Throwback Friday – Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Throwback Friday, Tomorrow’s Sky

I originally wrote today’s ‘Throwback Friday’ poem in June 2021 as a protest against the proposed drilling for oil in the “Great Australian Bight,” a protected ocean area known as the Great Australian Bight Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
And as is my way, I have revised and rewritten my poem “Tomorrow’s Sky”

Tomorrow’s Sky (Revised)

Floating upon my bed of rhyme
I continued to drift into Dreamtime
Reaching out through the window
I imagined what I could borrow
From the world’s future of sorrow

And beyond the blue horizon
On the edge of the Indian Ocean
I grabbed a piece of tomorrow’s sky
Strange, the feeling bamboozled my eye

Then magically I saw an azure hue of daylight
Within the shimmering mirage of nature’s plight
An unpolluted view of the “Great Australian Bight”

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) December 2024

Throwback Friday, Connected

Today, my Throwback Friday poem was originally inspired by the three photos in my article … The photos were all taken by Derrick Knight, who kindly allowed me to reproduce them here for my poem “Connected” …
The poem also appears in our collaborative Book of Poems and Photographs, “Perceptions”, on page 19.

You may visit Derrick’s fabulous site by clicking on this link >> https://derrickjknight.com/2021/11/19/traffic-control-duties/

Connected

up there

under draconian dark clouds

I see a blue moon rising

gracefully shrouding the horizon

meanwhile

back here

on terra firma

woodland autumn leaves are

colourfully crowning her mounds

where nature’s

unruffled fauna are found

gratefully grazing upon her

wounded ground

Until Eyes Hear Sound: is NOW Available From,

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven/until-eyes-hear-sound/paperback/product-jeev886.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/product-page/until-eyes-hear-sound

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’

AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com

Ivor Steven (c) May 2024

Throwback Friday, Where’s That Dream

Today’s Throwback poem was written before I started my website, and is from June 2012, not long after Carole had passed (12 years ago today). For unexplainable reasons, the nostalgic piece has not found its way into any of my “3 books”. Maybe this unheralded poem will catalyze me to begin a 4th book!

Where’s That Dream

I have seen the universe through to the stars beyond
There is a deep darkness, she is gone, she is gone
I saw her smile crack from the pain
There was a sorrow, she caught it tomorrow

I have seen the moon through the burning sun
Where is that planet she is walking on?
I saw her eyes crying tears of sand
Where is that beach she is lying on?

I have seen the ocean through the broken coral
Where is that ship, she is sailing on?
I saw her body serene and frail
Where are the ashes she is covered in?

I have seen the earth open, swallowing the multitude whole
Where is that chasm she is falling through?
I saw her gentle soul disappear out of sight
Where is that secret haven she is flying to?

I have seen the land go through violent storms
Where are the winds of time she is spread upon?
I saw her heart, her love, for all of you and me
Where is that dream, she has left us to find?

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’

AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com

Ivor Steven (c) May 3rd 2024

Throwback Friday, Day One (Lest We Forget)

“Day One” a poem I wrote in April 2022 for ‘Anzac Day’ … Lest We Forget …

Day One

Before Day One

I wished upon a star
That the milk-bar
Was not too far away
My life’s bread was crumbling
My weathered hands were fumbling
Witnessing the Last Supper was humbling

Day One

There, beyond the darkness
Out in the universe
From a million light-years away
Under an alien’s microscopic frame
We would all look the same

After Day One

I wished for the dust to settle
Then waited for rusted gunmetal
To mature into household kettles
Whistling hallelujah to new sunflower petals

This graphic Music/Video by the Pogues “needs no more words”

Ivor Steven (c) April (Anzac Day) 2024

Throwback Friday. My World, My Thoughts

My Throwback poem from September 2021 was originally titled “Worlds Beyond Thoughts”, however, when I published the piece in my new book “Until Eyes Here Sound” I altered it to “My World, My Thoughts”

My poem today is made from a list of comments that I have left on fellow ‘Bloggers’ sites, and in order of stanza appearance, these are the writers’ sites for you to visit.

Bart – https://bartbarkerpoet.com/
Sadje – https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/
Punam – https://paeansunpluggedblog.wordpress.com/
Sadje – https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/

Annette – https://aikalandros.com/
Dwight – https://rothpoetry.wordpress.com/
Michelle~M – https://herwritinghaven.com/
Catxman – https://catxman.wordpress.com/
Mark – https://havocandconsequence.wordpress.com/

Cindy – https://uniquelyfitblog.com/
Carol – https://therapybits.com/
Cassa – https://flickerofthoughts.com/
Windwhisperer – https://wildwindwhisperer.wordpress.com/

My World, My Thoughts

Laws are merely guidelines

For the arrows of love to climb

Mirror mirror on the wall

Recalls our joys and falls

Behind every mask, there is a weathered face

Behind every face old lines survive in place

Behind every place memories live with grace

Evil eyes lurk in veiled skies

The wisdom of native ancestors should be listened to

And not be lost to the modern ways of this arrogant world

The way of modern progress

Is to leave nature shamefully undressed

Nature and renewal walk down the garden path hand in hand

I hear church bells ring

I see the mice die

And the clouds always cry

Keep the cup full, turn the power on

And the answer will come

Like a big jigsaw puzzle

Not all the pieces will fit back

And overall the world will look the same

I cannot dwell on what has been

While I feel my blade of grass is alive and green

Above and beyond the crusty dirt

The universe is a symphonic concert

They say that the truth hurts

Beware of cold desserts

Ivor Steven (c) March 2024
..

