Tag: Life

Today, Twenty-Five Years Ago (a Tanka)




Today, Twenty-Five Years Ago (a Tanka)

Once upon a time
In a land of ice and rhyme
Darkness was my crime
When a rift of hollow mime
Ravaged my body and mind


“The Throwback poem that began the great Rowback”




Who’s Left to Row the Boat

The storms are too many to count
Emotional lows had weathered me out
Her journey with MS was a struggle
How much lower could our lives sink

After fourteen years of our battles, I suffered a Stroke
An ambulance came, my brain was in a boat
Floating out to sea, overboard and panic-stricken
I wasn’t swimming, barely awake, and drifting
I had fallen, nothing was working, and not talking
She’s crying, I’m sobbing, my heart is dying
And who’s left to row the boat, I’m thinking
I was jabbed with a needle and silently sleeping

I awoke a day later, in hospital, feeling wasted
My face was limp, mouth parched, was that death I tasted
My mind was active, I thought, where is she
I knew I was bad; the room was all blurry to me
Strong anxieties had set in, I needed to know
Nurses came to me, I pleaded, I wanted to go
“Help me to see her, just give my bed a tow
Please let me go, before I’m covered in snow”





Ivor Steven (c) September 20th, 2025

Above the Mist

Featured Image Above: A street art mural from the township of ‘Chemainus’ on the way to Nanaimo

Today’s poem below, is the one I gave to ‘Sandra’, my cousin Penny’s, sister-in-law, at our luncheon meet up in Nanaimo

.

Above the Mist

.

The train of peace and serenity
Has been sliding from futurity to eternity

But now, atop Mount Tzouhalen
Above the misty column of stardom
And above the world’s harbouring problems

I am in another home away from home
Within the Cowichan tribe’s honeycomb
Savouring nature’s harmonious thunderdme

.

.

Ivor Steven (c) September 2025

Throwback Friday, Within Us

I am entering the last five days of my journey to Canada and appropriately I have chosen “Within Us” as my Throwback Friday poem. This nostalgic piece also appears in my book “Tullawalla”, Chapter 6, page 98.

Remembering our 49th wedding anniversary, Carole

.

.

Within Us

.

The oceans wave us goodbye.
Sand and sea, one beach.
Like the surfs white crest.
Love is, within our lonely breasts.

The lands push us apart.
Alps and plains, one realm.
Like a rivers rocky cascade.
Love is, a turbulent escapade,

The sky opens us up.
Dawn and dusk, one sun.
Like the moons daytime eclipse.
Love is, a hidden apocalypse.

The universe covers us complete.
Stars and planets, one creation.
Like the distant Milky Way.
Love is, within us to stay.

.

.

Ivor Steven (c) September 10th 2025

A Kite in Flight

Island View Beach and kites, with my wonderful cousins, Lynn, Mungo, Robin, and Kelly

On the Island View Beach and kites

Deer in my cousins yard

Kites in flight

.

A Kite in Flight

.

Serendipity is overwhelming my soul
I am tripping the lights fantastic
From cloud nine to cloud nine
My feet have not touched the ground
I am living a surreal dream that has come true

I am an untethered kite in flight
Free as a bird, enjoying all the wondrous sights
I am in a land full of kind hearts
And breathing in all the light that surrounds me
I have reached the stars of my universe
But wait, there will be more from beyond to this verse

.

.

Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025

The Stonehouse Pub and Canoe Cove Marina

The Saanich Peninsula, is a beautiful stretch of land on southern Vancouver Island, just north of Victoria. It’s bordered by the Saanich Inlet to the west and Haro Strait to the east, with a rich history tied to the W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) First Nations, whose name means “emerging people”

It’s a fitting place for a poet to wander—rolling hills, coastal views, and a quiet kind of magic in the air.

The historic Stonehouse Pub

A rustic atmosphere and friendly staff

Excellent beer and doggie friendly

The Canoe Cove marina was a fascinating place

Andrea was the new owner of this boat being lifted out of the water, and she graciously accepted one of my poetry cards

The boats had some interesting names: Cloud Nine and Spill the Wine

At the end of the day, Mungo looking exactly like I am feeling

.

.

Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025

From the Mountains to the Sea

A Picnic in the Rocky’s

Leaving Salmon Arm

On the outskirts of Vancouver heading towards the Ferry

The ferry from Vancouver to Sidney (Vancouver Island)

.

From the Mountains to the Sea

.

I am gradually drifting down
From out of the mountains smoky shroud
Toward the seaside playground
To rejoin a welcoming crowd

Where around the magical island
There will be more stories unfold
As time quickly filters through my hand
But these precious moments will be all molded
Into poetic lines, written in charcoal and gold

.

.

Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025

Up Among the Embers

The smoky Rocky’s on the way back to Vancouver, and Frankie waiting at the front door for my sister-in-law to come from work.

.

Up Among the Embers

.

Climbing higher and higher
Riser after blackened riser
Hovering above the forest fire
In the middle of this smoky mire

Here, beside her charred pyre
Listening to her hallelujah choir

.

.

Ivor Steven (c) Sept 2025