“They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.” ~ Laurence Binyon
Let We Forget
Ivor Steven (c) 11th November 2025
Featured Image Above: Black-and-white photo of a street art mural depicting a tug-of-war between a Russian and Ukrainian soldier on a war memorial in Izyum, Ukraine. (Getty Images photo)
Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Restore Rapport” is in this week’s edition.
Written in the quiet hours of early morning, Restore Rapport is a poetic protest against the machinery of war and the silence that surrounds it. Inspired by the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, this piece asks: Where is the understanding? What are innocent lives being sacrificed for?
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” — Einstein
To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/restore-rapport/
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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 … and I can send you a PayPal account,
for the Book, plus Postage.
Ivor Steven © November 2025
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
Right to Rise (a Haiku)
We all have the right
To fly under the sun’s light
Beyond their gunsights
Ivor Steven (c) October 2025
After the Fall
After falling through the fragmented cloud,
the rusty and weary traveller
appeared to be disoriented,
without his familiar protective shroud.
Escaping his country has been hazardous,
and he longs for a restful shelter.
However, until the stampede’s contaminated dust
is devoured by its own mistrust-
then, and only then,
will the Almighty Sun
incinerate the lingering clouds
and allow the world’s war-torn sky
to redeem his sacred ground.
It’ll be a full moon tomorrow, and appropriately, my Throwback Friday is a full moon poem, which I wrote in May 2024.
Please note that all attached images were taken by me late this afternoon (Thursday).
In the Full Moon’s Afterglow
My world’s worn-out words flow
From the torn sunflower meadows
To the silent streets of Moscow
Written on the hills of Dnipro in blue-line lingo
Beyond the reach of the full moon’s afterglow
And painted in lyrical tempo with hypnotic gusto
Am I to be another muted scarecrow
Mutilated by the warlords’ errant crossbows
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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 © May 2025
Drifting Bassinets
On my knees, by the sea
Looking beyond our sentinel trees
I hear their whistling palms
Forlornly echoing abandoned alarms
Through their leaves’ silhouettes
I see a becalmed ocean of wavelets
Caressing a boat full of suffragettes
Fleeing the dusty sky of Mariupol sunsets
Clutching their war-torn bassinets
Ivor Steven (c) July 2025
Today’s poem was my inspired poetic response to David’s “Sijo”, ‘Of all things, or: Bridge to nowhere’. >> https://skepticskaddish.com/2025/03/28/of-all-things-or-bridge-to-nowhere/
Over at Weekly Prompts, since it’s the last weekend of the month, “One Day” is again the monthly Prompt! To visit their fabulous site, please click on >> Here
One Day, or: Bless My Soul
Beneath our feet, there lies a common mound
Between our ears, the winds of time hear no sound
Below our eyes, the promised land cannot be found
Within our hearts, we share the lost and drowned
Beyond our souls, the world’s burial grounds
Belong to the hounds, who run the battlegrounds
Ivor Steven © March 2025
Today’s Throwback Friday poem was written in March 2022, and appears in my third book, “Until Eyes Hear Sound”, Chapter 1, Little Creatures and Birds, page 6
Innocent Millipedes
Please Mr Shootin’ Putin
Do not roll your tanks of destruction
Over the innocent Mr & Mrs Millipede
Millipedes were the earliest animals to breathe air
And make the move from water to land
They date back 428 million years
Now people of the world cannot hold back their tears
Did you know Mr Shootin’ Putin
That Millipedes are fairly timid critters
Docile decomposers that live in the leaf litter
Of forests all over the world!
They aren’t flashy or fast
And they follow the motto
“Slow and steady wins the race”
Millipedes are peaceful
They don’t bite
They can’t sting
And they don’t have pincers to fight back
Please Mr Shootin’ Putin
Do not roll your tanks of destruction
Over the innocence of creation
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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) March 2025
Walking in the Hard Rain
“Welcome,” said Nature with a grin
The second day of Autumn
Was wet with a cold westerly wind
And the hard pouring rain
Felt like icy needles and pins
However, without commands or demands
Here I live, in this far away land
Where a coward’s hammer and nails can not pierce my hand
Or deter my protests from a flooded grandstand
I hear only helter skelter from the expellers
As I think about the children
Sheltering in their damp cellars
Hiding from Putin’s hard rain
A deluge of bombs and bullets
Callously sent to kill and maim
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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) March 2025
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 