My Valentine’s Days Are Cold

Please Note that the featured image/artwork above was designed by Kerri Costello (my Philadelphia niece) for another poem of mine back in 2018.





My Valentine’s Days Are Cold

Her heart of gold
wilted in the Autumn cold

My heart pumps yesterday’s rust
and bathes in her icicles of dust

My veins are hollow crevasses
inside summer glaciers chasms

Where icebergs groan and memories float
on a distant fjord’s frozen longboat







.


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) February 2025

Throwback Friday, Twilight’s Bookends

Today’s Throwback Friday poem is from June 2023 and was published in The Geelong Writers Anthology, Anomaly Street (Poetry With A Difference), Volume 2, no. 1- June 2023, a twice-yearly collection of poetry that creates jolts for flatlined minds. Thank you to the editor, Jo Curtain, for selecting my poem.





Twilight’s Bookends (Revised)

Cloud wisps creep 
across a sun-streaked sky

The curtain soundlessly drops
on dappled twilight

There, behind flickering drapes 
the starry starry night awaits







.


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) February 2025

Moon-glades (a Haiku)

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Wednesday Challenge is Embellishment. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here.
I hope my Haiku further Embellishes my viewing of the spectacular moon rise over Corio Bay (Geelong) last evening.



Moon-glades (a Haiku)

Glimmering moonbeams
Iridescent candle lights
Dancing on the bay







.


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) February 2025

Oceans (an Etheree)


Tonight, the moon rose over the ocean as the sun set in the west. It was a warm summer evening with a clear twilight sky, and we would not miss such a spectacular event …

An Etheree is a 10-line poem in which each line follows a syllable count that matches the line number. For example, the first line has one syllable, the second has two, etc. The poem is unrhymed but has rhythm, meaning, imagery, and sometimes an underlying second meaning.



Oceans (an Etheree)

What
do the
oceans know?
tides come and go
footprints in the sand
foreshadow the way home
fresh today, gone tomorrow
slip away with the undertow
dreams fade in a cloud of misty rain
leaving dark watermarks in my shadow







.


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) February 2025

The Other Side





The Other Side

Looking for tomorrow
Is like crossing a one-way road
We stop!
Then look the other way

We are conditioned to turn
And look down the wrong way
Then step forward!
Hoping!
We are moving toward
The other side





.


.


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) February 2025

Exodus


Today’s poem, Exodus, was a poetic response/comment to Eugi’s (Moonwashed Musings) wonderful poem >> https://amanpan.com/2025/01/29/look-at-me/





Exodus


I am not dexterous
Or able to earn my exodus
Because the showy floss
On my old veneer’s gloss
Has been foolishly lost




.


.


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) February 2025

Don’t Blame the Moon

Over at Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word Pookie. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here.
“Pookie” is a common euphemism for something cute. Well, I suppose my ‘strange orange rocks’ or my ‘smiling moon’ could be cute.





Don’t Blame the Moon

I see strange orange rocks
Among the fallen branches and leaves
Discerningly, time reminds me
They were not there yesterday

Enquiringly, I look up to the sky
And I see the moon smiling at me
As if to say, “Don’t blame me”






.


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) February 2025

Day Lily and Love (Revised)

During early February, my stunning Day Lily begins to bloom, which nostalgically coincides with my father’s birthday week. A potted perennial that I rescued from my dear departed parent’s homestead. The lilies always grace my garden in February as nature’s tribute to Dad, and today’s revised poem was originally written in February 2017, when me and Dad’s day lily moved into my villa, “Shangri La” …





Day Lily and Love (Revised)



Upon my pillow, I sleep
Good morning, I do peek
From the cushion of my dreams
To my garden’s awakening beams
Blushing red hues, oh so bright
You bloom during the night

And after cuddling the dew
You open up your scenic view
Flowering, standing proud, and steep
Perfection at my feet
A glorious Lily, like the wings of a dove
And by sunlight, you air your love





.


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) February 2025




Mudlarks Are Whimsical Duet Singers (a Tanka)

Duet Singing. Magpie-larks are one of the 200-odd species of birds around the world that are known to sing in duets. Each partner produces about one note a second, but a half-second apart, so humans find it difficult to tell that there are actually two birds singing, not one.


Over at Weekly Prompts, the Wednesday Challenge is the word Whimsical. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here.





Mudlarks Are Whimsical Duet Singers

The Magpie Lark is
Unique to Australia
A small singing bird
With striking black and white plumes
Our sopranos of the sky






Ivor Steven (c) February 2025