In the wake of the recent devastating storms in the Philippines, nature’s fragility echoes through broken branches and scattered leaves. This Tanka reflects on the quiet aftermath—where hope lingers, and the question of restoration remains tenderly unanswered.
Neurotic Wind (a Tanka)
I hope – and wonder –
after the neurotic wind
shyly stops blowing:
who’ll repair the broken trees,
and rescue the orphaned leaves?
Ivor Steven © October 2025
The Fantail and the Magpie (a Tanka)
The flighty fantail
Asks the majestic magpie
“Who is the swiftest
Between the moon and the sun?”
“Yes, you! But I soar higher”
Ivor Steven (c) October 2025
The Dragonfly and the Wattlebird (a Tanka)
The dragonfly asks
“Am I the king of the sky?”
The wattlebird says
“You are only a small fry
And you’ll fly below my wings”
Ivor Steven (c) September 2025
The Spider and the Hummingbird (a Tanka)
The spider declares
“Please do not listen to me”
The wee bird responds
“You must keep spinning your web,
And I shall hum for more light”
.
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
Ivor Steven © 2025
Today, Twenty-Five Years Ago (a Tanka)
Once upon a time
In a land of ice and rhyme
Darkness was my crime
When a rift of hollow mime
Ravaged my body and mind
“The Throwback poem that began the great Rowback”
Who’s Left to Row the Boat
The storms are too many to count
Emotional lows had weathered me out
Her journey with MS was a struggle
How much lower could our lives sink
After fourteen years of our battles, I suffered a Stroke
An ambulance came, my brain was in a boat
Floating out to sea, overboard and panic-stricken
I wasn’t swimming, barely awake, and drifting
I had fallen, nothing was working, and not talking
She’s crying, I’m sobbing, my heart is dying
And who’s left to row the boat, I’m thinking
I was jabbed with a needle and silently sleeping
I awoke a day later, in hospital, feeling wasted
My face was limp, mouth parched, was that death I tasted
My mind was active, I thought, where is she
I knew I was bad; the room was all blurry to me
Strong anxieties had set in, I needed to know
Nurses came to me, I pleaded, I wanted to go
“Help me to see her, just give my bed a tow
Please let me go, before I’m covered in snow”
Ivor Steven (c) September 20th, 2025
Say No More (a Tanka)
The worldly black crow
Delivered me good tidings
“No need to worry
There is nothing more to say
The final countdown is here.”
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Last night’s moonrise over Corio Bay felt like nature’s gentle transition from winter to spring. This Tanka is my reflection (and Frankie’s) on that moment of quiet beauty.
Moonrise by the Bay — a quiet witness to winter’s farewell
My Lunar Lullaby (a Tanka)
Cobalt twilight sky,
With a pink full moon rising
Over a calm Bay-
Winter’s lunar finale,
My world’s springtime lullaby.
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Moon Crossing (a Tanka)
I see the white moon
Crossing the afternoon sky
I hear the moon sigh
“Why do I shine so brightly?
When my light falls on dark eyes”
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Hello dear readers and followers, unfortunately, I have to report that my dreaded “BLUE SCREEN CURSE” has returned, and with frustrating difficulty, I have been able to post this article tonight; however, as for my website blogging activities, I am very much restricted by the amount of available time I have left in between my numerous ‘Mirco Soft Shut Downs’ … Hence, the Beluga Lagoon music/video, “Blue” is my appropriate music choice tonight …
My Sky’s Icons (a Tanka)
The moon and the sun
My heavenly universe
For now, beyond reach
“Patience, my son, worry not
One day soon, your time will come.”
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Over at Weekly Prompts, this weekend is their monthly Colour Challenge, and they selected the colour BROWN. To visit their fabulous site, please click HERE.
A big thank you to, Nancy for being the source of my inspiration for this poem
https://theelephantstrunk.org/2025/08/01/the-shells-2/
An Old Snail Shell (a Tanka)
Rusty and earthen,
I supported her burden.
I was no Spartan,
And asked for no one’s pardon-
I’m a bygone guardian.
Beluga Lagoon, The Snail, Lyrics
Pain, no really for me
Some will suffer far more than I will but then we’ll all be still some day
A snail, I’m a snail on the sea
And so slowly I sink to the deep as I try to remember peace
Lions and tigers and beggars and bears
They all live today and they all will decay
The world and the folk and the things you could see
And I swim in the gloom in a room where I struggle to breathe
Where I struggle to breathe
Where I struggle to breathе
Streetlights, gold on cold
Like a beacon
In my sort of soul
Grows so old now the cold
Kills my bonеs
Kills my bones
Kills my bones
Kills my bones
Kills my bones
Graveyards make me calm
I don’t know why
Deepest kind of dreaming
Caribbean coastline
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Clear blue water
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 