A Tanka – Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Universe of Light (a Tanka)

A heavy sky greeted us before breakfast, the clouds shifting and uncertain as we walked beneath the trees. Yet even in that muted light, something brighter seemed to stir behind the grey — a quiet reminder that beyond the darkness, a softer universe is always waiting to break through.

Universe of Light (a Tanka)

Above nature’s trees
Behind life’s wavering clouds
Beyond the darkness
There’s a universe of light
Waiting to caress your soul

Where the glow waits behind every wavering cloud.
Even here, the universe of light begins to open.

Ivor Steven © August 2026

Zadar Sunsets (a Tanka)

This Tanka began with a small moment of irony. While sheltering from the cold and waiting for the weather to clear, I spotted a piece of street art near the café — the words “Sunsets in Zadar” painted across a brick wall. I noticed straight away that it carried a perfect five‑syllable rhythm, an ideal opening line for a Haiku or Tanka. From that simple spark, the poem grew into a quiet reflection spoken from the sun itself, reaching across horizons with its global glow.

Zadar Sunsets (a Tanka)

Sunsets in Zadar
I’m nowhere near Croatia
But here within view
Above your hill’s horizon
My global glow finds your land

A final touch of light to end the moment — a sunset song to accompany the sun’s own words, drifting across horizons just as the poem does.

Ivor Steven © August 2026

Pigeons of the World (a Tanka)

This afternoon’s sky gifted me a flock of silhouettes — pigeons rising and circling through the light as if carrying the world’s weight on their wings. Their quiet resilience inspired the Tanka below, a small reflection on the lives caught beneath the shadows of conflict.

Pigeons of the World (a Tanka)

Here under the sun
I am not the only one
Being overrun
By the world’s greedy hired guns
Who’s minding our war torn sons?

And still the sky remembers what we forget — even the pigeons know the rise and fall of empires.

Ivor Steven © August 2026

The Full Moon and the Corellas (a Tanka)

Please note: All the images are mine and then sharpened and enhanced by Copilot.

Under the full moon’s watch, the Corellas turn the late afternoon sky into a jubilant parade.

The Full Moon and the Corellas (a Tanka)

I hear them squawking
As they fly through my blue sky
Those white Corellas
May look very elegant
But they sound like elephants

As a small tribute to Glen Hansard, whose music has long travelled beside me — a voice that rose and broke like birds in the late‑afternoon sky — here is his unforgettable performance of Bird of Sorrow.

Ivor Steven © August 2026

Brighter Than White (a Tanka)

Above the treeline, the day began with wings drifting toward the light.

Brighter Than White (a Tanka)

Quickly, follow me
Through the silhouetted clouds
I hear the wise crow
Has found a hole in the sky
Where the light’s brighter than white

The sky keeps its openings, and somewhere beyond the clouds, the light still waits, brighter than white.

Ivor Steven © July 2026

Twilight’s Chromatic Storm (a Tanka)

Last night’s twilight carried a strange chromatic weight — colours deepening, clouds gathering, the horizon holding its breath. And on this cold winter evening, that same wintry mood returned and shaped the Tanka below

Twilight’s Chromatic Storm
(a Tanka)

Dark Ominous clouds
Growl along the horizon
Then suddenly howl
Over trees and open fields
Dumping sharp, icy black pearls

And in the fading light, as twilight settles, the storm’s voice drifts into song.

Ivor Steven © July 2026

The Moon and the Wattlebird (a Tanka)

In the soft morning blue, the half‑moon lingers as a gentle witness, watching the wattlebird rise into its own wide freedom.

The Moon and the Wattlebird (a Tanka)

Even the half moon
Selflessly watches you fly
Toward the deep sky
There, within your winged freedom
You will never be alone

Under the half‑moon’s gentle watch, wherever the flight leads, every journey carries a presence that walks beside it.

Nature’s Iris (a Tanka)

As the sky softened into twilight, the colours opened my poetic picture book, and Ben Howard’s “Old Pine” drifted through the moment with the same quiet warmth.

The Weekend Challenge on Weekly Prompts is the word “Hell.” To visit their fabulous site, please click on >> Here … my Tanka today is a long way up beyond “Hell.”

Nature’s Iris (a Tanka)

A crimson twilight
And a seductive sunset
Is nature’s iris
Unfolding my picture book
Where my quiet poems rest

Drowning in Blue (a Tanka)

“Some days the clear sky feels heavier than the clouds we can’t see. Today, the blue above me felt deeper than it looked.”

Drowning in Blue (a Tanka)

Exhaustipated
And discombobulated
Or maybe just tired
Of feeling like I’m drowning
In this endless wash of blue.

A song that drifts in the same blue.

A Sky High Spider (a Tanka)

A sky‑hung spider paused above me, its long legs offering the day’s small surprise.

A Sky High Spider (a Tanka)

High above the ground
The spider hangs from a leaf
By a single thread,
Skillfully, without a net —
Nature’s six-legged trapezist.

A touch of quiet strength to mirror the spider’s patient art.