There Will Be An Answer

The Featured Image above was taken by Derrick Knight, and when I viewed his heartwarming photo of the foal peacefully sleeping on the grass, my mind was immediately inspired to write words, and after numerous attempts to create something worthy of Derrick’s beautiful photo, I eventually produced this poem “There Will Be An Answer” … and my poem is to be read by pretending that you are the “foal’s” thoughts … You may visit Derrick’s article by clicking on this Link >>
https://derrickjknight.com/2022/06/20/shadows-and-reflections/

There Will Be An Answer

All the world is green

Within my midday dream

Please, do not disturb me

Let me sleep, let me be

Let it be, let it be

I do not comprehend

Your unnatural trends

Of killing your neighbours

After kicking in their sacred doors

Do not listen to me

Hear the breeze among the trees

There, under nature’s ancient marquee

She wisely decrees

Live in harmony like the bees

Co-existence is free

Let it be, let it be

Ivor Steven (c) June 2022

A World Of Puppets (a Tanka)

Featured Image Above: by Derrick Knight, who kindly allows me to reproduce his photos here on my poetry website …

A World Of Puppets (a Tanka)




Are we the puppets?

Punch and Judy’s without strings

Who’s contolling things?

As Putin’s a dummy too

Ask the children in Russia

Ivor Steven (c) February 2022

“New Mushrooms”, my 2nd Poem in the Red Wolf Journal, A Change of World Spring 2022 Edition

Featured Image Above: with the kind permission of Derrick Knight >> https://derrickjknight.com/

The ediditor of Red Wolf Journal, Irene Toh, is pleased to announce the release of the Spring 2022 Issue.

The poets with work in the A Change of World edition are:

Dmitry Blizniuk
Paul Brooke
Jeff Burt
Joe Cottonwood
CS Crowe
Mary Anna Scenga Kruch
Ron. Lavalette
Joan Mazza
Karla Linn Merrifield
Peter Mladinic
Misky
Larry Oakner
Frederick Pollack
Emalisa Rose
Timothy Resau
Rikki Santer
Emil Sinclair
Ivor Steven
Debi Swim

You may download a copy of the PDF release here.

A Change of World Spring 2022 Issue 20

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You’re invited to submit to our new issue, also titled A Change of World, Fall 2022 Edition. Read our submission guidelines here. Happy writing!

Irene Toh
Editor
Spring 2022 Edition
_____________________________________________________________________________________

A sincere thank you to the editor Irene, for considering two my of poems for her superb anthology “A Change Of World”

New Mushrooms

After the storm

Old boundaries were transformed

Fences were moved and torn

Fields smelled of rotting corn

Patient vultures remained airborne

Above the drowning longhorn’s

After the storm

I rested under the peppercorn

And I saw new mushrooms rise with the dawn

Ivor Steven (c) February 2022

The Final Sunset

I have a few thank you’s to accompay the writing of my piece “The Final Sunset”.

Firstly my opening stanza was written as a response to Susi’s inspiring post today, thank you Susi. https://iwriteher.com/2022/02/24/peace-please/ Thank you to David Redpath, for reminding me of Bob Dylan’s poignant protest song, “Masters Of War” , which I have attached below. https://highwaybloggery.com/2022/02/24/masters-of-war/ , and thank you to Derrick Knight for allowing me to use his stunning “Sunset” photo as my featured photo here on my site, https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/24/the-assistant-photographer-saves-the-day/

The Final Sunset 
 
 
Wrong versus right 
War versus peace 
Greed versus commonsense 
Destruction versus harmony 
Killing versus living 
 
War is not the people’s choice 
 
Is this to be our final sunset 
Will she justifiably refuse  
To open her golden eye 
Upon another shattering dawn  
Of our manufactured doom

Ivor Steven (c) February 2022

Until Eyes Hear Sound

Featured Image Above: By Derrick Knight, and I am sincerely grateful to Derrick for allowing me to use his wonderful photos here in collaboration with my poems.



Until Eyes Hear Sound

The air I breathe

Purifying within

free to leave

free as the wind

I wonder at nature’s freshness

early in the morning

we take her for granted

our perennial mother earth

nurturing a new start to every day

I wish mankind could

begin afresh like her

Searches are many

answers unwound

mirrors our insanity

until eyes hear sound

Ivor Steven (c) February 2022

Pushing Up Daisies

Featured Image Above: Taken by, Derrick Knight, and reproduced here, with his generous permission.

The Above Photos, are of my courtyard’s Osteospermum’s (Daisies)



Pushing Up Daisies 

I am not crazy, nor am I lazy 

I am living in a foggy haze 

In the middle of this planetary maze 

Am I out of phase?  

When I say 

This world is a dying daisy 

I have abandoned my computer desk 

A messy digital mirage, so grotesque 

And searching the cosmos for a pink moon 

Away from this dizzy burlesque 


 

Am I out of phase? 

When I say 

That out there in the Milky Way

There is another pink moon 

Actively interested 

In growing yellow daisies 

Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

Mankind’s Dirty Hands

My poem today is based on a poetic ‘comment’ that I wrote on the “Chatter Blog’s” site, after reading her interesting article. For those who follow Colleen’s site, would agree that all of her posts are thought provoking and interesting, and you may visit her article by clicking on this link >> https://bikecolleenbrown.wordpress.com/2021/12/29/hasnt-been-back/

Mankind’s Dirty Hands

I am an ancient oak tree

leaning against the prevailing breeze

the winds of time have shaped me

after blowing my disguise into the sea

now here I stand

a lifeless shadow

of leafless branches

within nature’s naked forest

waiting for mankind’s dirty hands

to stop the desert sands

from ravaging the last strands

of what remains hanging over our land

Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

A Sunday Dream

Featured Image Above: has been cropped from the photo below, which was taken by Derrick Knight, and again I sincerely thank Derrick for allowing me to reproduce his photos here, in conjunction with my poems. You may visit his fabulous site by clicking on this link
>> https://derrickjknight.com/

A Sunday Dream

did you hear the stars sing last night?

no

neither did I

did you see the sun cry at dawn?

no

neither did I

did you hear the bells ring this morning?

no

neither did I

did you feel the earth sigh today?

no

neither did I

there is you, I, and why

why cannot they see the sky?

why do they always lie?

why do they not cry?

Ivor Steven (c) December 2021