





A Family Christmas (a Haiku)
So this is Christmas
With family and doggies
Rejoicing abounds
Ivor Steven (c) December 2025






A Family Christmas (a Haiku)
So this is Christmas
With family and doggies
Rejoicing abounds
Ivor Steven (c) December 2025
The day before Christmas, and as usual, we are traveling to Ballarat for the week to enjoy the festive season with our brother and sister. My brother kindly drove down from Ballarat to pick us up.


Frankie is packed and ready to go … Frankie is in the back seat on the way to Ballarat


Frankie quickly makes himself at home in the bedroom and on the lounge with my brother, Lawrie





Then, after dinner, we go for a pleasant walk up Black Hill.


At the end of the day, Frankie is due for a good night’s sleep
Ivor Steven (c) December 2025





A Christmas Lament, or, Lazy and Crazy
Maybe my weariness is making me lazy,
But to save myself from going crazy
With obscure objects
And animated artifacts,
I’ve reluctantly decided
To send my annual Christmas cards
In a digital format—
An emailed photostat.
Hopefully, everyone will understand
That Father Time is now in command.
Ivor Steven (c) December 2025





“The quiet grace of a magical magpie who knows the season has turned.”
The Magpie’s Letter
Oh, Dear Santa Claus,
I’m wearing my old dancing slippers,
But my weary claws
Are stuck in the bushes.
‘Tis Sunday morning before Christmas,
So, best I release myself
And rejoice in your festive business.
Say hi to all the fairies and elves,
Then pin my flying stockings
Upon Ivor’s empty mantle shelf
Ivor Steven © December 2025





The Crow and the Mistletoe
I’m away with the fairies,
Savouring Christmas cherries.
Here, floating above,
Dreaming, I was a dove.
But I’m only an old crow,
A torn and weary beau,
Who has forgotten how to hover below
The archway’s mistletoe.
Ivor Steven (c) December 2025
Featured Image Above: Moon adrift in daylight— a quiet reminder to deck the hallways of time, not just December.

Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Always Deck the Hallways” is in this week’s edition.
“A festive stroll through words and wonder—Always Deck the Hallways brings poetry to the season.”
To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/always-deck-the-hallways/

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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 © December 2025
Wishing you all, a lovely Christmas and a grand New Year






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Ivor Steven (c) December 2024
Over at Weekly Prompts, the Monthly Colour Challenge is Red. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here
The “Creative Geelong” Christmas Market was on Friday evening from 5.00 to 9.00 pm and Saturday from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm. Because of the stormy weather on Friday, the crowd was a bit light; however, on Saturday, the attendance was good.
Frankie and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My ‘Lucky-Dip’ bucket of poems again proved to be a fabulous way of meeting and chatting with the customers. Meanwhile, Frankie also received plenty of friendly pats and some extra doggie treats.






The Bottom Right Image: me and my neighbouring stallholder, Jen Stevens (Pottery), a school friend of my stepson, Greg Steven, from “40” years ago …













Bottom Images: Santa’s little helpers delving into my “Lucky Dip” bucket … It’s nearly closing time, I’ve run out of Lucky Dip poems, and Frankie and I are waiting to pack up …
Ivor Steven (c) December 2024
Last Sunday morning I attended the “The Dome Poets” Christmas Party ‘brunch’, and we were each to bring a short poem about our poetry group (Secret), which was then folded and drawn from a hat, and recited by the drawer, and then we had to guess who wrote the poem … A very enjoyable session indeed, but I didn’t guess the authors too well … Haha, I got mine right! and one other …
Featured Image Above: The Dome Poets Group, taken at our Anthology book launch in June
Stars (My Poem, for the Dome Poetry Christmas Party)
Another year has been and gone
Today our words are secretly drawn
We’ll open our eyes and hear the peaceful sounds
Of our poems being eloquently unbound
A time for the Dome’s stars to be crowned
Ivor Steven (c) December 2023


A Cup of Coffee on The House
Fantasy.
A powerful Pacific Albatross
Gracefully landed on fairy-moss
That covered my welcoming pathway
And graciously handed me a sacred Mandala
Reality.
The postman delivered a special parcel today
A belated Christmas gift from America
A wonderful hand-painted coffee mug
And this afternoon I enjoyed
“A Cup of Coffee on The House”
Thanks to my friends at Coffee House Writers


Tullawalla is Available From
Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com
Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’
AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:
Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com
Ivor Steven (c) January 2023