

My Facial Trim (a Haiku by Frankie)
My boos cut my hair
I haven’t seen a mirror yet!
Do I look Ok?
Ivor Steven & Frankie (c) November 2025


My Facial Trim (a Haiku by Frankie)
My boos cut my hair
I haven’t seen a mirror yet!
Do I look Ok?
Ivor Steven & Frankie (c) November 2025
Throwback Friday: Shadows Revisited. First shared in January 2025, this poem now finds its place as the opening to my upcoming collection, Time Hears No Sound.




The final proofreading of my upcoming poetry collection, Time Hears No Sound, is nearly complete. This weekend marks the last quiet read-through before I send it off to my editor and publisher (Judy). Meanwhile, my talented cover designer (Kerri) is crafting the book’s visual soul. There’s still a journey ahead, but everything is unfolding beautifully. Thank you for walking beside me.
Lost and Found – or – There, Here, and Where?
There
Lying on solid ground,
my shallow shadow wears no face
And utters no sound.
Here
My outline bears no carapace.
Where
On a graveside mound,
I see my darkness —
waiting to be found.

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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 © November 2025





“Then, contented with my state,
Where true pleasure may be seen,
Let me envy not the great,
On a cheerful village green.” … from “The Village Green”, a poem by Jane Taylor.
The Village Green (a Tanka)
There’s something calming
About watching birds flying
At the village green
Among the picnickers and
Through our springtime’s shady trees
Ivor Steven (c) November2025




A Warm and Wet Spring Day
Our ever-changing spring is here again.
We’ve been walking between affectionate raindrops,
dodging the refilling, familiar puddles,
and watching Mudlark’s waddle in the ponds
We’ve appreciated nature’s flirtatious ways
refreshing our frazzled faculties.
Ivor Steven © November 2025
Featured Image Above: Black-and-white photo of a street art mural depicting a tug-of-war between a Russian and Ukrainian soldier on a war memorial in Izyum, Ukraine. (Getty Images photo)

Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Restore Rapport” is in this week’s edition.
Written in the quiet hours of early morning, Restore Rapport is a poetic protest against the machinery of war and the silence that surrounds it. Inspired by the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, this piece asks: Where is the understanding? What are innocent lives being sacrificed for?


“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” — Einstein
To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/restore-rapport/

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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 © November 2025






Sunlit wanderers above the trees—wattlebirds in motion, igniting the sky with feathered sparks and poetic wonder.
Wings of the Sun (a Tanka)
They often ask why
I love to watch wattlebirds
Fly under the sun:
“their colourful plumes ignite
my eye’s imagination.”
Ivor Steven (c) November 2025
“Time Hears No Sound”
Good news! I’ve completed the first draft of my manuscript and have begun the initial proofreading phase. I’m delighted to share that my previous editor and publisher, Judy Rankin, along with the talented cover designer and illustrator, Kerri Costello, have both agreed to join me on this new project. Their support means the world as I take this next step.
Manuscript Details: 189 poems, 177 pages, and 11,555 words.


Proofreading at the Cafe
There’s a manuscript in my knapsack,
Traveling along with every step I take
Proofreading is a necessary backtrack –
Page after page, in between coffee breaks,
Until the task is completed,
Even if I am feeling exhaustipated.
‘On the Nature of Daylight‘ by Max Richter — the kind of music I listen to while proofreading. Gentle, expansive, and quietly stirring, it helps me hear the silence between the words.
Ivor Steven (c) November 2025










Over at Weekly Prompts, the Colour Challenge for the Month is Grey. To visit their fabulous site, please click >> Here
Silhouettes in the Grey Sky
Like bright black opals
The Wattlebirds silhouettes
Adorned the grey sky
Ivor Steven (c) November 2025



“On Halloween, the moon casts spells in silver.” — Ivorian folklore
Bright-eyed (a Haiku)
The Halloween moon
Bright-eyed in the twilight sky
No one saw you sigh
Ivor Steven (c) November 2025
Featured Image: This is evening’s Halloween Twilight Sky



This evening’s Halloween twilight sky





Sorry, no bats! But plenty of bird silhouettes in the Halloween sky …
A big thank you to Cheryl, the ‘Gulf Coast Poet’, for inspiring my whimsical poem.
>> What are You Afraid of? | Gulf Coast Poet
Who’s Afraid?
“Don’t be afraid”
It’s easier said than done
What about
The shady Everglades
And the deadly Nightshade
I, for one
Like my bats underdone
Ivor Steven (c) October 31st 2025