A warm autumn sky, a bright afternoon, and a half‑moon trying not to be noticed.
Our Shy Half-moon
In our sunny Autumn sky,
the afternoon’s silvery half-moon
is naturally simple to pinpoint.
Especically
if you study your moon-chart app’
before you dip your eyes
into the dazzling blue yonder.
But beware — do not stare.
Our daytime moon is rather shy
about being exposed
by the sun’s intrusive glare.
A bright little moon‑tune to echo beneath the daylight sky.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
As the sky deepened to red, the day’s meaning settled softly around us.
Over at Weekly Prompts, it’s the weekend of the month, which means it’s time for the One-Day Prompt. Here in Australia, it’s that One Day of the year when we commemorate ANZAC Day. To visit the Weekly Prompts site, please click on >> Here
Lest We Forget (a Haiku)
Twilight’s blood red sky
Quietly reminded us
About ANZAC Day
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in July 2022) is drawn from my third book, Until Eyes Hear Sound. It appears in Chapter 5: Observation, Until Eyes Hear Sound.
A Torn Thesaurus
With my fiddle and riddles
Here in the middle
Of this unopened universe
Time spirals in reverse
Quills fly in from cyberspace
As alien words unravel and interlace
A torn thesaurus is my database
I wonder
Have I landed in the right place?
.
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 © April 2026
A quiet moment at dusk, evening settling softly around me, unaware the sky hosted its own surprise to share.
Lucky Man: an Evening Surprise (a Tanka)
There I stood waiting
for the wattlebird to fly
out of his gum tree.
Quickly, I snapped a photo —
surprise … do you see it too?”
Sometimes you’re just lucky enough to be standing in the right place at the right time.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
“There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” … Leonard Cohen
“The sky cracked open for a heartbeat, and the light played its own soft melody.”
Through the Widening Crack
Twilight’s canopy of clouds
eclipses the evening sky
with an embracing violet shroud.
However, the squinting sunlight
was silently trying to wave goodbye
through the widening crack
above the sun’s transient eye.
And there on nature’s colourful curtain,
I saw columns of light
ascend the nebulous mountain;
then I wondered
whether I was witnessing the world’s
grand celestial pipe organ
playing a lullaby to the purple night
Ivor Steven © April 2026
At our Dome group meeting, Jen — our chairperson — said, “I’m not here next meeting, so we need to choose a theme for next month.” A few of us laughed, and someone replied, “Well, I’m Not Here sounds like a theme in itself.” And just like that, the idea settled over us, light as a wink.
The Geelong Library and Heritage Centre … affectionately known as The Dome.
And for Sadje’s, What do you see # 337- 20 April, 2026, I chose her first prompt image >> What do you see # 337- 20 April, 2026 – Keep it alive
This image shows someone holding three cups and the cups are made in the image of a woman’s face. The expression on the three cups are slightly different from each other.
I’m Not Here
I’m not here — I’m in limbo,
behind a solitary glass window,
there on the north side of the Dome;
it stands out like a fairy’s magical home.
I’m not here, but I am somewhere
high above the Gingko in the fresh air,
where I hear the fairy Godmother’s vacant chair
whisper haunting poetic quotes by Voltaire.
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget
to sing in the lifeboats.” ~ Voltaire
“The right to free speech is more important
than the content of the speech.” ~ Voltaire
“Many are destined to reason wrongly;
others, not to reason at all; and others,
to persecute those who do reason.” ~ Voltaire
And still, from that quiet window in the Dome,
I’m not here — yet somehow feeling at home.
Somewhere between presence and absence, the music carries what words can’t quite hold.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
After a stretch of nostalgic posts and tender reflections, I found myself drawn back to the calm of the outdoors today. There’s something reassuring about standing under a wide sky, watching a flock move as one — a reminder that even a quiet gatecrasher can find a place to belong.
One of the Crowd
Beneath the drifting clouds,
within the circling flock
who ritually gather
from all around the block,
I enjoy being one of the crowd —
and I’m socially allowed
to be a peaceful gatecrasher.
In the easy company of wings and drifting light, I found my way back to calm.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
At our Dome group meeting, Jen — our chairperson — said, “I’m not here next meeting, so we need to choose a theme for next month.” A few of us laughed, and someone replied, “Well, I’m Not Here sounds like a theme in itself.” And just like that, the idea settled over us, light as a wink.
The Geelong Library and Heritage Centre … affectionately known as The Dome.
I’m Not Here
I’m not here — I’m in limbo,
behind a solitary glass window,
there on the north side of the Dome,
it stands out like a fairy’s magical home.
I’m not here, but I am somewhere
high above the Gingko in the fresh air,
where I hear the fairy Godmother’s vacant chair
whisper haunting poetic quotes by Voltaire.
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” ~ Voltaire
“The right to free speech is more important than the content of the speech.” ~ Voltaire
“Many are destined to reason wrongly; others, not to reason at all; and others, to persecute those who do reason.” ~ Voltaire
And still, from that quiet window in the Dome,
I’m not here — yet somehow feeling at home.
As the evening sky burned low, it carried me back to a younger road — one lit with promise, before time dimmed the colours I thought would last.
Today, the Weekend Challenge on Weekly Prompts is the word “Interlude.” To visit their fabulous site, please click >> Here
Along This Road
Once upon a time —
when I was young, and life glowed,
I came along this road
where twilight’s crimson light
meets the edge of night.
Beyond once upon a time,
I saw her candle of joy turn white,
and her happy fire fell out of sight.
Thereafter, her merciless plight
became an ongoing, cruel fight.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Today arrived with a hush, stirring old memories and opening a space to sit with love and loss.
Today
Today,
the misty clouds are not moving,
and my world has stopped rotating.
Today,
time became becalmed
in a blue lagoon
full of my memories and rhymes
Today
I felt her angelic soul reminding me,
“Stay there for a while longer,
let me linger in your loving heartbeat.
I’ll let this song carry the feeling that lingers.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 