Tag: Music/singer/songwriters

The Analogue Academy

Hello readers, today I’m presenting my first Haibun. The Haibun is a prosimetric literary form originating in Japan, combining prose and haiku. The range of haibun is broad and frequently includes autobiography, diary, essay, prose poem, short story and travel journal.

Yesterday I travelled by bus into the city centre, to visit the unique Analogue Academy, an art gallery, a creative arts school, including a coffee shop/bar, and a drop-off depot for photographers to have their films developed. Definitely a friendly venue for creative  people to meet, and enjoy the atmosphere of the rustic and comfortable surroundings. And of course Ivor had his usual coffee, cake and a few beers. The specific purpose of my outing was to view an exhibition of paintings by local artist, Jacklyn Foster, who is a fellow member of Geelong’s ‘Lowercase Poetry Group’. I found her display, “Replying To Spam Emails” to be imaginative and colourful, and I was very satisfied with myself that I had made the effort to attend the Analogue Academy.

 

Gallery

 

Uniquely homely

Creativity set free

Here’s Tullawalla**

 

** Tullawalla, and an aboriginal word meaning, ‘a place to sit and meet’

Below: A fabulous painting by Jacklyn Foster

Below: Jacklyn Foster’s paintings in the display area at Analogue Academy

 

Below: Photos of the Cafe area

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  Jan 2020

Poppy-Kettle

This weekend the Word/Photo Challenge is ‘Unusual‘. And today I went down to the beautiful Geelong waterfront for a picnic lunch and a walk around the picturesque foreshore, and afterwards, sitting at the Valhalla Bar, sipping on a beer or two, I wrote this attached poem, about the ‘unusual’ Poppy-Kettle display  Please go and visit the “Weekly Prompt” by clicking >> HERE

Poppy-Kettle

 

My lost week has fallen into Sunday

And I’m going out to enjoy the clear sunshine

The Geelong skyline is finally smoke free

Our Corio Bay is unusually dead-calm

The water is like a glassy blue mirror

As I stroll along grassy banks of the foreshore

I rest myself upon a big quartz rock

Under the shade of a palm tree

 

A perfect locale to have my picnic lunch

Sitting next to an intriguing Poppy-Kettle display

Miniature bronze statues for everyone to see

A children’s mystical piece of fantasy land

Nearby there’s also a fairy tale’s giant green dragon

Dragons are a mythical favourite of mine

The area has an aura of a child’s magical kingdom

And my dreamy imagination grasps me to be almost there

 

 

 

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  Jan 2020

Unsteady Quill

Below an overcast sky

A crack appears in my cloud of guilt

This widening chasm darkened

Distorting the edges of distant memories

 

A dear friend, passed away, last week

I didn’t get to say goodbye

His funeral, was private

And I need to send a condolence card

 

For these seven days of my life

The card has stayed on my table

I’m trying to write to his bereaved wife

But my hand’s unsteady and not able

 

I’m yet to put pen to card

I’m yet to allow myself to cry hard

I’m yet to push myself to go an extra yard

Now, I must get my head out of these clouds

Lift my quill, for a mate, who was brave and proud

 

Ivor Steven (c)  Jan 2020

 

 

Sun Showers

Hello, you taste so sweet

These angelic drops of rain

Landing on my freckled cheeks

Refreshing my dry skin

 

Instead of yesterday’s

Annoying and staining spots

Full of dirt and smoke

Stinging my teary eyes

 

Finally today, a cooling breeze

Clearing our hazy sky

And here comes the sun

Minus her dusty halo of grey

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  Jan 2020

 

Eerie Sky, Teasing Rain

The midweek word/photo challenge is; Family Albums. My article and poem isn’t really about a family album, but these are the photos I took today, depicting the eeriness of our smokey and rainy sky…. Please go and visit the Weekly Prompts site by clicking>> HERE

Above Feature Image: I’m standing in light rain, at the end of my lane, but the sky is still a smokey haze, which is very eerie…..

