The harsh baltic winds
Whistle through frozen borders
Destroying old trees
And crushing dead Ukraine leaves
Then depart as Russian thieves
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
Tag: Anti-war
A Variation of the Same Theme
This weekend the challenge from Weekly Prompts is: Variation. Please go over and visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here .. The below poem is my response to the prompt.
A Variation of the Same Theme
My usual lazy Saturday afternoon
The sun is beaming like a silver spoon
Here relaxing at my familiar save zone
My favourite cafe, not far from home
Then my mind begins to sadly ponder
How the children are coping over yonder
Without their afternoon coffee and fruitcake
Without their young friends cuddles and handshakes
Only to be left forsaken
Clasping their frightened heartaches
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
We Do Not Need Darker Skies
Wandering over shadowless ground
Did you notice too?
The clouds loomed darker this morning
And their bleakness was edging closer
Have they lost their way too?
Did you notice?
The birds sounded sadder this morning
They were not singing their awakening tunes
Actually! Where have all the birds gone
Have they fled from home too?
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
Putin … Would You
I would surrender my poetic soul to you
If that could hand you compassion?
To help you stop your war
I would offer my shattered heart to you
If you are needing a piece of heart?
To help you stop your war
I would remove my crying eyes
and stay blind to you
If your ego is looking for guidance?
To help you stop your war
President Putin
Have you a shred of decency?
Left inside your arrogant mind
Would you?
Desert your grandchildren
And Evict them to be
Homeless and frightened
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
The Children’s Empty Streets
Do they hear humanity’s fears?
Will that day come?
When all the big ears
Will listen as one
How many rivers of tears must we cry?
Before all our deepest wells run dry
How many innocent children must fall?
Before all the big ears hear their helpless calls
That wounded haunting drawl
The ghostly scrapping sound of homeless feet
Mournfully shuffling along their bombarded streets
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
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
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
Red Lilies Under Broken Ground, is up at Coffee House Writers magazine
Hello dear readers and followers, as you may know, I now write for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a fortnightly basis, and my poem “Red Lilies Under Broken Ground”, is in this weeks edition of Coffee House Writers Magazine. … please click on the link below to read my poem, at Coffee House Writers >>
https://coffeehousewriters.com/red-lilies-under-broken-ground/
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
The Disappearance of Decency
Introduction
Naked I stand before Him
Stripped of common decency
Debased, I kneel crying
Sad words fall like rain
Tanks are still rolling
Over the Ukraine
My Tanka’s are scrolling
Down their bloody drains
Tanka #1. Sad Sky
False words smudge old clouds
Gray clouds hang under sad sky
The sad sky decries
“Children are our butterflies
And please stop the warring lies”
Tanka #2. Broken Biscuits
Life is imperfect
Like broken war-time biscuits
Re-connection waits
Reconciliation stops
Life’s sweet shortbread’s unopened
Tanka #3. Abandoned
May the stormy winds
Calmly abate in Europe
And bring peace quickly
Do not forget the children
We cannot abandon them
Epilogue
Cover me
Give me beauty
Inspire me
Calm me
Save me
From that deadly bee
Above the Black Sea
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
Tomorrow’s Shadows, (a Haiku)
A big thank you to David Repath and Timothy Price for jointly inspiring to write this Haiku, https://offcenternoteven.com/2022/03/05/ukrainian-daze/ and for Timothy’s stunning music/video
Tomorrow’s Shadows
Shadows of today
Precede tomorrow’s darkest clouds
Silhouettes of doom
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
The Gates of Hell Over Stolen Ground
Do you feel the weight?
Of radio-active clouds
Hanging over stolen ground
Do you hear the birds singing?
Gone!
Is that peaceful sound
Do you hear warning sirens howl?
Resonating like old war songs
When bombs are guided into sacred ground
Fires from hell destroying beds and towns
Gone!
As ashen children wander over burnt ground
Home is a communal air-raid shelter
Where families fearfully huddle together underground
Above!
The torn loyalties of alien soldiers
Tread lightly and warily upon broken ground
Ivor Steven (c) March 2022
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 