Tag: Life & Nature

Winter Companions for ‘Theo’

I’ve been having computer problems lately, and I’m frustrated with Microsoft’s “Error” shutdowns.
So, I decided to spend the day in my courtyard garden. I had already purchased two plants to pot in my empty hanging baskets: a Fuchsia Hybrid (“Flash” with a magenta and red flower) and a Phlox Subulata (‘ McDaniels Cushion’ with a pink flower).
Firstly, I had to install a beam from which the baskets could hang! Anyhow, without going into too much detail, four hours later the task was completed.
The main purpose of my project is to provide ‘Theo’ with some colourful companions over his arduous winter journey.


‘Theo’, bottom, left of centre, looking up at the two hanging baskets.


This evening’s photos of the Fuchsia (“Francis”), Phlox Subulata (“Daniel”), and “Theo”





Ivor Steven (c) June 2025

Dry Eyes (a Micro Poem)


Eugi’s Poem (Prompt)

lingering scents
from nature’s vases
June celebration

Moonwashed Musings Weekly Prompt >> Let one or more words in my poem be your inspiration. >>https://amanpan.com/2025/06/17/moonwashed-weekly-prompt-june-17-2025-happy-birthday-to-me




Dry Eyes (a Micro Poem)



The enthusiastic blackbirds
Faithfully re-enact
Their daily rain dance
However, nature’s lingering clouds
Have forgotten how to cry







Ivor Steven (c) June 2025

My Dark Apparition





My Dark Apparition


I saw a mellow sun
Melt into a grey sky
I saw a shallow moon
Fall under a dark curtain
I sliced the sickly atmosphere
With the Reaper’s shadowy sickle

I heard a little wattlebird
Tip-toeing through the broken trees
I listened to a killer whale
Crawling along a black, oily beach
I felt the stained seashells
Squelch into my murky footprints

I was dozing on a bed of tanbark
And after my brown eyes opened
I wondered. Was I having a nightmare
Or was my dark apparition real?







Ivor Steven (c) June 2025

Do Snails Have Toes?

Frosty meadows under the early morning moon


I am always thinking of the many seasons that have been, and those that are gone … Presently, I am thinking of the winter season ahead for ‘Theo the Tomato Tree’


Do Snails Have Toes?



Autumn recedes
nestles down
below the ground’s
leafy gown

Winter howls at the door
uninvited
frost clings to the chrome
toes cringe on the cold floor

Bed-sheets creak and groan
alone, I moan
icy teardrops
and salty snowflakes
do not stop

Spring waits
under the powdery snow
and I wonder
do snails have toes?






Ivor Steven (c) June 2025

A Darwin Orange Sunset





A Darwin Orange Sunset



Twilight’s
Burly orange sky
Bedazzled my eyes
When
The hessian horizon
And the sun’s waxing resin
Flung
Streams of yellow beams
Across the paddock’s
Furrowed seams

Golden ponds
Flooded
Over the meadow
But did not drown
The field’s residing
Scarecrow

The arbitrary warrior
Accepted the world’s
Rotary mirror
And innately smiles
About being a human’s
Privileged curator






Ivor Steven (c) June 2025

How, When and Why?

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” ~ Carl Jung

Thank you to Gigi for her thought-evocative “Questions” article, >> https://gigisrantsandraves.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/questions-11/
which inspired me to write this questionable poetic response.


Mysterious Alien spacecraft trails in the morning sky


A healthy-looking Theo, after spending the frosty night under his beach umbrella





How, When, and Why?

Too many unanswerable questions for me
“They” say all life originated from the sea
But that doesn’t explain how we came to be

I’m here talking to Theo the Tomato Tree
About how he survived last night’s Jack Frosty
And we’re waiting for “those aliens” next corroboree

When will “They” mystically reprogram the story?
That mum told me about the birds and the bees
… Ivor’s uncorroborated theory!












Ivor Steven (c) June 2025

Throwback Friday, Shadows Fall (a Musette)

Today’s Throwback Friday is from January 2023, and I selected the Musette to coincide with the ‘Magpie shadow’ photos that I took on Thursday afternoon




Shadows Fall (a Musette)


Don’t stop
Do not look back
Leaves drop

Shadows
Do not dig up
Meadows

Walk tall
Don’t look beyond
Nightfall





.


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 © June 2025

A Mother’s Sacred Shroud

Eugi’s Poem and Image

life in a fairytale world
blissed by cotton candy clouds
seemingly a safe harbor
reset optional

Moonwashed Musings Weekly Prompt >> Let one or more words in my poem be your inspiration.>>
https://amanpan.com/2025/06/10/moonwashed-weekly-prompt-june-10-2025/




A Mother’s Sacred Shroud



There is a narrow blue causeway
Below the evening’s wintry clouds
And twilight’s golden sunbeams
Are reaching outward
Like a Mother’s sacred shroud

I am feeling humble and proud
That Mother Nature’s grand projector
Allowed me to witness silently
Her ceremonious celestial splendor






Ivor Steven (c) June 2025