The Disappearance of Decency


Introduction

Naked I stand before Him
Stripped of common decency
Debased, I kneel crying
Sad words fall like rain
Tanks are still rolling
Over the Ukraine
My Tanka’s are scrolling
Down their bloody drains



Tanka #1. Sad Sky

False words smudge old clouds
Gray clouds hang under sad sky
The sad sky decries
“Children are our butterflies
And please stop the warring lies”


Tanka #2. Broken Biscuits


Life is imperfect 
Like broken war-time biscuits 
Re-connection waits 
Reconciliation stops 
Life’s sweet shortbread’s unopened 


Tanka #3. Abandoned

May the stormy winds
Calmly abate in Europe
And bring peace quickly
Do not forget the children
We cannot abandon them


Epilogue

Cover me
Give me beauty
Inspire me
Calm me
Save me
From that deadly bee
Above the Black Sea








Ivor Steven (c) March 2022

From the North (a Tanka)

Featured Image Above: Of the Kananaskis Mountains, Alberta, Canada (West of Calgary), taken by my uncle, Dick Meyer (Dec.), from August 1997 …


From The North




Winter will not die

Nor relinquish his title

Without a cold blast

Howling over frozen bones

Of ancestors who have passed






Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

Future Skies (a Tanka)

Featured Image Above; and the two images below, are photos from Derrick Knight’s recent post “Pool Patterns”, and you may visit his article by clicking on this link
>> https://derrickjknight.com/2021/12/16/pool-patterns/

Pool Patterns


Future Skies




An old graceful world 

Shimmers upon mirrored pond 

Timeless images 

Nature’s blameless history 

Awaits future smogless skies 





Ivor Steven (c) December 2021

In The Blink Of An Eye (a Tanka) is up at Coffee House Writers Magazine

Hello dear readers and followers, as you may know, I now write for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a fortnightly basis, and my Tanka “In The Blink Of An Eye”, is in this week’s edition of Coffee House Writers Magazine.  … please click on the link below to read my poem/Tanka, at Coffee House Writers …
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/the-blink-of-an-eye/









Ivor Steven (c) November 2021

Illumination (a Tanka)


The “Weekly Prompts” Wednesday’s Challenge is; QUIET PLACES. Please go over and visit their fabulous site by clicking >> Here . My poem Illumination is in response to the prompt




Illumination (a Tanka)


A sunny spring sky 

Softly caresses my thighs  

Displacing old lies 

And illuminates my eye  

To the universe’s dye 





Ivor Steven (c) October 2021

Tanka: Moon Tree

The midweek Word Prompt over on Weekly Prompts, is Halloween . Today I’m posting my first try at writing a, Tanka, Please click >> Here, to visit “Weekly Prompts” fabulous site…

Tanka: Moon Tree

 

No! Don’t go up there

The old tree house is haunted

Full moon night, glares

Children’s Halloween costumes

Knock! Knock! Scary pranks, for treats

 

Ivor Steven (c)  October 2019