


Say No More (a Tanka)
The worldly black crow
Delivered me good tidings
“No need to worry
There is nothing more to say
The final countdown is here.”
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025



Say No More (a Tanka)
The worldly black crow
Delivered me good tidings
“No need to worry
There is nothing more to say
The final countdown is here.”
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025



Today’s poem is one of my verses, composed of comments/anecdotes I posted on some of my fellow WordPress writers’ articles during the month. In stanza order, they are.
1 – Nancy, Order Of The Snake – The Elephant’s Trunk
2 – Beth, expression. | I didn’t have my glasses on….
3 – Bart, Monday Poetry Prompt: Under the Cushions | Living Poetry
4 – Violet, Untouched by Regret | Thru Violet’s Lentz
5 – Ivor, A response to Nancy’s comment, https://ivorplumberpoet.press/2025/08/14/surprise-surprise-a-tanka/
6 – David, Breaking hours, or: Yet it flows – The Skeptic’s Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Malay Kris and a Cracked Brick Wall
I’ll twist and dismiss
your kiss and hiss.
Then, with my Malay kris,
I’ll swish you up like this.
Little cracks
and threads of black
are nature’s imperfections-
waiting for filaments of imagination.
Under my luxurious woollen cushion
lies an old copy of The Australian Bulletin.
Also, from Great-grand-dad’s mystical Galleon,
there’s a hand-woven chiffon for his Spanish woman.
Regrets are like silhouettes-
they linger above your shoulders
like worn-out epaulettes
and burnt-out candle holders,
as shadowy images after sunset.
Line after line,
Time clutters my mind.
Will I be fine in time?
The sands of time
will forever fall through the hourglass,
and the shadows of time
always moves across the sundial.
Gravity continues to wear us down
and sunlight will always crack our mounds.
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025





I’ve only 12 days to go until I fly over to Canada. I’m on antibiotics and have been ordered to rest. Therefore, my blogging commitments will be minimal for the next 7days.
Feeling Stumped, But Not Grumpy
I have a badly inflamed throat
That feels like I’m swallowing
Broken needles and razor blades.
(Please don’t make me laugh.)
And I have an awful chest cough
That rattles and clangs
Like a grumpy polar bear in chains
On my rusty iron roof.
I’m physically lumpy and stumped,
But even though my body is trumped,
My mind is enthusiastic and pumped–
Ready for my flight to be happily humped
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
Today’s Throwback Friday was written in April 2019, which was just before my trip to New York and Philadelphia. I have suitably revised my poem to coincide with my trip to Canada in “12” days.
Beyond a Blade Of Grass (Revised)
Believe it or not
I’m travelling around the block
Finally, I’ve refurbished my Itmims Yacht
And I’m about to discover a different spot
Reality has me flying to a new port
I’ve been invited to walk the walk
And talk about my amazing life
The long journey of endless strife
And how, the answer was found
From inside a body unsound
Go listen to the Messiah
You’ll not get any higher
Go reach for your stars
Dream of landing on Mars
Go steer a new T-model car
Even Victoria isn’t too far
Go find your favourite bike
Pedal your way to greater heights
Go explore, beyond your blade of grass
See the universe outside your heart of glass
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025
It’s Market Day this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
* Our popular monthly markets are all undercover at Centrepoint Arcade on the third Saturday of every month.
* They feature art, unique goods from local makers, second-hand goods, plants, books, and more.
* There are also open art studios, Yesterday Vintage, Untether Gallery, HBT Collectables, and the May’d Shop.
All at, Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
From 11 am to 3 pm
And I’ll be there with ‘Frankie’ and my “New Bookstall Set-up”


Ivor Steven (c) August 2025





A Foggy Morn (a Haiku)
The morning sun’s gone!
Opaquely hiding under
A grey linen sheet
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025

Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Nature’s Ponds” 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/natures-ponds/

.

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 © August 2025
Last night’s moonrise over Corio Bay felt like nature’s gentle transition from winter to spring. This Tanka is my reflection (and Frankie’s) on that moment of quiet beauty.






Moonrise by the Bay — a quiet witness to winter’s farewell
My Lunar Lullaby (a Tanka)
Cobalt twilight sky,
With a pink full moon rising
Over a calm Bay-
Winter’s lunar finale,
My world’s springtime lullaby.
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025






Over at Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word Circumspection.
To visit their fabulous site, please click HERE
Away With the Faeries
Walking in a dreamy haze,
Inside a bubble of days.
Yet hearing a silent morning chant,
From the intrigued missionary ant.
Talking to an unreadable cloud,
Ignoring the bewildered crowd.
Yet the sky is a warm winter blue,
And toes are sipping yesterday’s stew.
Meandering and wondering-
Then wandering toward today’s horizon.
A hessian bag of forests and mountains,
A stone’s throw away from tomorrow’s fountain.
An ocean beyond magpies and wallabies,
In a land of bearberries and faeries.
Ivor Steven (c) August 2025






It’ll be a full moon tomorrow, and appropriately, my Throwback Friday is a full moon poem, which I wrote in May 2024.
Please note that all attached images were taken by me late this afternoon (Thursday).
In the Full Moon’s Afterglow
My world’s worn-out words flow
From the torn sunflower meadows
To the silent streets of Moscow
Written on the hills of Dnipro in blue-line lingo
Beyond the reach of the full moon’s afterglow
And painted in lyrical tempo with hypnotic gusto
Am I to be another muted scarecrow
Mutilated by the warlords’ errant crossbows

.

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