On Weekly Prompts, the Wednesday challenge is: FOR THE BIRDS. Please go over and visit their fabulous site by clicking >> HERE. The below Haiku, is my response to the prompt.
Silently She Cries
In the sky somewhere
There’s the old peace dove crying
In silence, she’ll die
Ivor Steven (c) June 2020.
Out of the blue ocean, into the black sea
We still appear wet behind our ears
And still burning bridges made out of ancient trees
Repeating the same old questions, while wearing our masks of tears
What about looking at nature’s dragonflies and bees?
How do they live in harmony without the fears?
We are the carriers of this corrupt disease
Ignoring our racist problems for too many years
Ivor Steven (c) June 2020
Below, the lyrics to “Nina Cried Power” by Hozier, please read and sing along…..
“Nina Cried Power”
(feat. Mavis Staples)
It’s not the song, it is the singing
It’s the heaven of a human spirit ringing
It is the bringing of the line
It is the bearing of the rhyme
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising
[Hozier & Mavis Staples:]
And I could cry power (Power), power (Power)
Power, Lord
Nina cried power
Billie cried power
Mavis cried power
And I could cry (Power) power, (Power) power
Hey, power
Curtis cried power
Patti cried power
Nina cried power
[Hozier:]
It’s not the wall, but what’s behind it
Oh, the fear of fellow man, it’s mere assignment
And everything that we’re denied
By keeping the divide
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising
[Hozier & Mavis Staples:]
And I could cry power (Power), power (Power)
Oh, power
Nina cried power
Lennon cried power
James Brown cried power
And I could cry (Power) power, (Power) power
Hey, power
B.B. cried power
Joni cried power
Nina cried power
[Mavis Staples:]
And I could cry power
Power has been cried by those stronger than me
Straight into the face that tells you
To rattle your chains if you love being free
[Hozier & Mavis Staples:]
But I could cry power (Power)
‘Cause power is my love when my love reaches to me
James Brown cried power
Seeger cried power
Marvin cried power
Yeah ah, power
James cried power
Lennon cried power
Patti cried power
Billie, power
Dylan, power
Woody, power
Nina cried power
“The language of friendship is not words but meanings” … Henry David Thoreau
I, Can Breathe
I don’t own much
I don’t owe much
I share what I have
I have hope and love……
Oh, we, the drowned
We, the broken
We, the leftover pieces
We, hoping for peace
I see their choices
I hear their voices
I am defiant
I, cannot be a tyrant
I, cannot be violent
I, cannot be silent
Ivor Steven (c) June 2020
Hello dear readers, this is my follow-up poem, on the back of my pictorial article about our Geelong’s “Pako Festa” on Saturday >>https://ivors20.wordpress.com/2020/03/02/the-communities-leap-of-faith-pako-festa-geelong/ My poem here was inspire by this glorious multicultural event, which was both awe-inspiring and at times emotionally teary for me….. Hopefully my words explain my thoughts as the parade passed by me….. And as usual I’ve attached a song, but this is not any song….. it’s a piece I’ve had on my playlist for a while….. a very emotional song by ‘Natalie Merchant’, … please listen if you have time, and you’ll understand how my poem is strongly connected to her song ‘Motherland’…… By coincidence, I remembered “Natalie Merchant’s” song when I began searching YouTube for a suitable piece of music to go with my poem……and for your further enjoyment, I’ve also attached her superb lyrics below…….
One Motherland
I’m standing here watching
a parade of nations
passing in front of me
people from far away lands
walking hand in hand
in harmony
one big family
beyond their first moorings
recalling their ocean crossings
I’m standing here wondering
what drove them here
to leave their homeland
cross a line in the sand
and live in this distant world
on an ancient island
to live as one
under the same sun
cradled by one Motherland
I’m standing here crying
thinking about pointless wars
knowing children are dying
there’s too much hatred
life is so sacred
we are all related
living under One hand
all on one Motherland
we are merely a mite of dust
searching for love and trust
cradled by one Motherland
Motherland, lyrics by Natalie Merchant
Where in hell can you go
Far from the things that you know
Far from the sprawl of concrete
That keeps crawling its way
About 1,000 miles a day?
Take one last look behind
Commit this to memory and mind
Don’t miss this wasteland, this terrible place
When you leave
Keep your heart off your sleeve
Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe
Lie with me
Stay beside me
Don’t go, don’t you go
O, my five & dime queen
Tell me what have you seen?
The lust and the avarice
The bottomless, the cavernous greed
Is that what you see?
Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe
Lie with me
Stay beside me
Don’t go
It’s your happiness I want most of all
And for that I’d do anything at all, o mercy me!
