Category: A Tanka

Wattlebird Soiree (a Tanka)

Six frames of flight—wattlebirds mid-dance, wings wide in a hush of blue. A private performance above the treetops, where nature choreographs its midday ballet.




Wattlebird Soiree (a Tanka)



What more could I say,
than be totally amazed
by the wattlebirds’
private aerial display–
nature’s midday ballet.








Ivor Steven (c) October 2025

There is a Better Way (a Tanka)


“Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson




There is a Better Way (a Tanka)


The sun and the moon
Respectfully share the sky
All the birds I know
Fly by harmoniously
Why can’t we learn nature’s ways?






Ivor Steven (c) October 2025

Neurotic Wind (a Tanka)

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 Spider and the Hummingbird (a Tanka)




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)




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

My Lunar Lullaby (a Tanka)

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