Ivor.Plumber/Poet

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

Midas-Touched Lands (a Tanka)

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Wednesday Challenge is the word: Scary. You can visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here. Below my poem is a “Scary” metaphorical anti-war Tanka.

Midas-Touched Lands (a Tanka)

Sunset’s golden eye

Cries saffron spice seeds worldwide

Hard drops of yellow

Spreading beyond Eastern skies

Clouding those Midas-touched lands

Ivor Steven (c) February 2024

A Butterfly Parade

The butterflies were everywhere

A Butterfly Parade

I was admiring the view

Along Nature’s Avenue

When I stumbled upon

A flickering band of white light

A wondrous silky cloud

Of fluttering butterflies

They were everywhere

Unflaggingly flying

Hither and thither

A quivering milky river

The sunshine’s zither kisser

Wings humming a choral melody

A pearly parade, poised, ready to deliver

Ivor Steven (c) February 2024

Under a Clear Blue Sky, I’m Thinking of You (Happy Birthday Dad)

Alex Steven (Dad), February 5th 1924 – July 3rd 2015

Under a Clear Blue Sky, I’m Thinking of You
(Happy Birthday Dad)

Oine hundred years ago

When the summer sun

Rose for you

Did the midday moon?

Shine on you too

Ivor Steven (c) February 5th 2024

“Until Eyes Hear Sound”, The Back Cover and My ‘Blurb’

Yesterday, Judy, my editor/publisher, set me one last task before my manuscript could be sent to the printers, which was to design a Back Cover with an interesting ‘Blurb’ for my new book. By using my ‘Canva App’, and reworking Kerri’s Front Cover design, I was happy with the image that I created. Then the difficult part was writing an appropriate ‘Blurb’ for my book, which was to be my debut attempt at writing such a piece. After many torn-up drafts and lots of frustrating self-doubts, I eventually produced my ‘Blurb’.

“Until Eyes Hear Sound”, My ‘Blurb’

The title ‘Until Eyes Hear Sound’ could mean different things depending on your interpretation. It could be a poetic expression, a metaphor for waiting for something to happen, or a way of describing a state of deep concentration where one is so focused on one’s inner vision that one becomes oblivious to external sounds.
Ivor’s poems do not suggest having the answers, but his words encourage you to think about the environment we live in, as he ponders the purpose of our existence in the Universe.
“If you love poetry that challenges, inspires, and moves you, this book is for you.”

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

Ivor Steven (c) February 2024

How Many?

How Many?

How many desert wars will we have to foresee?

Before all the armies are drowned by the sea

How many bridges are we to burn?

Before we reach the point of no return

How many children must suffer again and again?

Before humanity learns how to steer the peace train

Ivor Steven (c) February 2024

“That’s What Friends Are For”, Has Been Accepted for the “Cadence” Anthology

Today I received a lovely message from Lisa, Editor/Publisher at ‘Prolific Pulse Press’ >> https://www.prolificpulse.com/
Dear Ivor, I love the poem you just sent for Cadence and would love to publish it with the anthology. It truly put a smile on my face.

Of course, I cannot post the poem until after the Anthology has been published in March, but I can tell you that my delightful poem is about “Charlie the Caterpillar shuffling over the track to help his little friend, Billy the Bee

Ivor Steven (c) March 2024

Nature’s Lighthouses (a Tanka)

Featured Image Above: The “Lighthouse”, is an illustration by Kerri Costello, which appears in my new book “Until Eyes Hear Sound” as the introduction image for Chapter 5, Observations, “Until Eyes Hear Sound”. The book contains 10 intriguing Chapters, and Kerri has graciously presented a creative drawing for each Chapter.

I captured these photos about an hour before sunset, and strangely enough, each photo had a diagonal white sunbeam across the images, prompting me to write the ‘Tanka’ below.