If you want the best of it or the most of all
If there’s anything I can do at all
Now come on shot gun bride
What makes me envy your life?
Faceless, nameless, innocent, blameless and free,
What’s that like to be?
Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe
Lie with me
Stay beside me
Don’t go, don’t you go
Ivor Steven (c) March 2020
I wrote this poem last night, when I woke up at 1.30am. The featured image above, is looking up at the Geelong hills north of the town, they are called the “You Yangs”. I suppose my poem below is about, how our politicians, should look up , to see what’s coming down on their heads. This post is for the Weekly Prompt, Photo Challenge: Up <<Click on, to view The Weekly Prompt site…..
Feeding Them Up On Bullets Instead
How hard must we hit the nail
On their heads
Before the white house wooden hearts
Finally count the living-dead
How hard does the rain have to fall
On their heads
Before the farmer’s empty buckets
Only fill via tears from the living-dead
How hard shall the sunshine burn
On their heads
Before the number of extinct birds
Light-up the dark gap between government heads
How hard do crumbling icebergs break
On their heads
Before both polar ice-caps melt
Flooding our storage silos and sheds
The answer my friends, rests
On their heads
Before all the starving arise from earthen beds
Crying out, stop feeding us up on bullets instead
Words, Between the Lines Of Age . Neil Young. Lyrics
Someone and someone were down by the pond
Looking for something to plant in the lawn.
Out in the fields they were turning the soil
I’m sitting here hoping this water will boil
When I look through the windows and out on the road
They’re bringing me presents and saying hello.
Singing words, words between the lines of age.
Words, words between the lines of age.
If I was a junk-man selling you cars,
Washing your windows and shining your stars,
Thinking your mind was my own in a dream
What would you wonder and how would it seem?
Living in castles a bit at a time
The king started laughing and talking in rhyme.
Singing words, words between the lines of age.
Words, words between the lines of age.
Ivor Steven (c) 2019
I am also posting this poem “Silent Sky,” on “Go Dog Go Café” via the fantastic idea of “Promote Yourself Monday”.. << Click here
My morning sky is silent
An empty clear blue vent
A vast quietness
Cloudless and soundless
The world has turned mute
We cannot hear
The whales crying
We no longer see
The birds flying
We now refuse to speak
Words of peace, they’re slowly dying
My morning sky has no sun
Spent gold, overused, and undone
A grey dullness
Viewless, a hollow darkness
The world has lost sight
We no longer see
Industrious bees
We cannot hear
The animals fear
We now deny the people’s voice
Words of peace, our children’s choice
Ivor Steven (c) 2019
My tired voice is crying out, “there’s no time to wait !!”
Pleading, along with the world’s impatient majority
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 bell’s … call
We the people, from the planet’s four corners
Are united by our textiles woven together
We’ve attached our hands firmly to the bell pull
And tugging the pull cords, the thunder of the bells shall ring
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 … call
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
Ivor Steven (c) 2019
There’s a serene tranquil calmness
Hovering over this panoramic bay
The cloudy sky’s silkily reflected
Upon it’s benign smooth waters
The shoreline’s fresh-air is gently cool
Creating a peaceful atmosphere of awe and wonder
Impressing local onlookers and tourist alike
Beholding a picturesque, enchanting balminess
Soothing to all those enraptured souls
Fortunate to view the waterfronts afternoon artistry
Blue Yonder: By David Francey, Lyrics
Here on the ground
It’s a long way down
To the land down under
And all I want to do
Is ride into the blue yonder
Id’ beep in the sky
And I’d be higher than high
And it’s no wonder
That all I want to do
Is ride into the blue yonder
Into the blue yonder
Into the blue yonder
All I want to do
Is ride into the blue yonder
I’d be up in the clouds
And I’d be laughing out loud
With the world to wander
And all I want to do
Is ride into the blue yonder
I’ll be into the blue
And I’ll be gone and through
And I’ll be out from under
And all I want to do
Is ride into the blue yonder
Into the blue yonder
Into the blue yonder
All I want to do
Is ride into the blue yonder
Ivor Steven (c) 2019
The foreigners have quietly landed
Wood from our trees has all been sanded
We’re a country without doors
Surrounded by golden shores
The openings are cast and vast
And the alien’s time is here at last
I cannot stop them, nor can you
If it be their will
Then, let it be
Join them, do not flee
We’ll all be hand in hand
To become the promised land
So let us be great again
Do not worry about the hard-rain
Do not consider the broken light
Forget about the rainstorm tonight
Who cares about Polar Bear’s with no ice
Leaders say “Enjoy now, no matter the price”
Sorry, we cannot send the politicians a banquet of flowers
All flowers are in crystal vases, within the moguls ivory towers
Ivor Steven (c) 2019
