A sky‑hung spider paused above me, its long legs offering the day’s small surprise.
A Sky High Spider (a Tanka)
High above the ground
The spider hangs from a leaf
By a single thread,
Skillfully, without a net —
Nature’s six-legged trapezist.
A touch of quiet strength to mirror the spider’s patient art.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Featured Image Above: The image is a photomontage of my computer desk, a Pandora Box, and my imaginary space craft, ‘ITMIMS’ (Ivor’s Time Machine In Micro Space)
Hello, dear readers and followers. I contribute to Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) every second week, and I’m delighted to share that my latest poem, “Email Overload,” appears in the new issue. You can read it by following the link below.
>> Email Overload – Coffee House Writers
‘ITMIMS’ – Ivor’s Time Machine In Micro Space
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Until Eyes Hear Sound
Amazon >> Amazon.com : 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 … and I can send you a PayPal account,
for the Book, plus Postage.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
There are moments when a song gathers everyone in the room into one breath. Watching “Spirit Bird” live in Brussels, I felt that pull — a reminder that we’ve walked this path before, laughed and cried before, stood on this same wounded ground before. And still, the spirit rises.
Morning’s silent wings keep tracing the same old stories.
“Spirit Bird”
Yes, we’ve seen it all before
“Give it time, and we wonder why,
do what we can, laugh, and we cry
And we sleep in your dust
because we’ve seen this all before.”
… The finale lyrics from Xavier Rudd’s emotional song “Spirit Bird.”
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Feature Image Above: was created by Copilot and me.
Stepping outside, I find the night moon is still following me.
Staring Back At Me (a Tanka)
It’s after midnight
I’m out, beyond the front door
The night is cloudy
But I can still see the moon
There, watching my every move
And the moon kept following me as if the night wasn’t done with me yet
Ivor Steven © April 2026
A warm autumn sky, a bright afternoon, and a half‑moon trying not to be noticed.
Our Shy Half-moon
In our sunny Autumn sky,
the afternoon’s silvery half-moon
is naturally simple to pinpoint.
Especically
if you study your moon-chart app’
before you dip your eyes
into the dazzling blue yonder.
But beware — do not stare.
Our daytime moon is rather shy
about being exposed
by the sun’s intrusive glare.
A bright little moon‑tune to echo beneath the daylight sky.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
As the sky deepened to red, the day’s meaning settled softly around us.
Over at Weekly Prompts, it’s the weekend of the month, which means it’s time for the One-Day Prompt. Here in Australia, it’s that One Day of the year when we commemorate ANZAC Day. To visit the Weekly Prompts site, please click on >> Here
Lest We Forget (a Haiku)
Twilight’s blood red sky
Quietly reminded us
About ANZAC Day
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Late‑autumn warmth and a sky washed clear — moments of sunshine worth pausing for.
Beyond Blue (a Haiku)
From beyond the blue
Here, within your universe
The sun shines on you
This song appeared unprompted today, as if from beyond the blue.
A soft sky‑note to carry you toward tomorrow’s light.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in July 2022) is drawn from my third book, Until Eyes Hear Sound. It appears in Chapter 5: Observation, Until Eyes Hear Sound.
A Torn Thesaurus
With my fiddle and riddles
Here in the middle
Of this unopened universe
Time spirals in reverse
Quills fly in from cyberspace
As alien words unravel and interlace
A torn thesaurus is my database
I wonder
Have I landed in the right place?
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Until Eyes Hear Sound
Amazon >> Amazon.com : 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 … and I can send you a PayPal account,
for the Book, plus Postage.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
A quiet moment at dusk, evening settling softly around me, unaware the sky hosted its own surprise to share.
Lucky Man: an Evening Surprise (a Tanka)
There I stood waiting
for the wattlebird to fly
out of his gum tree.
Quickly, I snapped a photo —
surprise … do you see it too?”
Sometimes you’re just lucky enough to be standing in the right place at the right time.
Ivor Steven © April 2026
“There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” … Leonard Cohen
“The sky cracked open for a heartbeat, and the light played its own soft melody.”
Through the Widening Crack
Twilight’s canopy of clouds
eclipses the evening sky
with an embracing violet shroud.
However, the squinting sunlight
was silently trying to wave goodbye
through the widening crack
above the sun’s transient eye.
And there on nature’s colourful curtain,
I saw columns of light
ascend the nebulous mountain;
then I wondered
whether I was witnessing the world’s
grand celestial pipe organ
playing a lullaby to the purple night
Ivor Steven © April 2026
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 