time to put on my famous rocker shoes

And walk away from this dream come true

It’s time to say heartfelt goodbyes

To these wonderful Philadelphia guys

It’s time for final hugs and kisses

Sad farewells and best wishes

It’s time for my usual emotional tears

Separate myself from these every day cheers

It’s time to flyaway from a land of Dragons and fairies

Leave this magical world of faraway families

It’s time to say a million thank you’s

For making my stay a Really Real great do

It’s time for me to travel back home

With glorious memories of this mystical thunderdome

 

Ivor Steven (c)  May 2019

Promote Yourself Monday, May 25, 2020

Dear readers and followers, here’s a great opportunity for your writings to be read by other writers, and also to find and meet other writers. You are very welcome to participate, come along and visit our writer friendly site…..

braveandrecklessblog's avatarGo Dog Go Café

Promote yourself Mon

Welcome to Promote Yourself Monday.  All Go Dog Go Cafe community members are invited to post one link to one specific piece of their writing (600 words or less please!) they have published on their blog, Facebook page, or Instagram feed into the comments section below.

If you post a link, be sure to read some of the other great writing people have linked to.

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Love United, Under Distant Skies

Dear readers, over the previous 8 days, I hope you have been enjoying my poems about my wonderful trip to New York, Philadelphia and Bensalem, from a year ago. … Meeting my dear niece Kerri was a dream come, and this is the poem I wrote for her…..

 

Love United, Under Distant Skies (For Kerri)

 

Through the mist of my tears

I saw droplets run down her cheeks

Our moist eyes met

And I kissed her on the lips

With love, from my softened soul

I felt the depth of her inner strength

Radiate from within her petite body.

Now, finally we have embraced

And encountered our forever dreams

The bells of respect clearly chimed

Ringing joyful tunes, and our duets were living proof

That our hearts were lovingly entwined

Under alien stars, and united by our distant skies

A forever circle of love. even when I’m sleeping

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  May 2019

A Collection, Nearly Time To Go Home

On “Weekly Prompts” their weekend challenge is: Story. Please go and visit their fabulous site by clicking >>HERE…. And below I’m continuing my “Story” about my trip to Philadelphia in May last year, via a collection of my poems and haiku’s …

 

Wet Flowers of May

 

Philadelphia rain

Like a rattling freight train

Wet fat drops

That didn’t stop

Watering flowers on mother’s day

Sharing the liquid joy of May

 

Haiku: Family History

Boxes of photos

Memory lane in my hands

Decades of stories

 

The Golden Pot

I’ve travelled to the end

Of yesterday’s rainbow

I found the golden pot was full

Full of warm hearts

The pot of hearts was overflowing

With ladles full of kindness

And their kindness was a cascading

River of magical rainbows

 

Haiku: We Lost The Sea

Bridges of dreams crossed

The ocean and river spanned

Waters of love found

Ivor Steven (c) May 2019