A Throwback Friday Poem – Page 4

Throwback Friday, What Is Normal, My Son?

Today’s Throwback Friday Poem is from July 2020, during the middle of the ‘Covid Era’, but I think my words could now be applied to the ‘Trump Era’

What Is Normal, My Son?

Breakfast and a hot cuppa
Under my cosy verandah
As per normal, if it’s not too chilly
And I’m having my normal courtyard chat
With my friends, Phillip the penguin
And the wise old owl, Oscar
We’re talking about the future
Whether life will ever be normal again

Oscar quietly hoots
“What is normal, my son?”
Little Phillip chirped in
“Normal is a state of mind
A comfort zone in time
Like swimming in the deep blue sea every day.”
Oscar agreed with Phillip
“Normal’s been perched in the same tree every night.”
Oscar and Phillip grinned and nodded at each other
And I listened and pondered

Smiling at my two furry companions
I added, “Our old normal won’t be normal anymore.”
Oscar’s brows lowered, and he said
“As per normal these days
We shall patiently try to adapt, then wait and see
What colour will the new normal turn out to be
Black, white, or green like the trees
Maybe the striped yellow of our life-giving bees”

Ivor Steven (c) May 2025

Throwback Friday, Moon Shadows and Celestial Lights (Revised), by Ivor Steven

“Her moon shadows shyly tiptoe through my nights
as my hazy dreams glow under her celestial lights”

I am ‘Moon-struck’ this week, and here is another “Moon” poem, which I originally wrote in May 2018, and today I am reposting the version that I revised in October 2021 …

Moon Shadows And Celestial Lights

I stood alone
In my second-hand clothes
holding her worn-out soul
Silently
I placed her ashes
In a brick wall
Years of heartache
Hidden in a chasm of pain
Moments in time
Now resting in peace

How does tomorrow become another day?
How does the past live with today?

Her moon shadows shyly tiptoe through my nights
As my hazy dreams glow under her celestial lights

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 © May 2025

Throwback Friday, The Woman In Me

Me, sitting on Mum’s knee. … L to R, Carole, Aunties Elizabeth & Pearl, & Grandma

Grandma and her 3 daughters. … My mum (left) and her lady relatives

G’day readers, it’s Friday morning, the 9th of May, here in Australia, the day of my mother’s birthday and my wife’s funeral day, and it’ll be Mother’s Day on Sunday. Today’s Throwback Friday poem is from September 2019.

The Woman In Me

Inside every man
There is a woman

The mother of his soul
The lady of his heart
The kindness in his touch
The passion in his blood
The woman who fostered
The way he shows love

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 © May 2025

Throwback Friday, Where’s That Dream

Today’s Throwback poem was written before I started my website and is from June 2012, not long after Carole passed away (13 years ago tomorrow).
For unexplainable reasons, the nostalgic piece has not found its way into any of my “3 books”. Maybe this unheralded poem will prompt me to complete my fourth book!

Where’s That Dream

I have seen the universe through to the stars beyond
There is a deep darkness, she is gone, she is gone
I saw her smile crack from the pain
There was a sorrow, she caught it tomorrow

I have seen the moon through the burning sun
Where is that planet she is walking on?
I saw her eyes crying tears of sand
Where is that beach she is lying on?

I have seen the ocean through the broken coral
Where is that ship she is sailing on?
I saw her body serene and frail
Where are the ashes she is covered in?

I have seen the earth open, swallowing the multitude whole
Where is that chasm she is falling through?
I saw her gentle soul disappear out of sight
Where is that secret haven she is flying to?

I have seen the land go through violent storms
Where are the winds of time she is spread upon?
I saw her heart, her love, for all of you and me
Where is that dream she has left us to find?

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 © May 2025

Throwback Friday, Did Your Heart Stop Too?

Thirteen years ago today, it was the “Time” that I made a “heart-stopping decision”

Did Your Heart Stop Too?

Did you cry too?
When the doctors told you
She was not going to recover

Did they ask you too?
About what you already knew
It was time
To flick the switch
And dim her light

Did your heart stop, too?
Knowing
You had emptied her shoes

Did you sleep there too?
During those infinite days of blue
Softly holding her hand
And not letting go

Did you weep too?
Blankly alone
In her full room
Waiting
For her last silent breath

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 © April 2025

Throwback Friday, Under the Snow (a Revisit)

A special poem I wrote, after I’d taken my Lady to the hospital for the last time, on the day of her 65th birthday, thirteen years ago.

Hello Carole, time goes by, and my heart has not moved …

Under The Snow

We emanate to a birthday.
We deflate to a final day.
Birthdays, they all come, they all go.
Birthdays, in the sunshine, under the snow.
Birthdays, slow to mature, quickly an eon.
Birthdays, before we are born, after we are gone.
Birthdays, hanging on by a breath.
Birthdays, nailed to a cross ’til death.
What does it all mean to be alive and cry?
What does it all mean to live and to die?

Ivor Steven © April 2025

Throwback Friday, A Steep Slide (a Musette)

Ryan Stone [https://daysofstone.wordpress.com] introduced me to the poem format Musette back in September 2022, and today, I am reposting my first-ever attempt at writing a Musette.

“Musette”
three verses
first line – 2 syllables
second line – 4 syllables
third line – 2 syllables
rhyme scheme – a/b/a c/d/c e/f/e
the title reflects the poem’s content

A Steep Slide (a Musette)

I creep
Down the steep slide
I weep

Betrayed
I hide and shake
Afraid

I crawl
Away from shame
And bawl

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 © April 2025

Throwback Friday, Beyond Dark, There is Light (Revised)

Today’s Throwback Friday poem is from July 2021.

Beyond Dark, There is Light (Revised)

Looking back
What do you see?
Tall mountains and a dark sky that surround me

Looking back
What do you see?
Bottomless wells and a deep river inside me

Looking back
What do you see?
Melted snowflakes and icy tears that drown me

Looking back
What do you see?
Treasured memories and a brave soul that revives me

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

Throwback Friday, Volume Without Sound

Dear followers and friends of my poetry website; wishing you all, a happy and creative “WORLD POETRY DAY” …
“Let the earth bear witness” – – William B Yeats (1916)

Today’s Throwback Friday was written in January 2023
Thank you to Bartholomew >> https://bartbarkerpoet.com/2023/01/06/fraiku-not-just-a-little-shy/ for initially inspiring my “deep water thoughts” back then …

Volume Without Sound (Revised)

when I swim
at the surf beach
and dive deep down
the eerie fullness
of my silent surroundings
enhances the volume
of those submersed thoughts
floating within my mind

Ivor Steven (c) March 21st 2025

Throwback Friday, Our Random Kingdom

Today’s Throwback poem does not appear on my website, but I saw it by chance in my Tullawalla Booklet, No. 24, I Softly Walk, from July 2021. So now “Our Random Kingdom” is officially on my website.

Our Random Kingdom

Sometimes we put pieces away
Because our emotions altered the next day
But the thoughts are there to stay
And arise again to be an honest display

The whispering wind is an elusive creature
Mother nature’s operatic music teacher
Our random sculptor’s hands of life
Shaping our fate with her palate knife

That damn old clock never stops
Not even for a pause
To chat with Santa Claus
Even Father Time’s sundial shadow
Enternally works every tomorrow
But let me say, there will come a day
When love will be here to stay