Life – Page 2 – Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Coffee House Writers Magazine features my new poem, “Don’t Worry, Home is Anywhere”

Hello, dear readers and followers. I contribute to Coffee House Writers Magazine (USA) every second week, and I’m delighted to share that my latest poem, “Don’t Worry, Home is Anywhere,” appears in the new issue. You can read it by following the link below.
>> Don’t Worry, Home is Anywhere – Coffee House Writers

A rain‑soaked afternoon left my pigeon photos a little blurred,
yet even in that dull light, a small metaphor took wing —
a plain‑grey bird rising above the world’s worrying affairs.

And as the music rises, even a plain‑grey bird reminds us that home is wherever we dare to lift ourselves above the world’s worrying affairs.

Until Eyes Hear Sound

Amazon >> Amazon.com : 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 invoice
for the Book, plus Postage.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Edenic Sky

Last night’s concert is still humming through me this morning — a gentle afterglow of voices, strings, and silhouettes that hasn’t quite settled. I’m too tired to write a full review, but the feeling of it all lingers, shaping this small poem the way a single note can colour an entire sky. With Bird on a Wire echoing softly in my thoughts, the night has lifted into something quiet and edenic, finding its way into these lines.

From wings in the sky to voices on stage — the same rhythm of freedom and grace carries through.

Maree and Ivor just before the concert began.

Edenic Sky

I’m on a poetic high,
up here in my symphonic sky —
like a bird on a wire,
above the bustling dragonflies
buzzing around on standby.

Up here in my rhythmic sky,
away from the politician’s tongue ties
and blind glass eyes —
floating inside last month’s mince pie,
still gloating about the blowflies
hovering over Shanghai’s
under-prepared stir fry.

I’m on a poetic high,
up here in my edenic sky.

And so I’ll leave the morning here, with the last notes of the concert still drifting somewhere just out of reach, colouring the sky in their own quiet way. The bird on the wire, the sepia light, and the poem’s small rise all feel like echoes of that lingering music — a reminder that some nights don’t end; they simply soften into the day.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Words in the Sky (a Haiku)

VJ’s Fire haiku lit a quiet spark in me last night, and sometime after midnight my own words drifted upward — a sky‑response shaped by the birds I photographed yesterday and the lingering anticipation of Cohen Noir. There’s something about Leonard’s voice that reminds me to look up, to let thoughts rise, and to trust the air to carry them.

VJ – Fire (haiku) – One Woman’s Quest

Words in the Sky (a Haiku)

My essence is sky
Words fly with the birds up high
Beyond prying eyes

And as these sky‑bound words drift toward Cohen Noir, I’m guided again by Leonard’s voice — a reminder to steer my way through the clouds and keep writing beyond prying eyes.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

The Show’s Never Over

It’s one of those weekends when the creative threads seem to weave together—poems waiting in my drafts, music humming through the house, and Saturday night’s Cohen Noir concert drawing closer with its promise of words, wisdom, and that unmistakable Leonard Cohen glow. The Show’s Never Over feels like the perfect analogy for it all: the way a poem keeps singing long after the final line, just as Cohen’s legacy keeps echoing through every voice that carries his songs forward.

To set the mood, I’ve paired the piece with this tender and beautifully rendered cover — David Gilmour’s “Thanks For The Dance”, from the Von Trapped Series — a quiet homage that feels right at home beside the poem.

The Show’s Never Over

Nature’s time-honoured outdoor theatre
never closes.
My out-of-date eyes
never tire
of remaining open for the entire show,
never asleep
until my weary midnight curtain
slowly drapes down
over my dreamtime playground.

Sometimes a poem leaves a final shimmer in the air — the same lingering glow that Cohen’s songs carry — and this quiet, heartfelt cover feels like the perfect echo of that moment.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

A Golden Bowtie

Feature Image : Created by Copilot and me — a wattlebird rising above a soft, cloud‑washed bridge in the sky. I sent my two photos (attached below) to my Copilot app and asked for an image of a wattlebird flying above a bridge in the sky. This is the result: a golden, dreamlike lift.

Today’s poem grew from a poetic anecdote I left on Nancy’s post last week — Suspended: A Sonnet – The Elephant’s Trunk
a moment of sky‑thinking that stayed with me.

A Golden Bowtie

Oh, to safely fly above
that peaceful bridge in the sky.
Like a worldwide dream —
a bowtie’s golden ribbon,
bandaging the stratosphere
together,
from here to Shanghai.

A quiet, drifting companion for the poem’s soft ascent.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

The Dark Side of Sunset

A peaceful sunset can feel like the world exhaling — yet sometimes, in that fading light, a different truth appears. This morning’s sky carried both beauty and unease, and my thoughts followed the sun toward the shadowed side of our turning planet.

The Dark Side of Sunset

I was absentmindedly marching,
away from worldly soul-searching,
when I saw the sun arching
toward the dark side of our planet.

Then I wondered
who’s there on the other side
of this old orb of granite.

And who decides
who lives and who dies
during the bleak, black night,
when the bombs batter
what’s left of the moonlight.

A final reflection on the sun’s descent — and the stark questions it leaves burning in the dark.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Echoes of Goodbye

A gentle twilight settled over yesterday’s sky, its fading colours echoing the soft hush of evening. This poem grew from that quiet moment — a lingering farewell woven through the last light of day.

Echoes Of Goodbye

Daylight is on the soft edge of night.
Today’s sentinel sun
has wistfully said goodbye
to the world’s indigenous blue sky.

Twilight time
melodramatically commandeers
earth’s chromatic horizon.

I stand here, amazed and wondering
how do I explain these encircling,
empyreal surroundings
to the echoes of our final goodbye.

A final whisper of twilight, carried forward in song.

Loose Gold Nooses (a Senryu)

“Loose Gold Nooses” — a collage creation by Ivor, blending a silhouetted bird in flight with a golden sunrise, echoing the haiku’s quiet tension and beauty.

Loose Gold Nooses (a Senryu)

There are excuses
For being tied in nooses
Of thin gold feathers

Let the final song unwind the day’s knots, where the gold loosens, the nooses fall away, and the night opens its hands.

Steve the Snail’s Bookcase

Feature Image Above: Created by Copilot and me.

As twilight settles across the shelves, Steve pauses for thought atop his old bookcase…

Steve the Snail’s Bookcase

I’m sitting in a secret place
on top of this old bookcase —
I’m not a nutcase,
but wistfully wondering about that space
between the sun’s twilight zone
and the world’s traversing horizon.

Is that the mysterious place
beyond third base,
the dark coalface,
that I’m yet to embrace —
my final footrace?

But wait — before I vanish into space
without a trace,
I need to don my carapace
and tighten these slivery bootlaces.

Steve’s gentle reminder drifts in: put your hat and shoes on, and enjoy life while you’re able.

As Steve settles into the hush of twilight, this song drifts in beside him…

Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies

Four small lives in motion, each holding a different truth about today… and the uncertain tomorrow.

Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies

The bee’s knees
are busily pollinating
today’s flowers,
for tomorrow.

The bird’s eyes
are warily overseeing
today’s world,
mindful about tomorrow.

The beetle’s legs
are curiously wandering
toward today’s horizon,
still searching for tomorrow.

The butterfly’s wings
are wistfully fluttering,
knowing today’s sunny sky
won’t shine on them tomorrow.

Let the song settle over the small creatures of today, reminding us of how tender tomorrow truly is.