G’day readers. It has been an emotional weekend — my mother’s birthday yesterday, my wife’s funeral day, and Mother’s Day today here in Australia. This haiku is a small tribute to the gracious and courageous women who shaped me, and to the strength their lives still give me as I move forward.
Willing (a Haiku)
Still willing to fly
Black sky and an arctic wind
Nothing holds me back
For the women who taught me to rise, even on the coldest of days.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
G’day readers. As this tender weekend approaches — my mother’s birthday tomorrow, my wife’s funeral day, and Mother’s Day on Sunday here in Australia — I’m returning to a poem from September 2019 for today’s Throwback Friday. It feels like the right one to hold all of that.
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
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
For all the women who shaped our hearts, let this melody bloom again.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
Feature Image Above: was created by Copilot and me.
After a quiet visit and a long walk back to earth, these words arrived with the evening light.
And for Sadje’s: What do you see #339- 4th May, 2026. I chose this Photo
To visit her fabulous site, please click >> Here
The Creamy Side of the Moon
Here I stand with my wedding spoon
on the creamy side of the moon
I’ll be home sometime soon
Probably midafternoon
I’ve been visiting her crystal tomb
on the tawny side of the moon
Then, my friendly and sympathetic flock
will guide my spirit back
Later, after I’ve emptied my backpack
and downed a glass of cognac
Frankie will lead me back
along our earthly walking track
For the moments that linger between moonlight and the gathering birds, let this song carry you the rest of the way down to earth.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
The evening sky unfolded in soft Neapolitan colours, and with it came memories, tenderness, and the quiet echo of a vow once spoken.
Neapolitan Sky
Twilight’s sentimental pink sky
Triggered old memories behind my eyes
While the horizon’s creamy eiderdown
Composedly kept me calmly bound
Then dusk’s velvety edge
Reminded me of our pledge
From the moment our togetherness found its start
We whispered our promise — “’Til death do us part”
“All rivers journey to the sea,
so let your heart rest peacefully —
I know she’s now free.” … Ivor Steven © May 2026
Ivor Steven © May 2026
These four couplets unfold like stepping stones — small pauses across the quiet waters of loss. Each one holds a moment of recognition, a shift in understanding, a breath before the next step. Paired with Leonard Cohen’s “Teachers,” the poem traces the lessons we never received, and the ones we learn only by walking toward them
Life’s Missing Teacher
I never found a teacher,
who taught me how to grieve.
The unforeseen creature
was difficult to perceive.
After unplugging her extension cord,
time was always near.
While wandering toward
the edge of life’s weathered pier.
.
Ivor Steven © May 3rd 2026
Today arrived with a hush, stirring old memories and opening a space to sit with love and loss.
Today
Today,
the misty clouds are not moving,
and my world has stopped rotating.
Today,
time became becalmed
in a blue lagoon
full of my memories and rhymes
Today
I felt her angelic soul reminding me,
“Stay there for a while longer,
let me linger in your loving heartbeat.
I’ll let this song carry the feeling that lingers.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Alex Steven (Dad), February 5th 1924 – July 3rd 2015
A Weary Old Plumber, I’m Thinking of You
(Happy Birthday, Dad)
One hundred and two years ago
When dark became day
And the sun shone on you
Did the gods of the world know
How lucky they were
That your sphere of love
Was all-encompassing
Ivor Steven © February 2026
I found this poem that I first posted in February 2018. I hope you enjoy the re-run, and as is my way, I’ve made a few edits.
Beyond Sunset (Revised)
Gently, the dying moonlight awakens my dawn
And the baptizing sunrise waters my eyes
Drowning the silent hours of my shallow day
And dimming my hopes of playing in the hay
A hazy dusk shrouds the cemetery lawn
And the rituals of sunset beckon my evening plight
Flailing and falling upon sleepless night
And I lie prone under my weighted crown
Ivor Steven (c) July 2025
“When your father’s name is etched in stone, it is never as indelible as the etching in your heart” … Colleen Brown
Alex Steven (Dad), February 5th, 1924 – July 3rd, 2015
I’m Like Dad (a Senryu)
Sometimes I am sad
But I am not mad or bad
My heart’s just like Dad’s
Ivor Steven (c) July 3rd, 2025
“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
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 