A whispered protest beneath a heavy sky—this poem emerged over coffee and quiet defiance.
No More Alibis
I shyly worry, and quietly sigh
about today’s ugly, dark sky.
In the blink of an eye,
the sun might say, “Hi”
and the world awry,
could be rectified.
No more alibis,
or black eyes.
It’s time to notify
the blow-dried wise guy:
The world is not his money supply
We will not be tongue-tied,
nor listen to his falsified
“War cry.”
Ivor Steven © January 2026
Featured Image Above: Created by Copilot and me.
An image and song that drifts along the same edge this poem explores — between light, shadow, and the unknown.
What Colour is the Edge?
I ask myself,
Is there an edge?
Is it the golden sun rising,
or the hessian sun setting?
Is it the dark horizon
beyond the deep blue ocean?
Then I wonder,
What is the edge?
Is it the black chasm
beyond the starry universe,
or is it the white light
when time sees no night?
Ivor Steven © January 2026
Please note the featured photo and attached photos above are taken from Street Art in the Geelong CBD
Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in January 2025) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the first poem in the Fantasy section of Chapter 9, Humour, Fantasy, and Fairyland: Timeless
A Blade of Light
Far beyond my darkest night
Clambering out of purgatory’s deepest void
I grasp onto a single blade of light
On the edge of my soulless asteroid
Who rescues me from Armageddon’s endless fight
Awaking in a pool of sweat, just after midnight
This meaningless nightmare gave me a hellish fright
.
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 © January 2026
A small reflection on the strange path from understanding to uncertainty, and the fragile line between what feels real and what feels lost.
On the Edge of Finality
Physically,
and enigmatically,
Scaling life’s realities
has critically
reached obscurity.
Combined with humanity’s
vanity, inanity, and insanity
and lack of morality –
brutally –
finality
is not an impossibility.
Ivor Steven © January 2026
Where Theo’s tiny tomato and shy seedlings work their quiet miracles… with one curious assistant nearby.
An Anti-depressant Pill, or, Theo’s First Tomato
Lately, my mind has been wandering,
and my tired old quill is meandering
between the lines of my poignant writings.
I’ve been anxiously worrying
about our weary, war-torn world.
In the morning, I gave my ink well
an anti-depressant pill.
The good Doctor Who had prescribed
a relaxing dose of courtyard gardening.
The effervescent tonic worked miracles.
Today, Theo* has produced his first baby tomato,
and my recently planted sunflower seeds
have sprouted into healthy little seedlings.
And the courtyard whispered,
‘There you are… stay awhile.’
*Theo the Tomato bush, who started his miraculous journey late in May, the beginning of our winter.
Ivor Steven © January 2026
“Arrival of the Birds” by The Cinematic Orchestra felt like the natural companion — a quiet swell of hope beneath the magpies’ wings.
Unstable Weather
Behind closed doors,
Below the first floor,
Far beyond braided Russia leather,
They shelter from the unstable weather.
Nature’s hierarchy walks together –
Black and white birds of a feather –
And untethered, they will fly forever,
Above the world’s war-weary heather.
Ivor Steven © January 2026
Featured Image Above: Daylight moon, slipping through confetti clouds — a silent witness to the world’s warring manoeuvrers, drifting apart.
Confetti Clouds
I’m slip-sliding downward
from behind the morning clouds –
or are they earth’s mourning shrouds,
discarded by the world’s warlords
then shredded into propaganda streamers,
to deceive all the invisible dreamers?
I am an unbiased, timeless observer
who has witnessed every violent crowd’s
mismanaged, murderous manoeuvre.
Ivor Steven © January 2026
A quiet day indoors — Frankie dozing, Lisa O’Neill singing, and words drifting through the heat.
Upbeat in the Heat
A hot north wind is scorching everything.
The sun is blazing;
inside, we are hiding.
Frankie is sleeping,
And I am writing.
while listening
To Lisa O’Neill Singing
and pondering
how amazing
that her lyrics are always resonating
with the drift of my own wanderings.
“Birdy From Another Realm” Enlightens me with colours; his song is like no other.
Ivor Steven © January 2026
Featured Image Above: From Bing Images, numrush.nl
Here in Geelong, we are going through a warm/hot spell, and this is a poem that I wrote in January 2019, so appropriately, the poem gets replayed today.
Hotter Than Helios
Today is hotter than hot
This town’s a living melting pot
You could fry an egg without a cooktop
I won’t be taking Yorkie for a trot
My body’s losing the plot
Waiting for my aorta’s mystery clots
My writing’s burnt out, on Helios hill
Leaving an arid inkwell, holding a dry quill
Despite the heat, I’ll do an exercise session. It’s my will
To continue with this daily drill
No excuses, to lose sight of spring’s daffodil
Working out, like I’m an old grinding flour mill
Even if I’m over-baked, like Sunday’s hot roast
For her, I’ll take life’s chances to the utmost
.
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 © January 2026
Loaded Guns (a Tu-aiku*)
Sitting on the line,
observing daylight’s decline –
isn’t a hanging crime.
But innocent ones
are still being outgunned by
The world’s loaded guns.
*Tu-aiku – Ivor’s name for a Dual Haiku
Ivor Steven © January 2026
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 