Coffee House Writers

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Fiction
      • Action & Adventure
      • Fantasy
      • Historical Fiction
      • Horror
      • Mystery
      • Romance
      • Science Fiction
      • Speculative Fiction
      • Suspense & Thrillers
      • Westerns
      • Women’s Fiction
      • Women Sleuths
    • Nonfiction
      • Astrology & Tarot
      • Biographies
      • Business
      • Creativity
      • Creative Nonfiction
      • Cooking, Food & Drink
      • Culture
      • Current Affairs & Politics
      • Design, Fashion & Style
      • Entertainment
      • Environment
      • Health & Wellness
      • History
      • Home & Garden
      • Lifestyle
      • Media
      • Memoir & Autobiographies
      • Paranormal
      • Parenting & Family
      • Reviews
      • Science & Technology
      • Self-Help & Relationships
      • Spiritual & Religious
      • Sports
      • Travel
      • True Crime
    • Poetry
      • Acrostic
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login

logo

Coffee House Writers

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Fiction
      • Action & Adventure
      • Fantasy
      • Historical Fiction
      • Horror
      • Mystery
      • Romance
      • Science Fiction
      • Speculative Fiction
      • Suspense & Thrillers
      • Westerns
      • Women’s Fiction
      • Women Sleuths
    • Nonfiction
      • Astrology & Tarot
      • Biographies
      • Business
      • Creativity
      • Creative Nonfiction
      • Cooking, Food & Drink
      • Culture
      • Current Affairs & Politics
      • Design, Fashion & Style
      • Entertainment
      • Environment
      • Health & Wellness
      • History
      • Home & Garden
      • Lifestyle
      • Media
      • Memoir & Autobiographies
      • Paranormal
      • Parenting & Family
      • Reviews
      • Science & Technology
      • Self-Help & Relationships
      • Spiritual & Religious
      • Sports
      • Travel
      • True Crime
    • Poetry
      • Acrostic
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login
  • Uluru, Kakadu, Kathmandu, and Xanadu

  • Second Best

  • An Unforgettable Experience

  • R and R

  • The Dawning of Evolution

  • Neptune’s Fortune Part 7

  • Of Lockets and Pomegranates: Chapter 24

  • Caretaker

  • What Is Music?

  • Is My Horizon Unreachable?

  • A Modern Proposal

  • Of Lockets and Pomegranates: Chapter 23

  • Beyond Heaven’s Gates

  • Searching for Answers

  • From Survivor to Thriver

  • Still in Transit

  • Living My Truth

  • Living in the Shade

  • Anxiety versus Intuition

  • I Stopped to Listen

Poetry
Home›Poetry›Strong Undertows

Strong Undertows

By Ivor Steven
December 27, 2021
1804
11
Share:
The strong undertows at Barwon Heads
Featured Image by Ivor Steven
0
(0)

Time hears no command
The sky is our blue grandstand
Overseeing oceans and lands
As the sun warms our silent clock hands

The seasons come and go
Springtime melts the snow
Nature’s seeds germinate and grow
And our rivers of life continue to flow

Has mankind become a pantomime show?
And Forgotten to ask the owls and crows
How to fly through?
The bad years of strong undertows

_________________________________

Photo by Ivor Steven

_________________________________

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you enjoyed this post...

Follow us on social media!

Oh no!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

TagsFree Verse PoetryClimate ChangeNature
Previous Article

California’s Elfin Forest

Next Article

Divorce And Dating And Other Disasters At ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0

Ivor Steven

Ivor Steven was formerly an Industrial Chemist, then a Plumber, and has been writing poetry for 19 years. He has had numerous poems published in anthologies, and on-line magazines. He is an active member of the Geelong Writers Inc.(Australia), and is a team member/barista with the on-line magazine "Go Dog Go Cafe" (America).

