Category: Poems

café courtyard

my chromatic citadel

a comfy circle

of calm citizens

closely coexisting

the clock casually chimes



crunchy cereal comes

crazy cranberries

and cool cherries

cultured coffee

cinnamon cake

with celestial chords

by Cohen and Cave

and Cyndi’s choral classic

caressing city central

Ivor Steven (c) December 2020.

A big thank you to Beth for inspiring my self indulgent poem here, from her thought provoking article >> https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2020/12/14/can-you-write/


A Spacey Eighty, Ten Years On

the quill is shaky 

ink’s leaky and streaky 

my dry skin is itchy 

and old bones are achy 

I am a flower child of the sixties

and after a crunchy brekkie 

followed by a coffee and cakey 

despite a shady plaguy

maybe I will ably write daily 

when I’m a spacey eighty 

Ivor Steven (c) December 2020

Two thousand and twenty

Dramatic events a plenty

Firstly the worst bush-fires for a century

When Mother-nature became the enemy

Then a foreign virus exploded

And Earth’s atmosphere corroded

Our lives turned cloudy and uncrowded

Covid even bloated and reloaded

No country was immune

And the World spun all out of tune



Here in Aussie-land normality returns for Christmas

And here’s cheers to next years unfinished business

Cheers

Ivor ((Hugs & Kisses))

Ivor Steven (c) December 2020

The featured image above, is my photo of a painting by Graeme Altman, titled ‘Hopeful-return’, while on display at the Boom Gallery in Geelong, during September 2018.


A Fish Out Of Water



I am not immortal

nor am I immune

I am a speck of rust

slowly fading into dust



I cannot walk on water

nor do I swim like an otter

I am a stoic starfish

motionless and sun blemished



I cannot soar beyond the sky

nor can I float like a butterfly

I am a flightless lyrebird

raucous and eternally seeking the word

Ivor Steven (c) December

I’m Radioactive


Life is a waiting game

Between scans and closing door frames

I am waiting for a nuclear cardio stress test

And X-rays of my radioactive chest



The numbing sensation is surreal

Inside a buzzing tunnel I am sealed

Where magnetic photos are taken

And I am waiting, feeling forsaken



“Damn.” The negatives were not clear enough

I wait another hour for the next shot of dyestuff

Back behind those closing door frames

Life’s finality is a waiting game

Ivor Steven (c) December 2020

I’m watching the crowd strolling by

Masks are casually dangling like schoolboy ties

And now I see everyone’s smiling faces

Winners are grinners and free to go places



We endured lonely lockdowns and restriction dangers

Then successfully obeyed the rules of our Lone-Rangers

And bravely negotiated the low tides of dark seas

Today community happiness bows and greets me

The Covid bastard is drowning in our summer breeze

And together we have beaten a heartless disease



Ivor Steven (c) December 2020.

Heartless Bastards. Lyrics
“Skin And Bone”

Spent my time here as a child,
And now I’m passing through here and it’s all coming back again.
Dilapidated buildings down on Main.
This small town was crumbling down, it was hard for me to stay.

And, oh, I, I find after all this time,
I am back here filled with all these memories.
Bittersweet, my home skin and bone.
This rust has worn through tearing up beneath the seams.

Driving down Salem Avenue.
It’s all so familiar now, but so many things have changed.
And the rain came down all around.
Washed away the industry, washed it to the sea.

And, oh, I, I find after all this time,
I am back here filled with all these memories.
Bittersweet, my home skin and bone.
This rust has worn through tearing up beneath the seams.
And, oh, I want it to be like when I was young.
Oh, I want it to be like when I was young.

Ooh, ooh, ooh.

I am needing the solace of my courtyard

When will life’s tasks become too hard

Am I finally to be considered too old

Despite my partial return from the cold

I am not to worry nor feel sorry

The winding road home is in no hurry

And I detour off my rocky path

To rewrite my wordless epitaph

Here in the comfort of my favourite Cafe

With a sweet cake and a soothing coffee

And enjoy a chat with the friendly waitress Alex

Then I recite this poem, she smiles, and we both relax

Ivor Steven (c) December 2020

I wrote this poem after reading Ali Grimshaw’s post/poem this morning, and as I sometimes do, I commented on her piece with a poetic anecdote. You can view Ali’s site and poem via clicking on this link >> https://flashlightbatteries.blog/2020/12/05/weather-forecast-poem-by-ali-grimshaw/


Yesterday’s Storms

today words fell off the weatherman’s chart

some misty clouds with rainbow arcs

there will be windy circles and sunny parts

dotted isobars will blow over old landmarks

bringing bold fronts and false starts

with possible heavy rain and lightning darts

and yesterday’s storms were pieces of dark art

that passed through our hearts

Ivor Steven (c) December 2020