Waiting In Line

Please Note: The Idyll winery estate, located in the picturesque Moorabool Valley area, is only 15 km from my front door, and are well renowned for their award winner Cabernet Sauvignon blends … 2021 – New York International Wine Competition – Idyll Victoria Cabernet Sauvignon – Gold






Waiting In Line




lazing in a valley of vines

under the summer sunshine

with a bottle of Idyll wine 

drank in no time 

dandy and sublime 

heeds no rhyme

beyond an imaginary climb

along the river of time

that awaits a final line

after life’s closing pantomime






Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

Winter Snails (a Haiku)

Photos: Please note, that all the “Snail” images here on this post, were taken by Derrick Knight, who at my request, kindly delved through his many years of Archives, especially for this article and I am sincerely grateful for his generosity and diligence.

Winter Snails (a Haiku)



Autumn leaves did fall

A winter sun warms our souls

Snails renew their trail






Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

From the North (a Tanka)

Featured Image Above: Of the Kananaskis Mountains, Alberta, Canada (West of Calgary), taken by my uncle, Dick Meyer (Dec.), from August 1997 …


From The North




Winter will not die

Nor relinquish his title

Without a cold blast

Howling over frozen bones

Of ancestors who have passed






Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

Mankind’s Dirty Hands

My poem today is based on a poetic ‘comment’ that I wrote on the “Chatter Blog’s” site, after reading her interesting article. For those who follow Colleen’s site, would agree that all of her posts are thought provoking and interesting, and you may visit her article by clicking on this link >> https://bikecolleenbrown.wordpress.com/2021/12/29/hasnt-been-back/



Mankind’s Dirty Hands



I am an ancient oak tree

leaning against the prevailing breeze

the winds of time have shaped me

after blowing my disguise into the sea


now here I stand

a lifeless shadow

of leafless branches

within nature’s naked forest

waiting for mankind’s dirty hands

to stop the desert sands

from ravaging the last strands

of what remains hanging over our land





Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

“In the Valley of Light”, is published in Vita Brevis’ new anthology

I’m proud to announce that my poem “In the Valley of Light”, has been published in the Anthology “Nothing Divine Dies”, a poetry anthology about Nature, produce by Vita Brevis Press, which is Volume III, in their successful series of Anthologies, and my sincere thanks go to the editor Brian for kindly considering my poem.

“Nothing divine dies. All good is eternally reproductive. The beauty of nature reforms itself in the mind, and not for barren contemplation, but for new creation.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

From a shaft of sunlight warming the kitchen floor to a lush forest by Walden pond, what is it about experiencing nature that pleases and fulfills us? In the third volume of the Vita Brevis Poetry Anthology,established and emerging poets from around the world show what nature means to them. This is nature poetry at its most precise and moving, continuing the long tradition of Transcendentalism, deciphering ourselves and the world that sustains us — with art.

You may purchase this outstanding Anthology via these links
>> Paperback (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1737296519)
>> Ebook (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PDN3YGZ)



In the Valley of Light


The cold winds of change

Blow down from the mountain range

Gathering up lost souls estranged


Rescuing them from the forest of shadows

And release them into the sunny valleys of tomorrow


Where there is light, there is colour

Where there is colour, there is energy

Where there is energy, there is life





Ivor Steven (c) December 30th 2021

Nurture, Give, and Receive





Nurture, Give, and Receive




It’s a material world 

That leaves us in a whirl


What we really need 

Is a planet without greed 

That needs our minds to proceed

By growing and nurturing her seeds


Then our journey becomes that of the giver

Rather than being nature’s grieving receiver





Ivor Steven (c) December 2021