Apple blossom and white lilies are flowers that symbolize peace, but we need more than nature’s beautiful flowers to set the white doves free …
White Flowers (a Haiku)
May we all see peace
Bloom beyond the seasonal
Lilies and blossom
Ivor Steven (c) January 2022
My poem today is based on a poetic ‘comment’ that I wrote on the “Chatter Blog’s” site, after reading her interesting article. For those who follow Colleen’s site, would agree that all of her posts are thought provoking and interesting, and you may visit her article by clicking on this link >> https://bikecolleenbrown.wordpress.com/2021/12/29/hasnt-been-back/
Mankind’s Dirty Hands
I am an ancient oak tree
leaning against the prevailing breeze
the winds of time have shaped me
after blowing my disguise into the sea
now here I stand
a lifeless shadow
of leafless branches
within nature’s naked forest
waiting for mankind’s dirty hands
to stop the desert sands
from ravaging the last strands
of what remains hanging over our land
Ivor Steven (c) January 2022
I’m proud to announce that my poem “In the Valley of Light”, has been published in the Anthology “Nothing Divine Dies”, a poetry anthology about Nature, produce by Vita Brevis Press, which is Volume III, in their successful series of Anthologies, and my sincere thanks go to the editor Brian for kindly considering my poem.
“Nothing divine dies. All good is eternally reproductive. The beauty of nature reforms itself in the mind, and not for barren contemplation, but for new creation.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature
From a shaft of sunlight warming the kitchen floor to a lush forest by Walden pond, what is it about experiencing nature that pleases and fulfills us? In the third volume of the Vita Brevis Poetry Anthology,established and emerging poets from around the world show what nature means to them. This is nature poetry at its most precise and moving, continuing the long tradition of Transcendentalism, deciphering ourselves and the world that sustains us — with art.
You may purchase this outstanding Anthology via these links
>> Paperback (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1737296519)
>> Ebook (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PDN3YGZ)
The cold winds of change
Blow down from the mountain range
Gathering up lost souls estranged
Rescuing them from the forest of shadows
And release them into the sunny valleys of tomorrow
Where there is light, there is colour
Where there is colour, there is energy
Where there is energy, there is life
Ivor Steven (c) December 30th 2021
Nurture, Give, and Receive
It’s a material world
That leaves us in a whirl
What we really need
Is a planet without greed
That needs our minds to proceed
By growing and nurturing her seeds
Then our journey becomes that of the giver
Rather than being nature’s grieving receiver
Ivor Steven (c) December 2021
My poem today has been inspired by the three photos here on my article … The photos were all taken by Derrick Knight, who kindly allowed me to reproduce them here for my poem “Connected” … You may visit Derrick’s fabulous site by clicking on this link >> https://derrickjknight.com/2021/11/19/traffic-control-duties/
Connected
up there
under draconian dark clouds
I see a blue moon rising
gracefully shrouding the horizon
meanwhile
back here
on terra firma
woodland Autumn leaves are
colourfully crowning her mounds
where nature’s
unruffled fauna are found
gratefully grazing upon her
wounded ground
Ivor Steven (c) November 2021
Today I read a brilliant poem over on David Redpath’s fabulous site, and I thoroughly recommend that you read his outstanding piece, by clicking on this link >>https://highwaybloggery.com/2021/11/17/welcome-to-the-placebo-dome/
The below poem, is made up from the two comments that I placed on David’s site today.
Cracks In The Dome
I can hear bells ringing from the Placebo Dome
Through the cracks in my wall here at home
And still they are singing the same old anthem
Hollow words of charming wit and blunt sarcasm
Resonating from the dysfunctional meetings in Glasgow
Declaring they have saved the planet from a deadly afterglow
Absurdly, far too ironic
In a town so green and iconic
With their faces all aglow
Ashamed they were too slow
Because there’s not enough dough
Although
The world continues to produce live ammo
Ivor Steven (c) November 2021
Featured Image Above: was the inspiration behind my Haiku, thanks to another wonderful photo taken by Derrick Knight, and you can visit his fabulous site by clicking on this link >>https://derrickjknight.com/2021/11/11/before-and-after-sunset-2/
Dwindling (a Haiku)
The sunset subsides
Behind dark clouds there’s a glow
Where light turns to night
Ivor Steven (c) November 2021
“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” ― Leonard Cohen
Featured Image Above: taken from the lookout at the Moorabool Valley Chocolate Cafe, overling the emerald valley …
An Emerald Tapestry
I resumed living last decade
Narrowly surviving gravities finality
Now, I lean against my tower’s balustrade
That overlooks an emerald valley
Echoing from my castle’s balcony
I hear Leonard Cohen’s words about life’s pagentry
Outlining the spiritual tapestry
Of commonality, morality, and vitality
Ivor Steven (c) November 2021
On Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is post something just for the fun of it, and their prompt is: Just For Fun. Please go over and visit their fabulous site by clicking >> Here . .. And today my poem “Hypnotic Jasmine And Aromatic Coffee” is a fun piece I wrote at the ‘Box Office Cafe’ this afternoon…
Hypnotic Jasmine and Aromatic Coffee
Under a sapphire sky
bathing in purified sun
a cool sea-breeze drifts by
adroitly holding the exotic fragrance
of a hypnotic jasmine blossom
then the cafe’s aromatic coffee
flavours the air
as a tasty apple-slice
awaits to be sacrificed
beyond the pandemic’s vices
Ivor Steven (c) October 2021
Featured Image Above: “A Tree-house for Mystical Faeries”(My Title for the photo), taken by, Derrick Knight, and reproduced here with his permission, and again, thank you to Derrick for his kindness and continued support of my poems. Link for Derrick Knight’s site; > https://derrickjknight.com/author/derrickjknight/
Did You Hear The Full Moon Sing?
Yesterday, spring arrived
Last night, a full moon ignited the sky
Today, warmth arose from the earth
Everywhere I walked
Nature stood there bountiful and proud
Everywhere I looked
Nature displayed her colourful shrouds
I saw a glossy black pony
Glowing in the paddock moonlight
And a garden of purple flowers
Bouncing in the sunlight
I saw tree-house sanctuaries
Homes for mystical faeries
And hollowed out logs
Comfy beds for spiders and frogs
Tonight, nature’s mockingbird will sing a lullaby
Tomorrow, the universe will hear no lie or alibi
Ivor Steven (c) October 2021
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 