Left. The smokey sky and sun at end of my lane. Right. The thunderstorm this afternoon

Left. A smokey beach in the morning        Right. Looking straight at the sun on the beach

 

Eerie Sky, Teasing Rain

 

The eeriness is hard to explain

Our sky is smokey again

But here I stand in the rain

At the end of my dusty lane

 

Smelling the stench of our fiery haze

Now mixed with the aroma of wet maize

I’m stunned, and unearthly amazed

And Thor’s neon lights add to my daze

 

This summer storm is yet to fully expound

Tiny drops are struggling to cover the ground

The day’s hot, but our sun cannot be found

And this afternoon’s darkness leaves me spellbound

 

Footnote: As I’m about to post this article, we are having some heavy rain and there is more forecast for next Monday…. At last the sky is crying over the fires of South-Eastern Australia, hopefully enough to give our firefighters some much needed respite… Yeah.

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  Jan 2020

Follow By Two

This weekend the Word/Photo Challenge is: ‘The Street.’ And above is a photo of an Australian bush “Street”, and of course we are hoping that the raging bushfires will stop soon… The featured photo above, is copy from the 2020 Geelong Calendar, taken by Judith Wood, of a street in the country town of Anakie.. To visit the fabulous site of  Word/photo Challenge, please click >> Here

This is a poem I wrote three years, from a time when I was suffering from one of my neuralgia attacks…Then, I thought it was nearly the end….. but in the end it couldn’t happen….. there was too much love surrounding me…..

Follow By Two

 

One Day Follows

The abyss is bigger, not less.

On these days of darkness.

The owls are singing sad tunes.

On these days of bad moons.

The brain is harpooned again

On these days of constant pain.

The sunshine has gone, I confess.

On these days of over stress.

The mind has little attitude.

On these days of sleepy solitude.

An Answer Follows

You’ve all walked into my heart.

And you’ve ran into my past.

You’ve all flooded into my soul.

And you’ve soared into my dreams.

I crave for that….. one day soon.

Tomorrow, or another day too.

That all your hearts.

Will be bathing themselves,

In the soothing oils

Of your glorious Souls.

 

I’d like to thank my dear friends Mel and Jane, for being the inspiration behind the words of  “An Answer Follows”.

 

 

Ivor Steven.

Torn Dust In My Lungs

Last night I attended the lowercase’s monthly poetry recital  event. The theme was “On The Bus”, and here’s a link to the poem I read out >>https://ivors20.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/sorry-we-caught-the-wrong-bus/    . After the show, as is usual for me, I ventured across the road, to Pistol Pete’s Blues bar, for my dose of live music. And wow, what a fabulous band happened to be performing. From Germany, “Hanne Kah”, and I’ve attached two songs of their’s below. As you might know, Ivor likes to have a chat, and Hanne and her band were a very friendly crew, and were happy to have some photos taken with me….. Oh, what a treat for me, and of course I gave them my poetry card, and bought a CD and T-shirt…… Then I stumbled home, and drafted this poem, which I finished this morning…… It’s probably a bit jumbled, but I say to myself…so-be-it….

Torn Dust In My Lungs 

 

Late in the afternoon, the moon is rising

Not the normal moon, silver and shining

But a colour of yellow mustard custard icing

Through the evenings smokey maze, dimly glowing

 

These foolish fires, have been merciless

They’ve torn apart our virgin land

Dusty embers in the sky, leftover evidence

Torn  from what was once beautiful and pristine

 

Hanne Kah’s CD “Y”, and you’ll find them at this Link >> https://www.facebook.com/hannekahband/

Appropriately I’m playing this song of Hanne Kah’s, “Dust In My Lungs”

 

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  Jan 2020

 

Busy Bees Will Rebuild Our Hives

We continue to live, under this smokey haze

As the brave firefighters, continue to fight day after day

I’m in a stunned daze, leaning here on my table

Knowing there’s thousands of burnt homes and stables

Feeling for the animals, perished and disabled

Crying for our native fauna, of fame and fable

 

From the ashes, our world will revive

Beyond the rain-clouds, busy bees will rebuild our hives

Green saplings  will replace the trees blackened towers

And underground seeds will grow into our earth’s new flowers

 

 

Ivor Steven (c)  Jan 2020