Photos – Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Sublime Time

Written for this month’s Dome Poets theme, “Landscapes”, this poem reflects upon a twilight walk with Frankie. As day slowly yielded to evening, the changing sky transformed a familiar landscape into a moment that felt both sublime and surreal.

Sublime Time

The landscape changes, yet the sky
remembers every path taken,
between sunrise and sunset.

My walking companion, Frankie, and I
prefer the grandeur of the sun’s twilight time,
which is always a sublime time
to explore nature’s wondrous tapestry.

her rostrum’s down lights are on theatrical display,
pastel hues of mauve, gold, and hessian grey
creating a silent chromatic archway
above the earthy silhouettes of trees and birds.

For a surreal, sublime moment,
there we stood upon life’s cosmic causeway.

From earthly pathways to life’s cosmic causeway, as twilight deepened and the sky unveiled its chromatic tapestry, this E.L.O. classic seemed a fitting companion for the journey.

Ivor Steven © November 2026

Them and Us (a Tanka)

Sometimes it takes a bird’s-eye view to notice how far we’ve drifted from the natural world that sustains us. High above the patchwork of human endeavour, two birds travel together, their shared gaze falling upon a world that feels increasingly unfamiliar.

Them and Us (a Tanka)

There are two of us
Flying with wing tips touching
We gaze down and frown
Why’s the world’s unfriendly crust
Looking so artificial

Perhaps the birds see more clearly than we do. The accompanying song seemed a natural companion for the poem’s final observation.

Ivor Steven © November 2026

I Am Not Here Nor There

Today’s poem is one of my verses made up of Anecdote fragments, reshaped from comments I posted on some of my fellow WordPress writers’ articles over the last couple of months.
In stanza order, they are:
Mark – THE AGE – Havoc and Consequence
David – W3 Prompt #224: Wea’ve Written Weekly – The Skeptic’s Kaddish
Bree – Ribbon – Secret Thoughts Within
Nancy – Untold Story: A Quatrain – The Elephant’s Trunk
Nancy – Tell Me, Wind – The Elephant’s Trunk

I Am Not Here Nor There

When I was young and still alive
It was the Age of Aquarius,
there were no artificial hard drives
and worshiping the sun wasn’t temerarious

I am not aware
that the age is now, here nor there
I cannot find the fare
I’ve no one to tell me where

Loose bows and ribbons
Empty gloves and mittens
And youthfully smitten

Twilight time, the spring bugs are buzzing
As I sit under the verandah light
And gaze at my courtyard’s little garden
Frankie’s lying on the back door mat
I reach down and give him a pat
He gives me that quizzical doggie look,
And I reassuringly say to him
“Yep, it’s time to plant the sunflower seeds.”

The heavy lazy wind sighs and howls
then gently awakens the wise old owls
while blowing open the books of souls.

From a collection of thoughts, this “Ageless” classic tune seemed a fitting companion for today’s journey.

Ivor Steven © November 2026

Throwback Friday, A Snowman Falls

Please Note: The featured image above was created by Copilot and me.

I wrote this satirical poem in November 2020. Given the political fallout following last week’s election results, it seemed an appropriate time to dust it off and give it another airing.

A Snowman Falls (revised)

The writing is on the wall
Did you see the words fall?
Twittered in red, white, and blue scrawl
The letters fell ridiculous and tall
Weird, like a frozen Niagara Falls
Announcing the new overhaul
Choirs sang within tenement halls
Medicine-men debuted at the White House ball
And did you hear the snowman fall?
Liquefied by his own fiery cannonballs.

Some memories melt with the seasons, while others remain warm long after the snow has gone. This beautiful live performance feels like a fitting soundtrack to those enduring memories.

Ivor Steven © November 2026

Journeying

A wattlebird’s song drifted across the afternoon, setting my thoughts wandering beyond the nearby branches. Some journeys take us across landscapes, while others begin with a birdsong and wander among the stars.

Journeying

I was dreamily listening
to a wattlebird singing,
wandering and journeying
in and out of thinking
about us wayward earthlings

Will we ever traverse
our destructive, warring curse?
We are but a tiny dust speck
within this vast universe

Is our infinitesimal dot
another hovering cosmic shipwreck
living on the brink
of some black hole’s parking lot?

