Thursday, September 28, 2017

Curves

Gravity pulls the stream
around silver curves.

The current

feels like God
guiding my hand
over the page.

Lines scrolling.
Gratitude flowing.
© 2017 Richard Havenga


Photo LocationCrested ButteColorado 


Monday, September 25, 2017

Carried


Grazing the inner landscape for ideas,
I am carried into a wider existence,
a greater awareness,
carried by the current of creativity.




As the growing vine
reaches out with tendrils,
seeking an elevated position,
carried closer to the light,

I carry this invitation to you;
to enter the oportunities
of artistic expression,
as you expand your love of the land.


© 2017 Richard Havenga




Thursday, September 21, 2017

Silver Dispersal



Even the humble dandelion
displays intricate precision
in the delicate details
of its silver dispersal.
© 2017 Richard Havenga



Thursday, September 14, 2017

September Stage



As summer settles
into September,
asters and goldenrod
accept the invitation
to audition
for this month
of transition.



Yellow and gold,
purple and lavender,
assume their places
on this September stage.



In the background,
from the percussion section,
acorns and hickory nuts
zip through the leaves,
pound the ground,
and bounce off my
inverted canoe.


During these cooler nights,
cricket calls seem calmer
as they continue to crank out
their calibrated wing rustles;
soft stridulations 
with temperature affecting
their measured notes.

The stage is set.
Harmony prevails.
The audience approves.
© 2017 Richard Havenga






Monday, September 11, 2017

Practicing Goodbye



Memories rise and fall
with the undulating waves.

Remembering washes over my mind,
then retreats down the wet slope of sand.

Like creation in front of me,
like creation repeating the past.



Like a flock of gulls rising together,
then landing together.



Like sensing the amenities of heaven,
or the sense of heaven.

Like practicing how to say goodbye
when it's time to leave or time to die.



Like the tide coming in and going out,
coming in and going out...

© 2017 Richard Havenga





Photo Locations:


2. Cape Perpetua - Yachats, Oregon




Saturday, September 9, 2017

Passage of Time


"Time passes slowly up here in the mountains." ~ Written by Bob Dylan; sung by Judy Collins © 1970


The day is still young
up here in the mountains.

I am witnessing:


the birth of clouds,
the evaporation of dew,



the sharp, clear notes
of a White-crowned Sparrow,



the slow opening of
alpine wildflowers,

and green mountains 
reflected in dew drops.



I am hoping for:

a pattern of lines,
a collection of words,
that will witness
the sweet and gentle
passage of time.
© 2017 Richard Havenga



Photo Locations:

1. Yosemite National Park - California

2. Cottonwood Pass 12,126' - Colorado 

3. Snowy Range Scenic Byway - Medicine Bow Mountains - Wyoming


Tuesday, September 5, 2017

September Morning


While I was walking
through this September morning,
Goldenrod invited itself
into my poem.


So I welcomed its
color and structure
into my Naturalist's head,
noticed the yellow sprays
of arching florets,


watched bees
plunging for pollen,

but more than
Botanical biographies,
I observed
with uncommon senses
the enhancements 
offered here and now:


here;
commonly clogging
the forgotten fields,

now;
announcing
the introduction of autumn.


These golden towers of life;
alive and dancing
in the light
of a new day.
© 2017 Richard Havenga






Photo Locations:

1, 4, & 5. Home Fields & Woods

2. & 3.  Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan