In the hazy mid‑morning light, the moon lingers above the trees as if carrying a memory too heavy to hold.
Descending
Descending through the treetops
the moon appears to stop —
pausing for a moment,
looking despondent.
Naturally, I ask
“Why such a gloomy face?”
“Only a millennium ago
the earth was a jungle of trees,
but now I perceive
only a fallow globe of woe.”
The moon moves on, whispering its sorrow to anyone willing to listen.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
Dear Readers and Fellow Contributors,
I’m delighted to share that Haiku for Soulmates has made a stunning debut — reaching #1 Amazon Bestseller in the US, Japan, and the UK. What an extraordinary achievement for everyone involved.
Gabriela Marie Milton, our editor, offers these beautiful words from her heart:
Gadriela: (the Editor) A few words from her heart:
“Haiku for Soulmates is a breathtaking collision of ancient tradition and the boundless, relentless auroras of the modern spirit.
Today, the world becomes a little smaller and infinitely more beautiful. As an editor and publisher, my heart overflows; witnessing this vision transition from a dream into a living, breathing masterpiece is a profoundly emotional moment. This is not just an anthology—it is a global sanctuary, a cinematic tapestry woven from the heartbeats of 200 extraordinary contributors.
From the sacred silence of its Japanese birthplace to the vibrant, shimmering horizons of voices spanning the globe, these pages hum with a rare, vertical excellence. We have captured the lightning of human connection and pressed it into ink.
To my brilliant contributors: you are the light that makes this aurora possible. To the world: I invite you to step into this gallery of the soul and lose yourself in the brilliance of the brief, the bold, and the transcendent.”
The journey begins now. Explore the anthology at the link below.
Link: https://us.amazon.com/Haiku-Soulmates-Literary-Revelations-ebook/dp/B0H161X18Q/
Learn more about Literary Revelations Publishing House >> Literary Revelations – Independent Publisher of Poetry and Prose
The Haiku below are my 5 contributions to the anthology.
Between hugging arms
From my elbows to your toes
An embrace we trust
Home is on my mind
Home is nearby, and afar
Home’s her distant star
Cloudless summer days
Sunlight kissing everything
I felt you with me
Our dreams connected
Across turbulent oceans
Waters of love found
Soft winter sunshine
Her sky’s raining blue diamonds
Warms my fragile heart
For every heartbeat woven into this anthology, here is a song for the souls who found each other across distance, silence, and light.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
“Some days the clear sky feels heavier than the clouds we can’t see. Today, the blue above me felt deeper than it looked.”
Drowning in Blue (a Tanka)
Exhaustipated
And discombobulated
Or maybe just tired
Of feeling like I’m drowning
In this endless wash of blue.
A song that drifts in the same blue.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
Hello, dear readers and followers. I contribute to Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) every second week, and I’m delighted to share that my latest poem, “An Interview With Time,” appears in the new issue. You can read it by following the link below.
>> An Interview With Time – Coffee House Writers
I’ve written about Time in many poems before, and a few of those familiar lines resurfaced as I shaped this one. It felt natural to bring them together here — especially on a day when Time was willing to cooperate and stand still for a moment.
In the stillness where Time stands present, let the music hold the vow that words can only touch.
.
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 account,
for the Book, plus Postage.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
A quiet moment at day’s end with a strange, familiar weight — the sky unravels into its darker self.
Before the Stars Arise
The evening’s curtain is half drawn
Long shadows spread across the lawn
The hessian horizon resembled the Dawn
As the hazy sky turned a colour fawn
Meanwhile, the bronze clouds groaned and yawned
As though they’d been wrongfully spawned and pawned
Then the world’s breath grows taut and thin
And the approaching darkness folds us in
Let the music carry the last light a little further into the evening.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
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
This morning arrived with a soft, icy hush — the kind of cold that settles on rooftops and lingers in the breath, even as the moon looks like an ice cube
The Cold Facts (a Haiku)
An icy morning
Wind-chill down to two degrees
The moon looks cold too!
Let this winter‑blue tune drift beneath the cold morning moon.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
These two haiku grew from different moments — the first shaped by the quiet colours in my own sky, the second written in response to Colleen’s moon‑lit Quadrille (link below). Together they trace a small passage from daylight’s pastel calm to the deeper bloom of night.
Link: Colleen’s post — The Moon flower, Quadrille, dVerse – Tanka Tuesday
Nature’s Canvas (two Haiku)
The white canvas clouds
Hover in front of the sun
Nature’s pastel sky
In darkness she blooms
The other side of the moon
Above her white tomb
For the moments we hold, and the ones that slip beyond us.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
Featured Image Above: A silly old black angel, flapping through another strange day on Earth.
This morning I sent this comment to Gigi’s post — her unbelievable story truly blew me away. Her words sparked something in me, and from that spark I shaped this composite poem. Here’s the original piece that set everything in motion: “A very silly short story…” by Rethinking Life. And Gigi’s reply afterwards said it all: “Ivor, that was wonderful. Can’t thank you enough.”
>> A very silly short story… | Rethinking Life
I’m a Silly Old Black Angel
Beauty is a thing everywhere,
but the definition changes constantly
according to place and species.
Maybe I’m supposed to bring peace to earth,
but no one can do that.
This place is all crazy,
and there’s no argument
against the truth — right!
Life on Earth is so unfair,
and I think I’m supposed to
do something about that too,
but I’ve no idea.
Everything seems so unjust.
I’ll think about it later
What if there is no later?
I suppose then, it won’t matter.
But does anything matter?
“No,” I thought.
And then all of my words,
just kind of flew away.
A quiet place to land, while the world keeps turning beneath my wings.
Ivor Steven © May 2026
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 