Published Poem – Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Throwback Friday, Are All the Doors Closed?

“Peace is not something you wish for; it’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.”
— John Lennon

“When doors close, and wars roar, let peace be the key we choose to turn.”

Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in March 2024) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the third poem in Chapter 8, War: A Waste of Time

Are All the Doors Closed?

Scores of uncultured doors
Closed pores of the old stores
Hiding drawers of past accords
The forgotten ardours of wise mentors

Now, just condescending decors
to the new wars
Like cantankerous dinosaurs
with itchy bedsores

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 © December 2025

Geelong Writers Anthology 2025

On Wednesday evening, I attended the launch of the 2025 Geelong Writers Anthology. My poem, “A Darwin Orange Sunset”, appears in the collection, and I was genuinely honoured to be selected by my peers at Geelong Writers Inc.

The gathering was held alongside our Christmas Break‑up night, which added a lovely sense of community and celebration to the occasion.

I’m also pleased to share that the poem will feature in my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound, in Chapter 2: Nature — An Unbiased Time Keeper.

A Darwin Orange Sunset

Twilight’s
Burly orange sky
Bedazzled my eyes
When
The hessian horizon
And the sun’s waxing resin
Flung
Streams of yellow beams
Across the paddock’s
Furrowed seams

Golden ponds
Flooded
Over the meadow
But did not drown
The field’s residing
Scarecrow

The arbitrary warrior
Accepted the world’s
Rotary mirror
And innately smiles
About being a human’s
Privileged curator

To accompany the poem, I’ve chosen Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” — a song whose quiet ache and twilight glow echo the mood of the piece.

Ivor Steven © December 2025

Throwback Friday, The Voice (a Monologue)

Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in September 2023) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the second poem in Chapter 7, Governments and Leaders: Behind the Times

The Voice (a Monologue)

Do not yet shut your doors
But give me leave to speak with you and yours
Do not yet turn away?
The time I ask of you is brief for what I have to say
Join me in the shade of this country’s trees
My ancient words are free
But why listen to a language you cannot see
In the past, you have not heard my pleas
Forever! I have been treated harshly

I am a dream-time spirit bird
Flying within your boundaries seems absurd
You! Have clipped my wings
And unashamedly ripped apart my kin
You! Desecrated my sacred ground
For the price of two axes and a Pound
Yes! It’s time to sit without descent
On the sand inside your tribal tent

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 © December 2025

“Always Deck the Hallways”, is in this week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine edition.

Featured Image Above: Moon adrift in daylight— a quiet reminder to deck the hallways of time, not just December.

Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Always Deck the Hallways” is in this week’s edition.
“A festive stroll through words and wonder—Always Deck the Hallways brings poetry to the season.”
To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/always-deck-the-hallways/

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 © December 2025

Throwback Friday, Flying Among The Clouds

Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in March 2025) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It opens Chapter 6, Travel and Life: Time Flies (Travel)

Flying Among the Clouds

I’m flying high
Cruising among the clouds
Fly with me
And the rest of my flock
Up here
There’s no need for a clock

Time gives no commands
Cruising among the clouds
Silently overseeing the crowd

Time always flies
At the same standard pace
There, in that space
Between daytime’s silvery moon
And twilight’s glittery sun

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 © December 2025

“Climbing the Stairs”, 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 “Climbing the Stairs” is in this week’s edition.
To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article.
>>https://coffeehousewriters.com/climbing-the-stairs/

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 © December 2025

Anomaly Street, Geelong Writers Anthology/Chapbook 2025

On Wednesday evening, I attended the launch of ‘Anomaly Street’, the 2025 Geelong Writers Anthology/Chapbook. Two of my poems appear in the collection, and I was honoured to recite A Malay Kris and A Cracked Brick Wall.
The gathering was warm and welcoming, each reading revealing the diversity of voices within Geelong Writers. For me, the highlight was hearing my words resonate aloud among so many fine works. Holding my copy of Anomaly Street, I felt part of a living street of voices, distinct yet harmonising in community.

The poem is composed of comments/anecdotes I posted on some of my fellow WordPress writers’ articles from that time. In stanza order, they are.

1 – Nancy, Order Of The Snake – The Elephant’s Trunk
2 – Beth, expression. | I didn’t have my glasses on….
3 – Bart, Monday Poetry Prompt: Under the Cushions | Living Poetry
4 – Violet, Untouched by Regret | Thru Violet’s Lentz
5 – Ivor, A response to Nancy’s comment, https://ivorplumberpoet.press/2025/08/14/surprise-surprise-a-tanka/
6 – David, Breaking hours, or: Yet it flows – The Skeptic’s Kaddish

My second poem in the Anthology

Ivor Steven (c) November 2025

“Trojan Cloud”, 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 “Trojan Cloud” is in this week’s edition.
To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/trojan-cloud/

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.

Throwback Friday, Lost and Found – or – There, Here, and Where?

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.

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.

“Restore Rapport”, is in this week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine edition.

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/