Proofreading at the Cafe

“Time Hears No Sound”
Good news! I’ve completed the first draft of my manuscript and have begun the initial proofreading phase. I’m delighted to share that my previous editor and publisher, Judy Rankin, along with the talented cover designer and illustrator, Kerri Costello, have both agreed to join me on this new project. Their support means the world as I take this next step.

Manuscript Details: 189 poems, 177 pages, and 11,555 words.




Proofreading at the Cafe


There’s a manuscript in my knapsack,
Traveling along with every step I take
Proofreading is a necessary backtrack –
Page after page, in between coffee breaks,

Until the task is completed,
Even if I am feeling exhaustipated.





‘On the Nature of Daylight‘ by Max Richter — the kind of music I listen to while proofreading. Gentle, expansive, and quietly stirring, it helps me hear the silence between the words.




Ivor Steven (c) November 2025

Who’s Afraid?

Featured Image: This is evening’s Halloween Twilight Sky


This evening’s Halloween twilight sky


Sorry, no bats! But plenty of bird silhouettes in the Halloween sky …

A big thank you to Cheryl, the ‘Gulf Coast Poet’, for inspiring my whimsical poem.
>> What are You Afraid of? | Gulf Coast Poet



Who’s Afraid?


“Don’t be afraid”
It’s easier said than done
What about
The shady Everglades
And the deadly Nightshade
I, for one
Like my bats underdone








Ivor Steven (c) October 31st 2025

Throwback Friday, This Lost Shadow

Today’s Throwback Friday poem, ‘This Lost Shadow’, was my first-ever published poem, in the anthology ‘Melpomene’, edited by Gwendolyn Taunton. Melpomene is a collection of poetry, prose and short fiction named after the Greek Muse of Tragedy. The central theme of the anthology is the beauty found in sorrow and the darker sides of human nature. Melpomene is broken into four sections: Liber Veneficium (Book of Magic), Liber Maeroris (Book of Sorrow), Liber Fatum (Book of Fate), and Liber Mortuorum (Book of Death). Each section contains both new and classic literature dealing with these themes. Authors in this volume include Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, William Blake, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Gwendolyn Taunton, Azsacra Zarathustra, Math Jones, Bernardo Sena, J. Karl Bogartte, C. B. Liddell, James WF Roberts, Christopher Pankhurst, H. A. Cledones, Tamas Nagyatadi Horvath, L. Alexander Carle, Bill Noble, Marg Howlet, Ivor Steven and Gene Banyard. Containing works both old and new, Melpomene offers a prime selection of works on the melancholic side of existence, the transformational beauty of the esoteric, occult secrets hidden in verse, sorrow, doom and the inevitable grasp of death. Melpomene will haunt the reader with a dark and unearthly beauty that is both forbidden and forlorn… >> https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Melpomene+by+Gwendolyn+Taunton&crid=3KH5IGU638GFK&sprefix=melpomene+by+gwendolyn+taunton%2Caps%2C903&ref=nb_sb_noss




This Lost Shadow

I’m writing this song for my body and for my soul.
I’m singing this song, about my return from the cold.
Why am I so tired? Is sixty so old?
Why am I so sore? Have I been far too bold?
I’m physically worn out and mentally torn.
I’m so worried about my every waking dawn.
I’m thinking of this quiet life, for you and for me.
I’m wondering if this vigilant life is too hard for me.
I’m pondering if this tragic life shall continue to be.
And feeling this bonded life, drifting out to sea.

I’m writing these words for everyone to see.
I’m writing this book about a single weeping tree.
Why am I so sleepy? Am I aging too quickly?
Why am I so sad? Who is looking after me?
I’m this furnace log, burning up with glee.
I’m this sinking boat, all about to flee.
I’m this overburdened camel, or a donkey maybe.
I’m this empty desert, a void, far as the eye can see.
I’m this broken branch, withering and dying, oh so slowly.
I’m this lost shadow, wandering this barren land furtively.






Ivor Steven (c) October 2025

Today’s Screenplay, or, Reggae and Crochet


“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” ~ Robert Frost




Today’s Screenplay, or, Reggae and Crochet



Needing a manuscript breakaway
Talking with the crows at midday
Was a positive and relaxing way
To invigorate my book’s soporific survey

Wishing for a secretary or “Girl Friday”
Then I could sit back and replay
More “Bob Marley” reggae
Or even try my hand at crochet








Ivor Steven (c) October 2025

“Time Hears No Sound,” is Progressing Well

Whoops: I’ve just updated this article … The scans below clearly indicate my progress. As is my way, once I have pressed the “Start Button”, it’s all systems full steam ahead, and there is no stopping this Poet from downunder while he is on a roll.
From my selected 189 poems, I have now categorized them into ’11 Chapters’ and have already completed Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4

Short Introduction: Time Hears No Sound

Time doesn’t tick for the poet—it drifts, echoes, and sometimes disappears. In this fourth collection, I invite you to walk with me through landscapes where clocks are irrelevant and memory is the true measure. These eleven chapters explore time as myth, movement, silence, and resistance. From the cosmic to the coffee-stained, from war’s waste to fairy laughter, each poem listens for what time cannot say—and what we must.

Let the silence speak.

Introduction Poem


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


Chapters:

1. Once Upon a Time

2. Nature: An Unbiased Timekeeper

3. Time: Hears No Commands

4. The Universe: Infinity Times Infinity

5. Dreaming: A Poet’s Favourite Pastime

6. Travel and Life: Time Flies

7. Governments and Leaders: Behind the Times

8. War: A Waste of Time

9. Humour, Fantasy and Fairies: Timeless

10. Time’s Short Poems: Haiku, Tanka, etc.

11. Poetry in Slow Motion: Who’s Keeping Time?









Ivor Steven (c) October 2025

It is Manuscript Time, Coffee House Writers Magazine edition, March 15th 2025.

Hello, dear readers and followers. As you might know, I have resumed writing my Manuscript for my new book “Time Hears No Sound”, so I thought it was an appropriate time to repost my poem “It is Manuscript Time”
To read my poem, please click on the link below to visit the article at Coffee House Writers Magazine.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/it-is-manuscript-time/








Ivor Steven (c) October 2025

River of Dreams

Dear friends and fellow poetry lovers,

As midnight continues to be my muse, I wanted to share that my blogging rhythm will be slowing for a few weeks. I’m currently immersed in shaping my fourth poetry manuscript, Time Hears No Sound—a project close to my heart.

During this time, my posts may be fewer and more sporadic, but rest assured, I’m still listening, dreaming, and crafting behind the scenes. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and presence. I look forward to returning with new verses and reflections once this chapter is complete.

Warmly, Ivor


“A quiet reflection on wisdom, war, and the river’s patient memory—where even crows seem to carry questions.”


River of Dreams

I’ve been listening to the crows-
the smart ones, who should know.

Now I’m watching the ancient river flow
around the land’s long, sandy bend.

Do they know where, and when
the current’s undertow
comes to a becalmed end?







Ivor Steven (c) October 2025