Category: Poems

Today’s Slate-Grey Sky





Today’s Slate-Grey Sky

Dark as tomorrow’s blackboard
Dreary as a bitumen road

Dim like a bat’s cave
Dull like Santa’s razor blade

Dingy and dankly humid
Dowdy as a politician’s banal promise

Dawn to dusk
Daylight has lost its shine
Dethroned by a dusty slate-grey sky










All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
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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 (c) November 2024

Sharing





Sharing



I am a scrubby tree
Shaggy like a wild woolly bee
However, the birds always befriend me
Perching on my bent knees
And pecking at my flowers and leaves
Like a flock of grub-thieves


I am unselfish and kind
And intuitively, I do not mind
My branches are there to be shared
My sacred patch has been spared
And is politically unimpaired














All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm



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 (c) November 2024

Thoughts Winnow Into Words


Thanks to Mad Missy, of MAD – Works blog site (https://mad-missy-work.blog/2024/11/23/embracing-the-struggle/).
I wrote a poetic response to her thoughtful poem, “Embracing the Struggle”, which I later edited to create my poem ‘Thoughts Winnow Into Words’





Thoughts Winnow Into Words

Words waver and wander around
In the weighty shadows of the whispering moon
And we warily wonder why
But there’s no need to worry


Thoughts winnow into words
When wistful eyes hear sound











All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm



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 (c) November 2024


Damage Control

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word: Damaged
Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here





Damage Control

“What is the matter
What does it matter
What, is not matter” … Ivor

Do not worry about the damage
Caused by malicious matter outside
We are all mere morsels
Within Nature’s Brewing pot

Bubbling and gurgling away together
Atop of the earth’s volcanic well

“We cannot be consoled
Nor can we be controlled
By the Corporate bankroll” … Ivor











All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm



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 (c) November 2024

Throwback Friday, A Line in the Sand

For today’s Throwback Friday poem, written in April 2021, I have revised the first stanza and altered the final line.  



A Line in the Sand (Revised #3)

Did you hear the latest hocus pocus?
About the world’s leaders’ lack of focus
Who resemble mythical fiery dragons
Ready to torch the refugee wagons
With their sponsored guns and cannons

In my mind, I am searching for the olive tree
Please come walk with me
We will go to the seashore
And watch the dove’s soar

Hold my other hand
As I scribe a line in the sand

A message to the sky
Love and peace I decry
Will I receive an honest reply?
Or nothing, but more blind eyes?










All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm



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 (c) November 2024

Full Moon Rising

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Wednesday challenge is – Nurturing. To visit their fabulous site, click on >> Here
Today, my poem is about the “Nurturing”/guiding powers of the full moon.


Full Moon Rising



I am an aging seagull
And I must be out of my skull

Thinking that I’m fit enough
To fly further than the bluff

No matter, there is a full moon
To guide me across this barren dune

My journey is a lonely one
But I’m not to be outdone

I know there is another blue ocean
Beyond this World’s wavering horizon









All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm


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 (c) November 2024

Live and Let Die





Live and Let Die

The misty Full Moon sighed
My garden Magpie cried
And the Twilight Bunnies
In a startled stride
Ran away to hide

The Titan Arum* flower had died
And with compassionate pride
I felt like a loveless bride
Speechless and teary-eyed



* Titan Arum, the Corpse Plant.








All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm


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 (c) November 2024

The Wounded Blackbirds, 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 “The Wounded Blacbirds” 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/the-wounded-blackbirds/



 








All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm



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 (c) November 2024

Not Perfect, But Valuable

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”
– Alice Walker


Over at Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word; Watch … to visit their fabulous click on >> Here
My poem below was prompted by Watching the tree’s different shaped trunks and roots



Not Perfect, But Valuable



My roots are splayed and distorted
But I am not disabled
My trunk is grey and twisted
But I am alive and growing


My branches are soft and frail
But I am mentally and physically
Strong enough to reach for the sky
And propagate my life-giving leaves


“The true meaning of life
is to plant trees,
under whose shade
you do not expect to sit” … Nelson Henderson











All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm



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 (c) November 2024

The “Corpse” is Blooming

This afternoon, we went to Geelong Botanical Gardens again, to view the now infamous “Corpse Plant” blooming.
The queue into the Conservatory stretched all the way back to the Gardens entry gate, and during my time at the Gardens, the queue was not diminishing. The rare and unique event had attracted thousands of visitors.
We lined up for 40 minutes until we in the viewing area, but our wait was rewarded with the flower’s extraordinary spectacle …

In the very long queue under the shade of a large ‘Bottle Tree’

Yes Frankie, we’re nearly there!

Left: My photo at 2.30 pm — then my ‘Screenshots’ from the ‘Live-stream’ YouTube show, at 5.00 pm and 8.00 pm
As you can see the ‘flower’ is in full bloom, and I am going back at noon tomorrow, hopefully, before the flower starts to deteriorate







Ivor Steven (c) 11th November 2024