Hello dear readers, come over and read some poets you may not have seen before… And I’d be more than pleased if you were to read my post about, Joshua Maxwell de Hoog
The Good, The Bad & The Poetry, by Joshua Maxwell de Hoog
Please note, that in the poem below , the words are not mine, but those of, ‘Joshua Maxwell de Hoog’, who has kindly given me permission to reproduce this excerpt from his book “The Good, The Bad & The Poetry”. Joshua is the convener, of the ‘lowercase poetry’ recital events here in Geelong. I’m honoured to be able to present his words on my site, and this piece below, is an excellent example of the style of his writings. For more information and stories about Joshua you may Google his link >> joshuamaxwell de hoog.com
*
There is no word greater than another,
No word that only sleeps with the
king or is only spoken by the servant,
Or written on walls in the city by
rebellious teens
There is no word that fights in a war
with only fists,
Or sails the sea for love, or with love,
There is no word greater than the
mouth that speaks it.
There is no word more beautiful than
another,
There is no word that is paid to be
listened to, nor begs for attention, or
only cries, or only sleeps, or cries
itself to sleep.
There is no word more beautiful than
the mouth that speaks it.
There are merely words, and every
one of them as important as both the
next and the last, as pressing as
future, present and past, as human as
you, me or us.
And we too,
Are like words,
Sometimes we are together and seem
as if we’ve always been,
As inseparable as to-do or have-been
joined by the dash,
But other times we are distant, we
appear only in the beginning or the
end, or something in between, but
that means no less of us, for we are
still a part of the story, as essential as
any word that has already been
written or the ones that are still in
writing.
There is no word that goes unspoken,
that needs to be.
All things will happen in time, and to
force them, is to skip the most exciting
chapter.
There is no word that runs faster than
another, none that overtake or jump
the queue, all words honour the mind
in which they are from.
There is no word greater than another,
yet I will follow “you”.
*
* Printed with permission from, Joshua Maxwell de Hoog…..
Ivor Steven (c) Feb 2020
Melody & Poetry
Here’s a poem I’ve written for ‘Go Dog Go Cafe’s’, Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge. Today’s prompt: Write a story or poem that ends with the phrase “he shredded her dreams in dignified air of victory”
Friday evening I attended my first ever Melody and Poetry event at the Analogue Academy & Gallery. The new and interesting night developed into thoroughly enjoyable show, for both the musicians and poets. The poem I recited was “Lost On The River” , here’s the link >> https://ivors20.wordpress.com/2019/06/30/lost-on-the-river/
Melody and Poetry
The Gallery’s been darkened
And the room’s illuminated by faerie lights
The Melody and Poetry event begins
On stage, there’s a piano player and guitarist
Improvising their music, to each poet’s readings
And the enthusiastic crowd sings along
To the sheets of printed words
And the poet’s recital is resonating vividly
As he shredded her dreams
In a dignified air of victory
Ivor Steven (c) Feb 2020
A Red Bouquet
A Red Bouquet
The dawn sky’s a misty red
Mirroring my eyes, etched edges of red
T’was my dad’s anniversary yesterday
And I didn’t go to visit her, during the day
She adored dad, my darling redhead
So best I vacate this lonely bed
And select her some blooms from my flowerbed
My courtyard’s a sea of dazzling reds
A vivacious Begonia, called a Dragon Wing Red
Our gifted Geranium, glows a deep ruby red
And dad’s Day Lily, is a glossy red
I’ll create a bright red bouquet from the three
And place the flowers in our vase under her tree
Ivor Steven (c) Feb 2020
Tullawalla #15
Tullawalla, Nineteen Steps
Hello dear readers and followers, I’ve been away from blogging for three days, because again, I’ve been arduously preparing and typing, to produce my Fifteenth Tullawalla Poetry Booklet….. For new readers that don’t know about these booklets, they are basically the reason why I write poetry. I produce the booklets for the sole purpose of raising funds for my favourite charity organization, the MS Society, in Australia via the MS Charity Shop here in Geelong. And actually all money’s I receive for any of my poetry submissions, I also donate to the MS Society. Fantastic news this week, with a few more donations coming in lately, I’m proud to announce, that the sale of my “Tullawalla Booklets”, has now gone well pass $1000. 00, … to all the lovely readers, who have donated, to help achieve such a wonderful amount, a big heartfelt thank you from “us” and the MS Society … …..Amazingly, there is now a total of “613 poems”, in my collection of 15 Tullawalla Booklets. Anyhow the booklet is finally completed, and ready for sale now.. !! As always, they are available for purchase, either as a hard copy or a PDF format….. All proceeds go to the MS Charity Shop, here in Geelong West….. Please contact me here through my web site page and I can chat about arrangements from there…. Oh, the booklet is called “Tullawalla: “Nineteen Step”, and coincidently, this, the feature poem from my the booklet was published by FREE VERSE REVOLUTION, on Friday, 8th, February… You can visit their fabulous magazine today!! Please click on this link >> https://freeverserevolution.wordpress.com/ …. And here is the link to my website >> ivors20.wordpress.com

Ivor Steven (c) Feb 2020
Promote Yourself Monday, February 10, 2020
Dear readers and followers, here’s a great opportunity for your writings to be read by other writers, and also to find and meet other writers. You are very welcome to participate, come along and visit our writer friendly site…..

