Category: Life & Nature

Who’s Watching Whom

Featured Image Above: Created by Copilot and me.


With two sharp‑eyed magpies and a pale daytime moon looking on, this little poem takes flight as a whimsical protest — a light‑feathered reminder that even the quiet watchers on the fence have something to say about the state of our cluttered world.



Who’s Watching Whom


I’m perched on the fence,
wondering about the world’s
lack of common sense,
and I ask the moon,
“Is there no end to this gloom?”

“Do not worry, my feathered friend –
this is not the end.”

“Soon there will be enough elbowroom
for everyone’s nom de plume
in the planet’s master bedroom,
after Mother Nature has donned
her cleaning costume,
and swept all of the needless showrooms,
backrooms, ballrooms, and boardrooms.”

“And the people should all help groom
their own untidy playrooms
with those unused yardbrooms.”




And here’s a song that hums along with the magpies’ quiet protest…




Ivor Steven ©  February 2026

Throwback Friday, My Mind Meanders (a Tanka)

Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in August 2023) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the first poem in the Tanka section of Chapter 10, Time’s Short Poems: Haiku, Tanka, etc.


I’ve done lots of meandering today, and now I need to have a doggie nap




My Mind Meanders (a Tanka)

On our morning trail
Where beginnings never end
Imagination
Meanders around each bend
Conscious of nature’s haven






.


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 ©  February 2026

Kissed by Daylight (a Haiku)

Feature Image Above: created by Copilot and me.


Today’s WordPress Prompt

Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.

“The day’s first glow beckons me to pause, to notice, and to appreciate everything that unfolds.”




Kissed by Daylight (a Haiku)


Out of the darkness
The sun’s glow caresses my eyes
Daylight kisses my world






Ivor Steven ©  February 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 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.









Ivor Steven ©  January 2026

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





Ivor Steven ©  January 2026