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.

This week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine features my new poem, “The Café’s Rustic Bookcase.”

Hello, dear readers and followers. I contribute to Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) every second week, and I’m delighted to share that my latest poem, “The Café’s Rustic Bookcase,” appears in the new issue. You can read it by following the link below.

The poem began during a simple afternoon ritual: a walk past the sunlit Queen of the West and a quiet moment settling into my café corner. Between those familiar spaces, the words gathered themselves and became the piece I’m sharing today.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/the-cafes-rustic-bookcase/

“To drift gently out of the café’s quiet glow, I leave you with this soft lullaby.”

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

Lioness Eyes

Two scenes from the same evening — twilight blazing in the west and moonlight rising in the east. Nature offered both, and the music speaks for itself. Which one draws you in?

Lioness Eyes

Who’s winning the mesmerising
photographic contest –
twilight’s effervescent scarlet sky,
illuminating the horizon in the west
or the moon’s royal blue panorama
edifying the evening clouds in the east?

Both scenarios are beautifully picturesque,
and choosing my favourite phosphorescence
is beyond my universe’s tinted opalescence.

Ivor Steven © February 2026

Wandering Romeos (a Micro Poem)

A quiet moment in the afternoon sun, with shadows drifting and Lisa O’Neill’s “Sparkle” humming at the edges…

Micropoetry is an ultra-short form of poetry, typically under 25 words or 140 characters, blending creative brevity with precise language, sharp imagery, and emotional depth, while allowing diverse interpretations.

Wandering Romeos (a Micro Poem)

Like falling snow…
Shadows come and go.

Some have sharp claws –
Others have soft paws.

My shadow’s afterglow…
Is a château
For any wandering Romeo.

Ivor Steven © January 2026

Shangri La, Volume 18, Between Here and the Edge

FREE PDF COPY >>> Links Below

Hello, dear readers and followers. As you may know, I stopped producing my “Tullawalla Booklets” at #31 because that was the house number of our family’s Tullawalla Homestead.
However, the booklet format is a superb way for me to catalogue the vast number of poems I produce, and as the saying goes, “I Am Turning Another Page”. Here I have begun a new series of poem booklets, called “Shangri La”, the name of my little Villa, and it is my piece of “earthly paradise, a retreat from the pressures of modern civilization”.
I now have “2245” Poems filed in these booklet formats!!
(On my bookshelf, I have “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, which contains 1775 poems … when I first started writing poems, I never envisaged that I would produce so many poems)

“Like all my booklets, this one is here to be read at your leisure — no rush, no expectation, just an open page waiting when you are.”

Click >>Here. for the link to your FREE: PDF Copy of “Shangri La, Volume 18, Between Here and the Edge.”

OR … Shangri La, Vol 18, Between Here and the Edge.pdf

Between Here and the Edge

I’m no ancient mariner
with a sextant to chart the sky
The moon was falling into bed,
the sun rising ahead,
both at the same height,
as if I were the hinge between them.

Here I stand on their earthbound bridge
at the centre of my own universe,
unsure of my footing near the edge –
am I fading into the advancing ground,
or drifting back toward an old wedding pledge.

Ivor Steven © January 2026

Throwback Friday, Beyond Sight (a Haiku)

Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in August 2025) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the first poem in the Haiku section of Chapter 10, Time’s Short Poems: Haiku, Tanka, etc.

Beyond Sight (a Haiku)

Good morning sunrise
I soak in daylight’s caress
Until eyes hear sound

Ivor Steven © January 2026

The Sun’s Crimson Eye

“Smoke-tinted twilight, and a sun that watches like an omen.”

The Sun’s Crimson Eye

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire
Twilight’s smoky sky and the crimson sun
Convey an eerie reminder
That there’s more bushfires to come

The weather has been extremely hot
And the eucalypti ranges are tinder dry

The firefighters are tiring,
But they’re a hardy lot
And we hope Mother Nature
Will wash the crimson from the sky

Ivor Steven © January 2026

Theo and the Sunflowers (a Haiku)

“Sunlight, patience, and a tomato named Theo — still finding his way upward.”

Theo and the Sunflowers (a Haiku)

Tall as Jack’s beanstalk
Proudly shading the flowers
Theo grows and grows

The Elusive Crossroad

Featured Image Above: wae created by Copilot and me.

At the edge of dusk, every path feels like a crossroad.”

The Elusive Crossroad

Beyond the evening’s projecting twilight zone,
I’m looking for this planet’s bright side of the moon.

I observe a strange stratosphere
That does not belong here, nor there.

Between now and the universe’s next episode,
I perceive a mirage of cosmic cathodes,
Faithlessly obscuring eternity’s elusive crossroad.

The Pot’s Still Simmering

Featured Image Above: wae created by Copilot and me.

Over at Sadje’s WDYS #325, I think my poem is appropriate for both of her prompt images. To visit her fabulous site please click >> Here.

This poem grew out of three short pieces I wrote in response to posts by fellow WordPress writers—Beth, Mark, and Dwight. Each anecdote carried its own spark, but together they formed a thread I couldn’t ignore. I’ve woven them here into one poem, a reflection on nature, emotion, and the creative fire that keeps us writing.
In stanza order, they are:
Beth – https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2026/01/24/the-magic
Mark – https://havocandconsequence.wordpress.com/2026/01/24/smashed-like-a-deity
Dwight – In Pursuit of Passion | Roth Poetry

The Pot’s Still Simmering

Once upon a time, while the moon was sweeping
Just after the ice age had ceased creeping
And when the world’s sky had finished wistfully weeping
Mother Nature always had time for her housekeeping
And would never leave “love” under the snow, sleeping

I’ve always found it difficult
to simply wash away the salty tears
The residual droplets seemed
to have crystallized upon my soul’s fears

While the pot
remains simmering
and the irons are still hot,
a passion for writing
is this poet’s lot

Australia Day, Lunch at the “Cafe”

Box Office Cafe
https://www.boxofficecafe.com.au

Frankie is patiently waiting for his bacon pieces

My lunch/meal was a delicious Japanese, Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki: House-made Japanese cabbage & spring onion savoury pancake, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, kewpie mayo, BBQ pulled pork, fried egg, topped with bean shoot, coriander, pickled ginger, chilli, cucumber, edamame & snow pea shoot garnish, sesame seeds & fried shallots