Related articles More from author

  • a decrepit hallway with debris in the floor
    Poetry

    Hallowed Halls

    October 20, 2025
    By Erynn Crittenden
  • a sunbeam coming through the trees.
    Poetry

    Light in the Forest

    June 15, 2026
    By Erynn Crittenden
  • A street being pelted by falling raindrops
    FictionFantasySpeculative Fiction

    Raindrop Rhapsody

    January 19, 2026
    By Adriana Philips
  • Photo of Boston Public Gardens in black and white
    Poetry

    Monotony

    September 8, 2025
    By Lexi
  • A notebook and crumpled papers on a light background
    Poetry

    Forcing the Words

    September 15, 2025
    By Erynn Crittenden
  • Woman in a white dress walking in a dark lit area with her shadow behind her.
    Poetry

    My Shadow Remains

    June 16, 2025
    By Neva Naci

11 comments

  1. Cheryl Batavia 27 December, 2021 at 21:55 Reply

    Brilliantly expressed poem! We show our true strength in “the bad years of strong undertow!” Written in Ivor’s signature whimsical style, the poem gently leads us to reflect and to seek nature’s wisdom by remembering to “ask the Owls and the crows.”

    • Ivor Steven 29 December, 2021 at 12:19 Reply

      Thank you Cheryl for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate your wonderful input 😊🌏πŸͺΆ

  2. Cheryl Batavia 28 December, 2021 at 09:26 Reply

    Our mettle is measured by our response to “The bad years of strong undertows.” In Ivor’s signature whimsical style, he gently reminds us of our connection to nature.” Have we “forgotten to ask the owls and crows how to fly through?”

    • Ivor Steven 29 December, 2021 at 12:23 Reply

      Thank you Cheryl … you have honoured me with a second wonderful comment l😍😊🌏

  3. Lamittan Minsah 29 December, 2021 at 05:11 Reply

    What a crystal piece! Ivor is a great poet who has mastered the use of imagery and other poetic styles.

  4. Ivor Steven 29 December, 2021 at 12:26 Reply

    Thank you Felix for comments, they mean a lot to me 😊🌏

  5. Eugenia 29 December, 2021 at 12:56 Reply

    Beautiful rhyming and flow! “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life” – Charles Darwin

    • Ivor Steven 29 December, 2021 at 15:54 Reply

      Thank you Eugenia for your kind words, and for visiting Coffee House Writers 😊🌏

  6. Jo Curtain 29 December, 2021 at 19:20 Reply

    Wonderful poem Ivor reflecting our current times.

    • Ivor Steven 30 December, 2021 at 16:33 Reply

      Thank you Jo .. and have a happy and healthy 2022

  7. Shad e Zuiweta 17 January, 2022 at 10:20 Reply

    Good poem.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may be interested

  • A woman is holding up a small shard from a mirror. In the reflection, it only shows her eye and a slight outline of her nose, as if showing how she ponders with what she notices within the depths of her vision
    NonfictionCreative Nonfiction

    The Changes In My Reflection

  • https://pixabay.com/en/library-study-alone-reading-male-2414380/
    EnvironmentCulture

    5 Websites Every College Student Should Know About

  • castle, hall, window
    EntertainmentCultureCreativityFiction

    Cascade Falls – Part One

Timeline

  • July 20, 2026

    Uluru, Kakadu, Kathmandu, and Xanadu

  • July 20, 2026

    Second Best

  • July 20, 2026

    An Unforgettable Experience

  • July 20, 2026

    R and R

  • July 13, 2026

    The Dawning of Evolution

Latest Comments

  • Eugi
    on
    July 21, 2026
    What a lovely and lyrical piece, Ivor. Your words would make a great song.

    Uluru, Kakadu, Kathmandu, and Xanadu

  • LC Ahl (Lucy)
    on
    May 4, 2026
    Great story Scarlett! Excellent delivery!

    One Last Time

  • LC Ahl (Lucy)
    on
    May 4, 2026
    I loved this series. You have a gift for world building!

    Lover of the Queen: Epilogue

  • Ivor R Steven
    on
    April 14, 2026
    Thank you very much for your kind words, Derrick

    Arise With My Light

  • Ivor Steven
    on
    April 14, 2026
    Thank you so much for visiting my poem here at CHW, Beth

    Arise With My Light

About us

  • coffeehousewriters3@gmail.com

Donate to Coffee House Writers

Coindrop.to me

Follow us

Β© Copyright 2018-2026 Coffee House Writers. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s administrator and owner is strictly prohibited. Privacy Policy Β· Disclaimer