Welcome to Promote Yourself Monday. All Go Dog Go Cafe community members are invited to post one link to one specific piece of their writing (600 words or less please!) they have published on their blog, Facebook page, or Instagram feed into the comments section below.
If you post a link, be sure to read some of the other great writing people have linked to.
Throwback Friday, A Tattooed Blond, By Ivor Steven.
Another one of those dreams,
A Tattooed Blond
I’m neither here nor there
Half asleep nor half awake
Not quite conscious
Like a drifting snowflake
Sinking through a prism
Where I fantasize and over-achieve
Seeing a blond-haired vixen
Thinking I’ve seen her tatt’s before
I’m retreating, hiding
From her beckoning embraces
My drunken mates at the bar
Giggling and smirking, as if I can’t see
Between, there’s a tattered curtain
A pale veil, shadows lurking
A vision surreal, of blue, red and black
Like a fiery chasm
The blond’s tattoos, twitch and spasm
Chasing my body into the surf
Waves crashing over, and around
A bubbling sensation, wildly scary
I sprawl atop the tattoos in the sand
And I wonder what to do
With her bloodied tattooed hand
Wishing I could escape from here or there
I suddenly awaken, and burst into tears
Recognising my weakest fears
Featured Image: Bing Images, Pineterest
Ivor Steven (c) …
View original post 109 more words
The End / Terminé
Here I’m reblogging, a powerful and poignant poem, written by Freddric G. Martin
Faeries Calming the Soul
Faeries Calming The Soul
Today’s cool breeze, has dried my eyes
And I’m comfy, under this shady palm
Watching, sparkling faerie ripples on the bay
And silvery clouds waving to me from the sky
I see faerie footprints upon ageless sand
And the town’s daily ferry-boat sails by
I’m bathing in this day’s caressing faerie balm
And my fragile soul’s reciprocating the calm
Ivor Steven (c) Feb 2020
My Bird Feeder
This week’s midweek challenge on ‘Weekly Prompts’ is: BIRD FEEDERS. Please go and visit the fabulous “Weekly Prompts” site by clicking >> Here
I don’t own a bird feeder as such, but I suppose my verandah roof acts as my permanent bird feeder. Seeds from my neighbours trees seem to naturally end up landing on my verandah roof. The birds can be quite noisy feathered friends, as they clatter around on my verandah. … but while they are busily chomping seeds on my roof, the birds are forgetting to feast on my ripe ‘Rapunzel Cherry Tomatoe’ bush, and some of my readers, might remember what happens to those who steal from ‘Tomatoe Bush’, for a reminder, you can peruse at this link to that post >> https://ivors20.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/how-many-books-do-i-take-on-the-cruise/ …….”BEWARE”…….
Featured Image Above: My verandah roofer, the birds feeding area…!!
Below: My 9ft tall Rapunzel Cherry Tomatoe Bush, higher than the guttering.
Below Left: The cherry tomatoe crop Right: Tomatoes in my Asian salad
Ivor Steven (c) Feb 2020

