Category: Poems

Who Owns Our “Promised Land”

Today’s poem is one of my verses made up of comments I posted on some of my fellow WordPress writers’ articles during the month … In stanza order, they are:

Dwight >> https://rothpoetry.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/beauty-or-beast/
Beth >> https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2025/04/04/enter-the-penguins/
Eugi >> https://amanpan.com/2025/04/10/shedding-masks-a-journey-from-darkness-to-light/
Violet >> https://violetslentz.home.blog/2025/04/10/a-perfect-fit/
Louise >> https://dareboldly.com/2025/03/31/raw-of-rage-fear-and-release/

** The word “Sinuous” is the weekend challenge at Weekly Prompts. Please go and visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here.
I think my poem below could be classified as a “Sinuous Poem”




Who Owns Our “Promised Land”

We know it’s nature’s way
Survival is not a showy ballet
And birds don’t have holidays

The clever little penguins will display their true mettle
When all the showy snowflakes finally settle
They are going to resell their snowy wonderland
Back to the ‘Promised Land’, for a million-grand

Shedding those old tacky masks
Maybe a refractory task

Our perfection is impossible
The dejection is horrible
His resurrection is improbable

Rage is for the stage
Fear is always near
Release me, piece by piece






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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


Ivor Steven © April 2025

A Poet and a Handyman





A Poet and a Handyman




Today I completed making two book display easels
for my upcoming market bookstalls
There happened to be some discarded timber
lying on the ground at the building site next door.
The tradesmen had finished the job a month ago
and these sturdy slats of wood had been left behind.

“Waste not want not”
“One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure”
“Opportunity knocks”
“Fortune favours the brave”

My handyman’s mind clicked into gear
and I drafted a rough sketch of my project
I knew the size of the books I wanted to exhibit
and I had all the appropriate tools in my shed

Remembering my dad’s trusted catchphrase
“Measure twice, cut once” (and with my music playing)
My creation, (and a few trial and error mistakes)
gradually began to take shape.

Of course, there is nothing like a good coat of paint
to cover up the defects and give my masterpiece
that final seal of opaque professionalism!






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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


Ivor Steven © April 2025

All My Leaves Are Brown





All My Leaves Are Brown



Here I sway on barren ground
my leaves have turned brown
and are sullenly looking down,
my branches are going brittle
withering away little by little

I have heard passersby say
“That tree is dying and
should be taken away”

Then I think to myself
“Maybe they’ll make me into a bookshelf
for the Library at the Tree Hospital”






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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



Ivor Steven © April 2025

Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku. Edited by, Gabiela Marie Milton

I am excited to announce that five of my Haiku poems have been selected for the upcoming Literary Revelations Publication, Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku (coming in the second part of April). Thank you to the editor, Gabriela, for her kind consideration.



ON THE BACK OF THE COVER

Following the overwhelming success of “Petals of Haiku,” which captured hearts and souls and became an Amazon bestseller, Literary Revelations Publishing House brings you “Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku.” This new anthology will enchant readers with its delicate imagery and transitory moments, which inscribe themselves in eternity. Featuring nearly 260 talented authors, each bringing their talent and unique perspectives, Tranquility invites you to immerse yourself in a world where night flowers bloom and whispers linger in the spring air. Poets are prophets linked to nature. Haiku is their language.  

THOUGHTS ON HAIKU

In haiku, seriousness and fun coexist beautifully, reminding us that it is okay to embrace both sides of our daily experiences. Consider how haiku can reflect on life’s weighty themes sometimes with a lighthearted twist. The god of haiku knows that laughter is just as profound as solemnity.

In philosophy, solemnity can feel heavy—like wearing an overstuffed winter coat on a sunny day. But then comes laughter, lightening the load and reminding us that life is not all deep dives; sometimes, it’s about splashing in puddles most graciously and beautifully.






Ivor Steven (c) April 2025

A Cayenne Sunset




A Cayenne Sunset

From in between the evening tide clouds
The sun proudly unveils a spectacle for the crowd

The fluorescent setting sun converges
With the horizon’s shimmering verges
Just before the cayenne sun submerges

And just then
I imagined the sun to be a yellow submarine
Entering the Earth’s sacred Sistine






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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


Ivor Steven © April 2025

Throwback Friday, Beyond Dark, There is Light (Revised)

Today’s Throwback Friday poem is from July 2021.



Beyond Dark, There is Light (Revised)




Looking back
What do you see?
Tall mountains and a dark sky that surround me

Looking back
What do you see?
Bottomless wells and a deep river inside me

Looking back
What do you see?
Melted snowflakes and icy tears that drown me

Looking back
What do you see?
Treasured memories and a brave soul that revives me






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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


Ivor Steven © April 2025



Statuettes and Silhouettes

A Silhouette Quote: “The faceless silhouettes seemed to look at each other, as if wishing they could resolve the situation between themselves, without having to trouble their owners.”
― Hernan Diaz, Trust






Statuettes and Silhouettes


Without Indulging in the planet’s regrets
Or wearing any showy epaulets
Our golden sun peacefully sets

Meanwhile
From the shady balconies of the ruler’s minarets

When will our world’s shadowy statuettes
Leave the safety of their bassinets
And unite our twilight’s
Xenophobic silhouettes?






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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


Ivor Steven © April 2025

The Sun Loves Everything (a Haiku)

Photo credit; Rob Mulally @ Unsplash

Today, my Haiku is in response to Sadje’s WDYS # 282. To visit her fabulous site please click on >> Here

Below are my ‘Sunny Bird Images’ from yesterday







The Sun Loves Everything (a Haiku)


From above the doves
The sun kisses everything
In the name of love






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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

Ivor Steven © April 2025

Oh, My Waning Moon, is in this week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine edition.

Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Oh, My Waning Moon” is in this week’s edition. …
To read my poem, please click on the link below to visit the article, at Coffee House Writers Magazine.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/oh-my-waning-moon/






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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

Ivor Steven © April 2025

One Day, or: Bless My Soul


Today’s poem was my inspired poetic response to David’s “Sijo”, ‘Of all things, or: Bridge to nowhere’. >> https://skepticskaddish.com/2025/03/28/of-all-things-or-bridge-to-nowhere/
Over at Weekly Prompts, since it’s the last weekend of the month, “One Day” is again the monthly Prompt! To visit their fabulous site, please click on >> Here


One Day, or: Bless My Soul



Beneath our feet, there lies a common mound
Between our ears, the winds of time hear no sound
Below our eyes, the promised land cannot be found
Within our hearts, we share the lost and drowned

Beyond our souls, the world’s burial grounds
Belong to the hounds, who run the battlegrounds






Ivor Steven © March 2025