Defying the Odds

Featured Images: were taken at the local Kindergarten, where the school’s gardener lovingly maintains the beautiful garden, and she excitedly pointed out that, despite it being the start of winter, there were 2 sunflower plants ‘defying the odds’. and actually thriving and blooming … I smiled at her joyful enthusiasm, however inwardly I was silently weeping for those still suffereing in wartorn Ukraine.
So here today I am reposting “5” of my “Sunflower” poems relating to the “Ukrainian” war.

We Are the Carrier Pigeons


 
Are our Sunflowers wilting? 

Can they survive, prosper, and regrow? 

They will need more  

Genuine assistance 

Our promissory words 

And tuneless birdsongs 

Are not enough 

We cannot forget them 

We all need to speak up 

Let our world of voices be heard 

Draft a poem, a letter 

Of protest, today, tomorrow 

We are the carrier pigeons 

May our messages for peace 

Chime over the people of Russia 

Defiantly (a Haiku)

Sunflowers do bloom

Through the war of destruction

Bravely defiant

An Unseeded Renewal (a Tanka)



Sunflowers of peace

We have not forgotten you

The war has not stopped

Killing fields are still on fire

Young stems need help to survive

A Banner of Sunflowers

Bann
look!

up there

above the War’s

darkest clouds

there is a blue banner

embroided with sunflowers

swaying

through a hole

in the eastern sky

bearing a message

of ‘Hello’

or is it ‘Goodbye’?

a sweeping reminder

from our Ancestors

“we feel your suffering and pain

from the merciless hard rain

blood filled rivers and cratered plains

smoke filled skylines and cracked windowpanes”

“however, we also know

beyond the broken horizon

the sunflower seeds of hope

will germinate again

and future seeds for peace

will regenerate a new campaign“




Sunflower Seeds (a Tanka)

Blue skies were mellow

Fields were peaceful and yellow

Sunflowers grew free

Then foreign tanks squashed their seeds

On tomorrow’s scarred harrows

Ivor Steven (c) May 2023

Between Lines, Who Holds the Power

Today’s post is a poem (Originally titled “Between the Lines”) that I revised/rehashed this morning … I might be wrong, but will I ever be right …

“And I have carried on this war. Though no one wins an endless fight. I have claimed that God has guided me. And killed to prove I’m right.” Lyrics From Damien Rice’s song, “What if I’m wrong”

Between Lines, Who Holds the Power

Do you see, a man walking on water?

Did you see, his feet were bleeding?

Do you read, the missing scriptures?

Did you read, your own family tree?

Do you hear, speechless angels singing?

Did you hear, the songbirds crying?

Do you feel, the erased wars calling?

Did you feel, the hard rains falling?

Do you know, the ones who are lying?

Did you know, the refugees are dying?

“What If I’m Wrong”, Lyrics, by Damien Rice

I could wrestle with tomorrow
Until tomorrow’s in the past
Because I have torn apart what’s beautiful
To prove that nothing lasts I have stayed locked behind these doors
To show there’s no way out
I got lost within the space between
The question and the doubt
I have built a wall between

What I believed and what is true
I have sacrificed the love I had
For power over you

I have convicted those who disagree
And walked over the weak
I have placed a gun within the mouth
Of those who dared to speak

And on an ordinary day
In an ordinary way
I have crushed the minds of children
With extraordinary shame

And I have carried on this war
Though no one wins an endless fight
I have claimed that God has guided me
And killed to prove I’m right

What if I’m wrong
What if I’m wrong
What if I’m wrong
What if I’m wrong

Is this soul worth saving at all?
Cause if I lose my wings then surely I must fall
And the gods prayed to the gods they made

We could wrestle with tomorrow
until tomorrow’s in the past
We could tear apart what’s beautiful
To prove that nothing lasts

We could stay locked behind the doors
To show there’s no way out
We could get lost within the space between
The question and the doubt

But what if we’re wrong?

Ivor Steven (c) May 2023

Throwback Friday, Baby Vegetables and Puppy Dogs, by Ivor Steven

MARCH 24, 2023 / IVOR20 … Copied from my article on “Go Do Go Cafe” this morning. >> http://godoggocafe.com/2023/03/24/throwback-friday-baby-vegetables-and-puppy-dogs-by-ivor-steven/

Today I am presenting a poem I originally wrote in August 2019 …

Baby Vegetables and Puppy Dogs

We can climb the tallest peaks

Where there’s the purest thin air to breathe

Yet we still dispossess children of their rightful freedom

Bagging them in plastic like vegetables in a fridge

We can dive into the ocean’s deepest chasms

Where without artificial lights it’s too dark to see

Yet we still blindfold children from the solar daylight

Abandoning them at night like forgotten homeless dogs

We can fly to the furthermost planets

Where there’s a willingness to meet the unknown

Yet we still treat frightened children like Saturn’s aliens

Caging them like feral animals in a desert zoo

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com  



Ivor Steven (c) March 2023

Hear The Thunder

I came across this poem of mine today, a piece I wrote back in January 2019, while I was in hospital recovering from my 2nd stroke … maybe my dreams and visions were at bit blurred … but maybe they weren’t …

Hear The Thunder

My tired voice is crying out, “there’s no time to wait !!”

