This poem grew from seven spontaneous comments I left on fellow bloggers’ posts. Each stanza carries its own spark — playful, whimsical, or contemplative — yet together they weave a journey from comic mishap to quiet reflection. “What a Holi-mess; or, Reality Strikes” is both anecdotal and introspective, a collage of moments stitched into verse.
In Stanza Order, they are:
1 – Gigi >> First snowfall today…. | Rethinking Life
2 – David >> Hol-i-daze, or: A rengay – The Skeptic’s Kaddish 🇮🇱
3 – David >> Escape route, or: (Patented) – The Skeptic’s Kaddish
4 – Gigi >> The moon… | Rethinking Life
5 – Beth >> ‘and I think my spaceship knows which way to go.’- david bowie | I didn’t have my glasses on….
6 – Art >> https://storiesbizarre.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/attacked-by-cracked-bats-jack
7 – Violet >> The Bloom and the Bone | Thru Violet’s Lentz
What a Holi-mess; or, Reality Strikes
Oh no,
Not snow,
Oh woe —
My toes,
And nose.
What a holi-mess!
Nimbleness,
Lost the address;
Finesse,
Regressed.
Nothing left to digest —
Time to confess,
And reassess.
And all of the secret escape tunnels
Have become my device’s collection funnels.
Nothing really matters;
None of the moon’s detractors
Can stop my loving captures
Of the moon’s perpetual chapters.
It is hard not to frown,
Inside out or upside down;
But which way around
Should the “King” wear his crown?
Reality strikes —
They were jacksnipes,
Flying in for a swipe
Of my peace pipe.
Time hears no sound,
And in the silence of time,
The echo inside my isolation,
was indeed the sound
Of my own heartbeat.
Ivor Steven (c) November 2025
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 