Tag: Memories

Throwback Friday, A Chalice of Champagne, by Ivor Steven

Today’s Throwback Friday Poem is another poem from my book “Tullawalla”, which I originally wrote in September 2019


A Chalice of Champagne (Tullawalla, page 103)

Once upon a time
In the days of rhyme
When learning to climb
I saw my neon sign
Slowly die by design

An angel’s teardrop fell
Ringing the church bell
And missing my empty well
From the tower of song, I wanted to yell
But life does not let you dwell

Despite the annual September rain
I trekked over flooded plains
Avoiding delta swamps of pain
Scaling the same old mountain again
Searching for our chalice of champagne





Ivor Steven (c) September 2025

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

Throwback Friday, It Was Time To Leave

Cousin Lynn and Robin with Mungo and Kelly

Cousin Maureen and doggies Z-Z and Co-Co

Cousin Penny, and then Dave, Penny, and Ivor

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Here I am on a Jet Plane, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Therefore today’s Throwback Friday poem is a very appropriate finale piece, to coincide with my amazing adventures in Canada over the past 21 days.

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It Was Time To Leave (Revised)

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It’s time to tidy up my mess
Clean up the room and get dressed
It’s time to pack my suitcase
Fill the travel bag and vacate this place
It’s time to put on my famous rocker shoes
And walk away from this dream come true
It’s time to say heartfelt goodbyes
To these wonderful Canadian guys
It’s time for final hugs and kisses
Sad farewells and best wishes
It’s time for my usual emotional tears
Separate myself from these every day cheers
It’s time to flyaway from a land of berries and fairies
Leave this magical world of faraway families
It’s time to say a million thank you’s
For making my stay a Really Real great do
It’s time for me to travel back home
With glorious memories of this magical Astrodome

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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

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Within Us

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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.

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Ivor Steven (c) September 10th 2025

I’m Like Dad (a Senryu)

“When your father’s name is etched in stone, it is never as indelible as the etching in your heart” … Colleen Brown


Alex Steven (Dad), February 5th, 1924 – July 3rd, 2015




I’m Like Dad (a Senryu)

Sometimes I am sad
But I am not mad or bad
My heart’s just like Dad’s






Ivor Steven (c) July 3rd, 2025

“I Remember”, 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 “I Remember” (a Rondeau) 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/i-remember/

A rondeau is a fixed-form poem that originated in French lyrical poetry. It typically consists of 15 lines, divided into three stanzas (a quintet, a quatrain, and a sestet), with a refrain and a specific rhyme scheme. Here’s a simple guide to help you craft one:
Structure of a Rondeau.

  1. Lines: 15 lines in total.
  2. Stanzas:
    • First stanza: 5 lines (quintet)
    • Second stanza: 4 lines (quatrain)
    • Third stanza: 6 lines (sestet)
  3. Refrain: The first few words or the opening phrase of the first line are repeated as the last line of the second and third stanzas.
  4. Rhyme Scheme: AABBA AABR AABBAR (where “R” is the refrain).






Ivor Steven (c) July 2025

“Dusty Photos”, 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 “Dusty Photos” 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/dusty-photos/







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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

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







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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