The people are pleading fromwithin their breastplates

We need to hear the thunder of peace bells ringing

Ringing to the crescendo of peace doves singing

The chimes are loud and clear

Loud enough for the universe to hear

Even through white marble walls

You’ll hear the thunder of the peace bells fall

We are gathering in every backyard

Every church hall

Every city street

Every farmers paddock

Every heavenly peace dove is escaping

You will see the doves flying high above

Even through the towers of tinted glass

You’ll see the peace doves soar

Even through their white marble walls

They’ll hear the thunder of the peace bells fall

Even through their towers of tinted glass

They’ll hear the crescendo of the peace doves call

Hear the thunder of peace bells ringing

Hear the crescendo of peace doves singing

|

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/Perceptions-Ivor-Steven/dp/1387487302/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RD27PWFI9JPS&keywords=perceptions+by+ivor+steven&qid=1676894211&s=books&sprefix=Perceptions%2Cstripbooks%2C1174&sr=1-1

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com



Ivor Steven (c) February 2023

Birds Walking

Birds Walking




Who would need wings

If the ground was safe all year long

A level field for the world’s bird songs



No gas-filled trenches

No bombs dropping from the sky

No fallen angels waving goodbye

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com

Ivor Steven (c) February 2023

Forked Tongues

THIS THURSDAY AT 6:30 PM
Lowercase presents: SPEAKING IN TONGUES
At The Medusa Bar
Hello dear readers and followers, if you are in the Geelong area, come along, you are most welcome, and I will be reciting my new poem “Forked Tongues”.

Forked Tongues




War clouds cover the sun

The wind hums through dead leaves

They’re talking in tongues

Beach sand is on the run

The waves sharply rise and cry

They’re talking in tongues

Moon shadows are left undone

Their white light hides under trees

And they’re talking in tongues

The new dawn has begun

Sunrise greets everyone

But we’re talking in tongues

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com

Ivor Steven (c) February 2023

Let Us Grow (a Memento), is up at Coffee House Writers Magazine

Hello dear readers and followers, I now write for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a fortnightly basis, and my poem “Let Us Grow (a Memento)”, is in this week’s edition of Coffee House Writers Magazine. … please click on the link below and visit my poem, at Coffee House Writers. >> https://coffeehousewriters.com/let-us-grow/



Let Us Grow (a Memento)

The flowers still stand tall and strong

After the ghastly storm

Not long

They cry, before the bees do swarm

All day they hum their song

Conform

They remain a unified team

Work together they say

Then beam

Enjoy our colourful display 

Retain us in your dreams

Always

“The Great Gates Of Kiev”, Writer(s): Greg Lake, Keith Noel Emerson
How amazingly appropriate for todays world, written in 1971

Come forth, from love’s pyre
Born in life’s fire,
Born in life’s fire
Come forth, from love’s pyre
In the burning, of our yearning
For life to be
And in pain there will (must) be gain
New Life!

Stirring in salty streams
And dark hidden seams
Where the fossil sun gleams

They were, sent from (to) the gates
Ride the tides of fate
Ride the tides of fate
They were, sent from (to) the gates
In the burning of our yearning
For life to be

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com

Ivor Steven (c) February 2023

Birds on Wires

Birds on Wires 

Weary gray clouds 

Lay anchored in the sky 

Moist air hangs breathless 

Not a wisp to disperse the flies 

An anxious sweaty dampness

Clings to everything 

Birds on wires sit motionless 

Waiting for a thermal updraft 

To lift spirits beyond this world of smallness

Where greed and wars seem senseless

And remain the leader’s primary craft 

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com



Ivor Steven (c) January 2023

Please Let Them Grow (a Tanka)

Please Let Them Grow (a Tanka)




Ravages of war

Shall not weary their progress

United they stand

Strong and resilient they grow

Let the earth be their witness

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com



Ivor Steven (c) January 2023

The World’s Fractured Mirror

On Weekly Prompts, the Weekend Challenge is the word; BEND. Please go over and visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here . The poem below does have the word ‘Bend’ in it, and that’ll be close enough for me …
Featured Image: Another marvelous photo by, Derrick Knight >> https://derrickjknight.com

The World’s Fractured Mirror 

 
 
At the close of day 

Sunset’s empty Amphitheatre  

Descends across a bend in the twilight zone 

And semidarkness 

Oppresses the horizon’s  

Endangered vanishing point 

What loiters beyond 

The skylines diminishing aurora? 

Will the night-fires of war 

Continue to be entrapped 

For ever and ever, inside 

The world’s fractured mirror 

Tullawalla is Available From

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’


AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:

Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Lulu Books: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com

Ivor Steven (c) January 2023