Category: Photos

Ring the Bells

Featured Image Above: Kalanchoe delagoensis, commonly known as Mother of Thousands, Chandelier Plant.







Ring the Bells


The paternal magpies are singing
The garden bells are ringing
Spring is playfully emerging

The wattle trees are flowering
The meadow grasses are growing
But, Theo the tomatoe is struggling






Ivor Steven (c) September 2025

Dr Ivor, My Regeneration

✈️🕰️ Jet lag defeated, regeneration complete. Meet Dr Ivor, freshly restored and ready to roam the cosmos—with Frankie by his side and ‘Itmims’ humming in orbit.





Dr Ivor, My Regeneration

On the fourth day of slumber, down under,
my regeneration did finally materialise.
Every cell in my body has been restored.
Replaced with a new, healthy cell.
Presumably, my DNA has changed as well
The only thing that hasn’t changed
is my quintessential core-
that is me, Ivor the time traveler,
in my rusty spacecraft, Itmims, **
with my trusty companion, Frankie

** Itmims – Ivor’s Time Machine In Micro Space







Ivor Steven (c) September 2025

Today, Twenty-Five Years Ago (a Tanka)




Today, Twenty-Five Years Ago (a Tanka)

Once upon a time
In a land of ice and rhyme
Darkness was my crime
When a rift of hollow mime
Ravaged my body and mind


“The Throwback poem that began the great Rowback”




Who’s Left to Row the Boat

The storms are too many to count
Emotional lows had weathered me out
Her journey with MS was a struggle
How much lower could our lives sink

After fourteen years of our battles, I suffered a Stroke
An ambulance came, my brain was in a boat
Floating out to sea, overboard and panic-stricken
I wasn’t swimming, barely awake, and drifting
I had fallen, nothing was working, and not talking
She’s crying, I’m sobbing, my heart is dying
And who’s left to row the boat, I’m thinking
I was jabbed with a needle and silently sleeping

I awoke a day later, in hospital, feeling wasted
My face was limp, mouth parched, was that death I tasted
My mind was active, I thought, where is she
I knew I was bad; the room was all blurry to me
Strong anxieties had set in, I needed to know
Nurses came to me, I pleaded, I wanted to go
“Help me to see her, just give my bed a tow
Please let me go, before I’m covered in snow”





Ivor Steven (c) September 20th, 2025

Throwback Friday, It Was Time To Leave

Cousin Lynn and Robin with Mungo and Kelly

Cousin Maureen and doggies Z-Z and Co-Co

Cousin Penny, and then Dave, Penny, and Ivor

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Here I am on a Jet Plane, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Therefore today’s Throwback Friday poem is a very appropriate finale piece, to coincide with my amazing adventures in Canada over the past 21 days.

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It Was Time To Leave (Revised)

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It’s time to tidy up my mess
Clean up the room and get dressed
It’s time to pack my suitcase
Fill the travel bag and vacate this place
It’s time to put on my famous rocker shoes
And walk away from this dream come true
It’s time to say heartfelt goodbyes
To these wonderful Canadian guys
It’s time for final hugs and kisses
Sad farewells and best wishes
It’s time for my usual emotional tears
Separate myself from these every day cheers
It’s time to flyaway from a land of berries and fairies
Leave this magical world of faraway families
It’s time to say a million thank you’s
For making my stay a Really Real great do
It’s time for me to travel back home
With glorious memories of this magical Astrodome

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Ivor Steven (c) September 2025