Fact or fiction
Whatever the diction
Words without friction
That is my addiction
Emotions from the heart
My love potion of remarks
From sweaty nightmares of blue sharks
To walking on dreams in Central Park
Words surviving my writing cramps
Evolving beyond sirens and flashing blue lamps
From bygone dreams of empty homes
To climbing a mountain of slippery stones
Ivor Steven (c) December 2020.
Tired eyes slowly open
The room is blurrily sloping
My lips are numb and dry
And I cannot see the sky
Three weeks I’ve been here
While my body is in recovery
Nurses say I’ll soon be out of this wheelchair
And I’ll be home with community health care
How will I cope I despair
My arm is idle and I cannot weight bear
And my speech is impaired
With a memory drifting in mid-air
I am unable to read or write
And daytime may as well be midnight
Three months have passed by
I am doing a morning crossword and my smile begins to cry
But there is a knowing sparkle in my eye
Upon my notepad I’ve scrawled lines of rhyme awry
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
As many of my readers would know, over the pass few weeks, I’ve been proof-reading and editing my manuscript, and with the help of a Geelong Writers friend (Claudia), her assistance has been magnificently diligent, and yesterday we finally completed our task…. and my poem here “Words of Mine” is to be the Epilogue for my book..
Epilogue
Here’s a link to a song that was written for me from ‘My Words’, by my musician friend, Terry Fielding… I hope the link works for you (let me know please)
And again, the Soundcloud song below my poem, was written for me by a musician friend from France, Haille Anderson.
Words of Mine
I’ve given you my humble words
I’ve given you my hidden soul
Words trickling through cool mountain streams
Words dripping off the frozen ashen trees
Words gliding across the icy lakes
Words of love, drowning in the memory rains
I’ve given you my inner self
I’ve given you my outer grief
Words tumbling over the embedded rocks
Words twisting along the winding rivers
Words cascading down the forest waterways
Words sifting through my barren hands
I’ve given you my lonely heart
I’ve given you my secret loves
Words of life living under the vast oceans
Words of time travelling to the stars beyond
Words flowing through happiness and sorrow
Words of mine, destiny’s dreams of tomorrow
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
This week the Weekend Challenge from Weekly Prompts is, Snippet. Please go and visit their fabulous site by clicking >> HERE. And below is my little snippet of a poem, in response to the ‘Weekly Prompt’
The Hummingbird Knows
I’m searching for a safe nest
a place for my weary wings to rest
a hostel for the hovering bewildered
above the rainbows where eagles soar
beyond the clouds silver linings
away from the world’s selfish cravings
a symphonic haven for my soul to call home
where the hummingbird knows the words for my poem
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
Love lives on and on
In the tune of every birdsong
And friendships warm the soul
Like the sun warms our body
Love lives on and on
Memories and rhymes remain strong
Love is within our heart
Love is there to be shared
Like the blood in our veins
Love is made for transfusions
Love has been there all along
Love advances right over wrong
Love lives within our sins
Love lives within everything
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
Baggage on a rough ocean, rattles
And snaps like a snake dressed in black
However the angry waves will bite back
And drown the leftover sacred battles
Baggage is only a temporary state
Between carrying life’s extra weight
And waiting for life’s next update
Baggage, imagine the stories
Imagine the hidden dreams
Imagine love bursting at the seams
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
The crashing noise started after midnight
When the growling thunder gave darkness a fright
I was shaken by the storms furious hard rain
Sounding like grumpy bears in chains
Thumping my iron roof with their heavy paws
And lashing at the awnings with their steely claws
Then the giant drops turned into falling ice-blocks
And I rushed back inside to shelter behind the dog box
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
Sunday’s Cooling Zephyr
So this is our new Sunday
Finally a return to normal ways
I feel almost alive
Adrenaline’s on a high
No time for my Dell
No time to dwell
Wonder and ponder
About a deep blue yonder
Another hour or so
And I’ll get up and go
Relax at my local Cafe
Enjoy a cake and coffee
And there will be a cooling zephyr
Caressing my brow, soft as a feather
I’ll hear Sigur Ros’s soothing music playing
And daydreaming, I’ll be gently swaying
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
My attached music/video, is a new song by ‘Sigur Ros’, from their yet to be release album, coming out on December the 8th… Their music here is a perfect example of how even though we don’t understand the language and lyrics, the musical performance and their glorious sound is a pure delight to listen to…. I hope you enjoy this 8 min piece of music excellence…
Music (a Haiku)
Live music matters
As we climb every mountain
Proudly, all shall sing
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
The theme of Sigur Ros’s song…
Composed in the 14th or 15th century Odin’s Raven Magic is an Icelandic poem in the ancient Edda tradition (Edda – a term that describes two Icelandic manuscripts which together are the main sources of Norse mythology and Skáldic poetry) its anonymous author clearly had an intimate knowledge of the Edda literature and mythology which alludes to a number of pagan motifs which are now lost. The poem recounts a great banquet held by the gods in Valhalla while they were absorbed in their feasting, ominous signs appeared that could foretell the end of the worlds of the gods and men. The album ‘Odin’s Raven Magic’ is an orchestral collaboration between Sigur Rós, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Steindór Andersen and Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir which premiered 18 years ago at the Barbican Centre in London and is now finally almost two decades later being released. The performance honours the poem, dramatic and beautiful, classical and contemporary. A stone marimba was built especially for the performance by Páll Guðmundsson. Odin’s Raven Magic – the poem – had been relegated from mainstream ancient literature ever since 1867, when Norwegian scholar Sophus Bugge claimed it was a 17th century fabrication. This theory has since been toppled with literary and linguistic arguments and new research has concluded that Odin’s Raven Magic was indeed authentic and has finally been reintroduced to the Edda.
This weekend the challenge from Weekly Prompts is the word; Noteworthy. Please go and visit their fabulous site by clicking >> Here . The below poem is my response to the prompt.
Centauress
I do not have to be famous to be noteworthy
Nor am I remarkably important
But within my fading soul I feel worldly
I do not have to be a President to be noteworthy
Nor am I significantly superior
But within my weary heart this story is newsworthy
I do not have to be a golden deity to be noteworthy
Nor am I the almighty creator
But within my lonely dreams I feel praiseworthy
I do not have to be anyone else but me
A earthy wordsmith, kind and trustworthy
Feature Image: The Centauress, by Rodin.
The Centauress is a provocative variation on the traditional equestrian monument. Instead of a hero mounted on a horse, the heroine and the horse have become one. Rodin combined two previous works in the design: The horse comes from an unrealized plan for a sculpture of a Chilean general. He adapted the woman from a male figure in The Gates from Hell.
Why create this amalgam? Rodin described a struggle between humanity’s “two natures. . . . An image of the soul whose ethereal impulses remain miserably imprisoned in the corporeal mire!”
Ivor Steven (c) Nov 2020
