“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
“A shadow becomes starlight—dreams tethered, then set free.”
“There’s a thin line that separates courage from stupidity. And that line is only visible in retrospect.” ~Benjamin Franklin.
Over at Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word Retrospect. To visit their fabulous site, click >> Here
A Shadow From Above, or, In Retrospect
I sensed a shadow fall from above,
Then I saw the image of a dove,
Transgress along my causeway.
Am I being led stealthily astray,
Or am I to follow my dreams into the hay?
Traverse my future’s highway,
Escape this meandering essay.
Loosen my tethering tourniquet.
I shall fly beyond the Milky Way –
In my ITMIMS open sleigh.
Where shadows dissolve into light,
And dreams take eternal flight.
* ITMIMS – Ivor’s Time Machine In Micro Space
Ivor Steven (c) December 2025
On Wednesday evening, I attended the launch of the 2025 Geelong Writers Anthology. My poem, “A Darwin Orange Sunset”, appears in the collection, and I was genuinely honoured to be selected by my peers at Geelong Writers Inc.
The gathering was held alongside our Christmas Break‑up night, which added a lovely sense of community and celebration to the occasion.
I’m also pleased to share that the poem will feature in my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound, in Chapter 2: Nature — An Unbiased Time Keeper.
A Darwin Orange Sunset
Twilight’s
Burly orange sky
Bedazzled my eyes
When
The hessian horizon
And the sun’s waxing resin
Flung
Streams of yellow beams
Across the paddock’s
Furrowed seams
Golden ponds
Flooded
Over the meadow
But did not drown
The field’s residing
Scarecrow
The arbitrary warrior
Accepted the world’s
Rotary mirror
And innately smiles
About being a human’s
Privileged curator
To accompany the poem, I’ve chosen Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” — a song whose quiet ache and twilight glow echo the mood of the piece.
Ivor Steven © December 2025
Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in September 2023) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the second poem in Chapter 7, Governments and Leaders: Behind the Times
The Voice (a Monologue)
Do not yet shut your doors
But give me leave to speak with you and yours
Do not yet turn away?
The time I ask of you is brief for what I have to say
Join me in the shade of this country’s trees
My ancient words are free
But why listen to a language you cannot see
In the past, you have not heard my pleas
Forever! I have been treated harshly
I am a dream-time spirit bird
Flying within your boundaries seems absurd
You! Have clipped my wings
And unashamedly ripped apart my kin
You! Desecrated my sacred ground
For the price of two axes and a Pound
Yes! It’s time to sit without descent
On the sand inside your tribal tent
.
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
We have our Last Chance Xmas Market this Saturday. Starting at 10am-3pm – loads of stalls with art, ceramics, prints, vintage, collectables, books and more! Plus open art studios, the May’d Shop, Untether Gallery, HBT Collectables, Yesterday Vintage, tarot readings at Hot House and more vintage at Pearl & Brawne. Grab a unique gift from local makers and creators.
All undercover at
Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
I’ll be at the “Ivor’s Books”, (and Frankie), stall with my books “Tullawalla, Perceptions, and Until Eyes Hear Sound”, as well as various other Anthologies and Chapbooks.
They could be that “Something Different” gift idea for Christmas.
Ivor Steven (c) 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
The Moon and the Tycoon
Late afternoon
The crows are in tune
Even without the moon
Nature’s towering, white dunes
Are the birds, cushioned saloon
There
Beyond the tycoon’s
Loud trumpets and bassoons
Where
The unknighted buffoon
Uses his innate silver spoon
To lampoon the tribunals
“Devon Church’s Fall Like Lightning — a soundtrack for protest and reflection.”
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/
.
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
Featured Image Above: created by Bing Co-pilot and me.
Blotting Paper
Sleep has not rejuvenated
my weary bones,
nor repaired the clogged gears
in my rusty brain.
Now, the regeneration process
is up to the nature of daylight –
to reignite the candle
in the inky alcove of my soul.
Where, the sodden blotting paper
has become my night-time traitor
Caught mid-glide—today’s prima donna
Prima Donnas (a Tanka)
Unrivalled they glide
Wattlebirds attract my eye
Morning silhouettes
Below nature’s silver screen
Prima donnas of the sky
Ivor Steven (c) December 2025
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 