Tag: Life & Nature

Throwback Friday, What Is Normal, My Son?

Today’s Throwback Friday Poem is from July 2020, during the middle of the ‘Covid Era’, but I think my words could now be applied to the ‘Trump Era’


What Is Normal, My Son?

Breakfast and a hot cuppa
Under my cosy verandah
As per normal, if it’s not too chilly
And I’m having my normal courtyard chat
With my friends, Phillip the penguin
And the wise old owl, Oscar
We’re talking about the future
Whether life will ever be normal again

Oscar quietly hoots
“What is normal, my son?”
Little Phillip chirped in
“Normal is a state of mind
A comfort zone in time
Like swimming in the deep blue sea every day.”
Oscar agreed with Phillip
“Normal’s been perched in the same tree every night.”
Oscar and Phillip grinned and nodded at each other
And I listened and pondered

Smiling at my two furry companions
I added, “Our old normal won’t be normal anymore.”
Oscar’s brows lowered, and he said
“As per normal these days
We shall patiently try to adapt, then wait and see
What colour will the new normal turn out to be
Black, white, or green like the trees
Maybe the striped yellow of our life-giving bees”





Ivor Steven (c) May 2025

Close Up and Personal (a Tanka)

gentle eye perceives
melodies of ideal worlds
through a magic lens

Moonwashed Musings >> https://amanpan.com/2025/05/20/moonwashed-weekly-prompt-may-20-2025/

“Let one or more words in my poem be your inspiration.
Prompt contributions can be any variation of the prompt and/or image.“


Close Up and Personal (a Tanka)

Through the magic lens
Of my iPhone camera
I get to observe
My world’s colourful sunsets
Right close up and personal






Ivor Steven (c) May 2025

My Universe, or: Here, There, and Everywhere





My Universe, or: Here, There, and Everywhere


It’s a glorious autumn morning
And here I am
Standing in the middle
Of my universe
Between the bright sun to my right
And the deft daytime moon on my left

Oh, I should say, east and west
Because when I turn around
To walk toward the north
East and west are
Here and there
No matter the where

And the middle of my universe
Is always here, like a wet-nurse
For better or worse








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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

Hanging By a Thread


Over at Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word Hang. To visit their fabulous site, please click on >> Here


Hanging By a Thread


I am not going to hang back
Nor be left hanging by a thread

I will soar like a hang-glider
Over the rainbow
And fly toward the twilight moon

There, we will hang out together
Hang suspended
And quietly wait

For Time to hang up the words
“This is the promised land
Where greatness does not need a hand”








.


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

Throwback Friday, Moon Shadows and Celestial Lights (Revised), by Ivor Steven

“Her moon shadows shyly tiptoe through my nights
as my hazy dreams glow under her celestial lights”

I am ‘Moon-struck’ this week, and here is another “Moon” poem, which I originally wrote in May 2018, and today I am reposting the version that I revised in October 2021 …


Moon Shadows And Celestial Lights

I stood alone
In my second-hand clothes
holding her worn-out soul
Silently
I placed her ashes
In a brick wall
Years of heartache
Hidden in a chasm of pain
Moments in time
Now resting in peace

How does tomorrow become another day?
How does the past live with today?

Her moon shadows shyly tiptoe through my nights
As my hazy dreams glow under her celestial lights







.


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

Van Gogh, A Moving Experience

Today, I accompanied my friend Barb to Melbourne’s wonderful Lume Gallery to see the spectacular exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh’s unique artistic creations. It was definitely an opportunity that I would not miss out on, and I hope my photo/story conveys our fantastic experience of being mesmerized by the colourful brilliance of Van Gogh’s paintings.


And I took many, many more photos, but by now, I am sure you understand how emotionally overwhelmed we were by Vincent’s ability to create such a volume of masterpieces, despite his sad and debilitating mental illness










Ivor Steven(c) May 2025

“Half”, is in this week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine edition.

Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Half” is in this week’s edition. …
To read the poem, please click the link below to visit my Coffee House Writers Magazine article.
>>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/half/







.


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

I Am Not a Songbird

For the Dome Poetry group’s May meeting, our poetry assignment/poem is as follows

1.       We are each given a poetry book. (They are all different.)
2.       We each select a poem from the book that we like or dislike.
3.       We write our opinion of the poem in poetry form.
4.       We write a separate poem in the same style as the original…about any subject.
5.       OPTIONAL: Points 3 & 4 could be amalgamated. ie one poem

The poetry book I received was “The C.J. Dennis Collection.”… a famous Australian poet and author, known as “The Prince of Writers.”
I chose to amalgamate Points 3 & 4 and wrote my poem ‘I Am Not a Songbird’, in the rhyming style of C.J. Dennis’s whimsical poem “Heredity”, which I have scanned and attached below my poem.



I Am Not a Songbird

You may ask me (said the Corella)
Why am I so noisy and obnoxious
Like a protester with a loud hailer
At a meeting of the Labor Party Caucus

You may ask me why I’m not a songbird
Instead of a critter that’s always squawking
In a screeching way that no one else can hear
I offer no excuses for my chaotic talking

Yet, I’m all for a sweet lullaby
But for my breed, a soft tune is impossible
I’m often repetitive like a buzzing blowfly
However, I am quite pretty and aeronautical

My vocalisations are certainly unique
And it’s how I communicate with my girls
So, get used to my cheeky squeak
And enjoy my showy swirls and twirls









Ivor Steven (c) May 2025