Here on my verandah’s starry deck,
I sense that nature is tiring
of being the planet’s wet nurse.

From a wattlebird’s song to thoughts of the cosmos, this gentle tune seemed a fitting companion for the journey home

Ivor Steven © November 2026

Sky Blue Dome (a Tanka)

Some days the sky feels larger than usual. On a sunny blue-sky day, a fantail and a butterfly briefly shared the same boundless canvas above, inspiring this tanka about wonder, flight, and Nature’s sunlit cosmic dome.

Sky Blue Dome (a Tanka)

I see a Fantail
En route to his sky-blue home
And a butterfly
Bravely fluttering toward
Nature’s sunlit cosmic dome

As this tanka found its wings, then a song arrived, as if it had been part of the journey all along.

Ivor Steven © November 2026

Snakes in the Grass (Revised)

“A blade of grass is the journeywork of the stars.”
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Snakes in the Grass

Through my eyes of broken glass
I see a holy battleground’s
Blades of bloodied lemongrass
Are still being voraciously mowed down

With my soul drowning in molten brass
I hear the sands of time blowing past
The desperate outstretched hands
Of the world’s prevailing peaceful class

Beneath skies of darkening light
I feel whispers falling upon this warring blight
Why does truth linger on our damaged blindside
While fear and falsehoods hide?

Some battles are fought in fields, others in hearts. Beneath every blade of grass, a story waits unseen, and sometimes quiet warnings arrive on the gentlest breeze.

Ivor Steven © November 2026

Two Crowns

Some evening skies seem to wear a crown of their own. These three photographs inspired a short reflection on the changing shapes of cloud and light as day drifts into twilight.

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Colour Challenge for October is Grey/Gray. To visit their fabulous site, please click >> Here.

Two Crowns

Eventide

The sun is settling down
behind the horizon’s heliotrope clouds
draped in ribbons of golden brown

Twilight Time

the clouds are drifting down
over the horizon’s terraced treetops
cloaked by the corpulent sky’s chunky crown

Beyond Time

Nature’s wonders are our world’s comfy eiderdown
surrounding the horizon’s mystical realm:
there endures the planet’s glorious crown

Some crowns are worn for a moment, others endure beyond time. The beauty of our world asks for nothing more than to be noticed.

Throwback Friday, Followed By Two, featuring Part 2, “An Answer Follows”

I wrote this poem in November 2017 during one of my neuralgia attacks. At the time, I genuinely felt as though I was approaching the end of the road. Yet, in the end, it could not happen. There was simply too much love surrounding me. The poem was written in two parts, and for Part 2, “An Answer Follows”, my dear friend Terry Fielding later composed a song using those words. The audio recording is included below.

What began as a poem during a difficult time was later transformed into song by my dear friend, Terry Fielding.

Throwback Friday, Followed By Two, featuring Part 2, “An Answer Follows”

Part 1. One Day Follows

The abyss is bigger, not less
On these days of darkness
The owls are singing sad tunes
On these days of bad moons
The brain is harpooned again
On these days of constant pain
The sunshine has gone, I confess
On these days of over stress
The mind has little attitude
On these days of sleepy solitude

Part 2. An Answer Follows

You’ve all walked into my heart
And you’ve run into my past
You’ve all flooded into my soul
And you’ve soared into my dreams
I crave that … one day soon
Tomorrow, or another day too
That all your kind hearts
Will be bathing themselves
In the soothing oils
Of your glorious souls

Music has long been part of Terry’s life. Before listening to our collaboration, enjoy this performance of The Fields of Athenry, recorded in his home studio.

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.

Steve the Snail Goes Swimming (a Tanka)

After overnight rain, a puddle became an ocean and Steve the Snail became an explorer. Setting out with water wings and a sense of adventure, he inspired this playful tanka about a determined voyage in search of the sea.

Steve the Snail Goes Swimming (a Tanka)

I’m a floating home
An old snail with water wings
Dancing and swimming
A real amphibian
Bravely searching for the sea

Some journeys begin with a puddle and a little imagination. Steve was already searching for the sea when “Ocean” arrived to accompany him on the way.