Tag: Memories

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

Throwback Friday, The Woman In Me


Me, sitting on Mum’s knee. … L to R, Carole, Aunties Elizabeth & Pearl, & Grandma


Grandma and her 3 daughters. … My mum (left) and her lady relatives



G’day readers, it’s Friday morning, the 9th of May, here in Australia, the day of my mother’s birthday and my wife’s funeral day, and it’ll be Mother’s Day on Sunday. Today’s Throwback Friday poem is from September 2019.



The Woman In Me

Inside every man
There is a woman

The mother of his soul
The lady of his heart
The kindness in his touch
The passion in his blood
The woman who fostered
The way he shows love









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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

Remembering, May 3rd

“This wall, built of bricks
Breaks my spirit and my bones 
Life’s hurdles are hard” … This Wall (a Senryu May 3rd, 2025)


Arriving and Leaving, Visiting Her

arriving
via the cemetery gate
holding her flowers
hands quivering
heart quickens
bowing silently
reminiscing
smiling
wondering why
closing time
and visiting time
co-exist in life

leaving
via the cemetery path
renewing goodbyes
crying silently
breathing slowly
smiling
wondering why
closing time
and visiting time
co-exist in life




Ivor Steven (c) May 3rd, 2025

Thanks For the Dance, or My Foot Went Numb (a Rhyming Tu-aiku)





Thanks For the Dance, or My Foot Went Numb (a Rhyming Tu-aiku)

My fingers are thumbs
I cannot pick up the crumbs
Nor pluck the ripe plums

My right foot went numb
Her eternal dance did come
Life is a hum-drum







Ivor Steven (c) May 3rd, 2025