A Third Eye is Watching 

Happy 75th birthday to my dear departed wife Carole, and I am also celebrating the 10th anniversary of her passing from this world.
Featured Image above: Is a collage I created from 2 of Derrick Knight’s photographs, and thank you to Derrick, for allowing me to use his photos here in conjunction with my poem. >> https://derrickjknight.com/2022/04/15/swarms-of-moths/



A Third Eye is Watching 


When your emotions begin to flow 

Do your senses amplify and grow? 


Bodily aches and mental strains intensify 

Your flooded brain feels like a third eye 

Wondering why? 

You are paddling knee-high 

In yesterday’s goodbyes 


Today my universe 

Hovers above my verse 

And there is no reason to cry 

While her soul resides high and dry



 




Ivor Steven (c) 17th April 2022

Concrete Void

Originally posted on my site, 27th November 2017.
Yeah .. my concete void has finally been filled ..


Concrete Void


I’m becoming impatient,

Here waiting,

Waiting for a concrete lid.

Too many stop signs,

And lifetime bans.

I’m a good man,

So I’ve been told.

But there’s a chasm,

And the concrete’s,

Yet to fill the void.

……..To my readers that knew about my new verandah, “now nine months old”, and sadly it has been without the patio/floor area being concreted for all that time..  Yippee, today the mission has been accomplished. Thanks to my newly appointed concreter “Damian Maloney”, Yep, he’s on my recommended list. And Lizzy The Lizard Of Wizardry, was curiously looking on…..

20171121_132650






Ivor Steven (c) April 2022

“Where Have All The Good Times Gone”

A few days ago(29th Nov 2017), I had started writing a poem about Penny Farthing Bicycles, prompted by an article in the Geelong Advertiser newspaper, the arrival in Geelong of eight members of the Melbourne Bicycle Club in March 1880, as per featured picture above, courtesy of the Geelong Heritage Centre Collection. Then I was chatting with my friend Jane of Janebasilblog, she had just sent me the song and lyrics of the Mary Hopkin hit, “Those Were The Days”, from 1968, and I mentioned The Kinks were one of my fav’s from that era, and of course their song “Lola”. After our chat, I starting thinking [which is dangerous for me] about writing a crazy, combined, mixed up poem… The piece below is the result of those thoughts, and to my older readers, you’ll notice all the phrases written in Italic, are song titles taken from The Kinks album “The Kinks Collection”. So apologies to Ray Davies for using his song titles in such a manner.

“Where Have All The Good Times Gone”


I remember the olden times

Of pennies and farthings

Pounds and pence

When money made no sense

Mary Hopkins sang

“Those Were The Days”

And the Kinks song “Lola”

Was the best number one ever

Many a lazy Sunny Afternoon

Spent down near Waterloo Sunset

Where we would all dance

All Of The Day And All Of The Night

My Friends would all dress-up

Like Dedicated Followers Of Fashion

Unlike that lonely Plastic Man

Who faked the Death Of A Clown

Way back then, You Really Got Me

You fired me up, here in Victoria

Thousands of Days forgotten in the burn-out

Charred in a cloud of Big Black Smoke

But now, I’m Tired Of Waiting For You

Wondering, Where Have All The Good Times Gone





Ivor Steven (c)

Originally Posted, 29th November 2017.  4.00pm

Any Afternoon


Mid afternoon

Here in my empty room

Between unruffled sheets

With the curtains drawn


I remember our matinee’s

Of laughter and soft sighs

You would tickle my feet

As I caressed your naked thighs


Tomorrow afternoon

There in my lonely room

Between unruffled sheets

The curtain falls at my feet







Ivor Steven (c) February 2022

Words to You

I wrote to you

You wrote to me



Your words turned to scrawl

Eyes began to call

A crack crept down the wall

You stood on the rubble so tall


We let the dust settle

Heated up the Kettle

Had a cuppa and a silent chat

Light flows back, through the crack


Words were our pearls

Writing is my world






Ivor Steven (c) February 2022

Dust and Rain

Feature Image Above: A watercolour painting by Carole Steven.




Dust and Rain



Life eventually returns to dust

Think me morbid if you must

Funerals do that to me

Eulogies sting me like a bee

That gentle bite numbed my mind

To that sea of blurry faces, sincere and kind




My selfless tears did drown

In memories of pain

Of her being lowered down

On that day when I could not stop the rain






Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

Right or Wrong, It’s Your Song (Revised)

Today I read these incredible words on Colleen Brown’s “The Chatter Blog” site.

“Tho’ my voice maybe tuneless
Don’t discount my song
My song sings emotion – pitch perfect” … Faherty Brown

Here is the link to Colleen’s article >
https://bikecolleenbrown.wordpress.com/2022/01/05/my-soul-sings/

And after reading her beautiful quote … a poem that I wrote back in May 2018, now appears to be more meaningful than what I originally thought my words were about.



Right or Wrong, It’s Your Song (Revised)


Who knows the words to your song

Who sings in tune to your song

Who is to say a song is right

Or a song is wrong


It is not their song

It is not my song

It is your song



Right or wrong

And we we all here for the same song

Let us all sing the song






Ivor Steven (c) January 2022