Throwback Friday, Beyond Imagination

I wrote “Beyond Imagination” 5 years ago, while I was in rehab, recovering from my 3rd stroke, and somehow preparing my body for a long and arduous trip to Philadelphia. The attached poem below, “Dreams of the Heart” is a piece I wrote in Philadelphia, in May 2019.

Beyond Imagination (Revised)

This year (2019), after Easter

I’m flying north

Across the Pacific Ocean

Towards a place called America

From the west to the east coast

Landing at the Big Apple

To enjoy a five-day tourist bite

Then a train from Grand Central Station

For a debut meeting with my cousins in Philadelphia

My Dad’s far-away relatives

I shall rejoice in the reunion of our family’s spirits

Oh yes, my lifetime “Dream of the Heart” **

A dubious occurrence just two months ago

But now a reality beyond the realms of my imagination

** “Dreams of the Heart”

I cannot walk the continents
Like the intrepid Marco Polo
But my feet have felt the sands of time
Pass between my toes

I have not sailed the high seas
Like the courageous Christopher Columbus
But my body has bathed
In an ocean full of kind hearts

I’m yet to fly in space
Like the brave Neil Armstrong
But I have reached for the stars
And touched my soul’s dreams

Ivor Steven (c) February 2024

Throwback Friday, Birds On Wires

Going back in my files I discovered that I have “2” poems titled “Birds On Wires”. The First one is from July 2020 and the Second piece is from March 2023, so I decided to post both Poems … maybe you can let me know which one is your favourite.

Birds On Wires, (July 2020, which appears in “Until Eyes Hear Sound” page 12)

Here on the edge of lower earth
Beyond the urban concrete girth
Withering trees are trying to grow
Reaching for that mystical power flow
Hungering for energy from contaminated ground
Not the airwaves of false sonic sound
Man-made arrows cluttering the sky
Unnatural webs soaring high
Bird snatching wires
Hanging on cold steal spires
Carriers of these modern times
The pulse of humanities crimes

Birds On Wires (March 2023)

Weary gray clouds
Lay anchored in the sky
Moist air hangs breathless
Not a wisp to disperse the flies
An anxious sweaty dampness
Clings to everything

Birds on wires sit motionless
Waiting for a thermal updraft
To lift spirits beyond this world of smallness
Where greed and wars seem senseless
And remain the leader’s primary craft

“Until Eyes Hear Sound”, Due out March 21st

Ivor Steven (c) February 2024

Throwback Friday, Fruit Loopy

Early July 2017, my blog/website was only 3 weeks old when I wrote this abstract poem, ‘Fruit Loopy’ … hmmm … and I am not sure what my thoughts were at the time … but I had only been in my new little abode for 5 months, and I was finishing off building the verandah, and starting to create a courtyard garden … I suppose I was “dreaming” about how much Carole would have loved my new home, so hence the “funny title”

Fruit Loopy

The juices of expectation

are upon me again.

Dreaming of yesteryear

and clambering for today.

Through my pores

a taste of sweetness.

My apple of love

the fruit for tomorrow.

Vale, Melaine Safka, she was one of kind

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OQScN70mycs%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

Ivor Steven (c) February 2024

Throwback Friday, Imperfectness (a Tanka)

I recently wrote a poem titled “Ivor’s Utopia” and I thought today’s Throwback Friday poem “Imperfectness” would be a perfect accompaniment. “Imperfectness” is from December 2022.

Imperfectness (a Tanka)

My imperfectness

Is perfectly camouflaged

Underneath the trees

Where moon shadows protect me

From the world’s imperfections

Throwback Friday, A Christmas Diamond, a Sparkling Jewel (Revised)

I wrote the original piece on 21st December 2017, and this revised version I wrote on the 21st December 2019.

A Christmas Diamond, a Sparkling Jewel (Revised)

I dreamt of your radiant face last night

So serene, a diamond, a dove, so pure white

Not sad, just vivid memories, oh, so bright

And I’ve plenty of tears, don’t worry, I’m all right

Visions of your bravery, courage above, and beyond

So gracious, an everlasting smile, our iconic bond

Completely in awe, amazing, a personal anthem

And I declare you were natures stellar blossom

I felt your pain, your sorrow, revealed to only a few

So uncomplaining, never a burden, never a shrew

Thinking the whole world should be like you

I wish this hungry planet could be cheerful too

Wondering why is life, sometimes ordained cruel?

But I’ll continue on, for you, my sparkling Jewel

Ivor Steven (c) December 2023