Nature – Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Steve the Snail’s Bookcase

Feature Image Above: Created by Copilot and me.

As twilight settles across the shelves, Steve pauses for thought atop his old bookcase…

Steve the Snail’s Bookcase

I’m sitting in a secret place
on top of this old bookcase —
I’m not a nutcase,
but wistfully wondering about that space
between the sun’s twilight zone
and the world’s traversing horizon.

Is that the mysterious place
beyond third base,
the dark coalface,
that I’m yet to embrace —
my final footrace?

But wait — before I vanish into space
without a trace,
I need to don my carapace
and tighten these slivery bootlaces.

Steve’s gentle reminder drifts in: put your hat and shoes on, and enjoy life while you’re able.

As Steve settles into the hush of twilight, this song drifts in beside him…

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies

Four small lives in motion, each holding a different truth about today… and the uncertain tomorrow.

Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies

The bee’s knees
are busily pollinating
today’s flowers,
for tomorrow.

The bird’s eyes
are warily overseeing
today’s world,
mindful about tomorrow.

The beetle’s legs
are curiously wandering
toward today’s horizon,
still searching for tomorrow.

The butterfly’s wings
are wistfully fluttering,
knowing today’s sunny sky
won’t shine on them tomorrow.

Let the song settle over the small creatures of today, reminding us of how tender tomorrow truly is.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Will I Be the One? (a Tanka)

This morning’s wattlebird carried a question across the sky — a fleeting shimmer of light and wonder. Inspired by that moment, I found myself chasing the same golden touch through words and image, letting the Dream’s warmth echo the poem’s quiet hope.

Will I Be the One? (a Tanka)

There’s a wattlebird
Flying past the golden sun
And then I wondered
Who will be the chosen one
to receive the Midas touch?

And as the wattlebird slips past the golden sun, this song carries the same gentle light forward.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

I See You Now, Fifty Years, Today

Fifty years feels both distant and close, a milestone carried quietly through my days.
Some memories soften, some sharpen, but one truth remains — I still see her in the small moments, in the quiet spaces, in the light that lingers.
Today, I honour that presence the only way I know how: with a few simple lines.

I See You Now, Fifty Years, Today

A day I celebrate every day —
every day, walking my narrow path,
I see you now.
Every day, looking into our misty mirror,
I see you now.

Fifty years, today —
every night, in my dreams,
I see you now.
Every night, in the stars.
I see you now.

I am here,
you are where you are.
One day, my dear,
I’ll join you in the stars.

A song that echoes the way I still see her — in dreams, in stars, in the quiet of today.

Ivor Steven © September 10th 2026

Tomorrow’s Our 50th Anniversary (a Tanka)

Fifty years arrives like a soft, golden hush — a moment where memory steps forward, hand in hand with the present. As tomorrow’s anniversary draws near, I found myself looking toward the sky, letting its warm light guide me back through the years. This Tanka is the quiet breath before the day itself, a small reflection of the love still shimmering in every sunset.

Tomorrow’s Our 50th Anniversary (a Tanka)

Sunset’s pure-gold sky
And I’m inwardly smiling.
She’s flamboyantly
channeling me — a bright clue:
tomorrow’s our golden day.

And tomorrow, as the golden sky leans close, her light will rise through me once more.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Danielle the Donkey’s New Nest

Some stories arrive quietly — sparked by a pair of images that linger longer than expected. Yesterday, Derrick shared a delicate nest tucked into a tangle of branches, and today Jackie offered her charming capture of a donkey pausing near The Lodge. Together, their photos nudged this old poet into motion, setting Danielle on her gentle wander through fading forests, dry summer lodges, and dreams of a new nest.

Please Note: All photos in today’s post were taken by Jackie and Derrick Knight, who kindly allow me to use them on my poetry site
Nest >> The Calendar Says This Is Autumn – derrickjknight
Donkey >> Wildlife On Road – derrickjknight

Danielle the Donkey’s New Nest

One sultry day
on the edge of the faded forest,
young Danielle the donkey
wandered away
from her dry summer lodge.

It was time to discover the world,
find a different place to stay —
a cosy nest of hay
lined with soft, fairy feathers.

Then come what may,
despite the declining chalet’s
bumpy driveway and wilted bouquets,
she pricked her ears back,
ignored the onlookers’ flack,
and dreamed on, never sidetracked.

A tender farewell and a hopeful beginning — Danielle’s journey echoing softly through this song.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Poles Apart

I nearly deleted this photo — a pole in the way, a couple of wires cluttering the frame — until the birds decided to rescue it. They swooped in, sketched their own storyline across the sky, and left me wondering who was really directing the scene. While they painted truth up there, I stayed down here trying to catch whatever tale fluttered past. This little poem followed soon after, curious, a bit cheeky, and happily poles apart.

Poles Apart

We’re poles apart
before we even start.
You guys up there,
me down here —
I don’t know where.

Truth flutters freely in the air.
Meanwhile, down here,
fiction is both oblong and square.

Wise cracks don’t need stairs.
Poetic knack has dare and flair,
and down here
storybooks fly anywhere
without a compere,
traveling from deckchair to airchair.

And as the birds drift off into their own truth, this tune keeps the sky talking.

Ivor Steven © September 2026

Out of the Blue

From yesterday’s crow encounter, a poem emerged — a moment on the country’s edge, a sentinel shaping the sky’s peaceful realignment.

Out of the Blue

Upon the country’s outpost I stand,
a sentinel, overseeing this grand land.

I pause, breathe the whistling wind,
and unfurl my black feathered skin.

My wings flare out toward the light —
the world’s warring blight
is nowhere in sight.

Tranquility is my chosen line —
one sweep, the silent, sunlit sky is mine,
and out of the blue, nature’s shrine
peacefully realigns.

“A final breath of blue sky carrying the crow’s peaceful realignment into sound.”

Throwback Friday, Fallen Ancestors

Twelve months ago, while visiting my cousins on Vancouver Island, I tapped out a small poem on my iPhone — a moment shaped by cedar shadows, cold tides, and old family echoes. Today’s Throwback Friday returns to that quiet day, and to the fallen ancestors the island seemed to remember.

Fallen Ancestors

Above
I saw time drift across the sky.

Below
I heard a grey, waterlogged tree cry,
“Is this the graveyard where my
fallen ancestors have been left to die?”

There
“Against the sea wall’s merciless granite crown,
surrounded by cold water crashing around…

Please
“Take my hand, guide me down,
so I can cover them with my green nightgown.”

A quiet echo of the sea’s old memory — as the tide carries its stories forward, this song keeps a heart in the water.

Cyril the Seagull

In the soft glow of a haloed sun, a seagull and his friends traced a tale across the sky — and one of them decided to share a little wisdom as he climbed into the light, shaping today’s poem.

Cyril the Seagull

Cyril is no ordinary seagull,
he’s neither plain nor dull.

I’ve been watching him and his friends,
soaring through the clouds’ sunny trends.

When he swooped in close enough,
I asked him off-the-cuff:

“Why are you considered to be
so commonly homespun?”
He puffed his wings like a bumblebee
and proudly flew off toward the sun.

Cyril whispered as he climbed:
Like humans, we also populate the world
However, I’m free to fly and enjoy
nature’s phoenix sky uncurled.

And as Cyril lifts into the light, this timeless song rises with him — a quiet reminder to simply be.