Clatter

broad cottonwood leaves

clatter by the Platte River

stirred by prairie winds

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Platte River - Ogallala, Nebraska 

Gifts of Aspen

In my writing  and photography,
I try to create a fresh look
at common things.

To approach each day
with eager anticipation 
for the gifts 
we are about to receive
from thy bounty. 

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy the "gifts" in this post: "Opportunity"  ~ February, 2015
Photo Locations:

1. Ohio Creek - Wet Elk Wilderness Area - Colorado

2. Silverton, Colorado

3. Grand Mesa National Forest - Colorado

blond

 

blond grass, brown horses

grazing in Arizona

waiting for monsoons

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Empire, Arizona

Book Rock

In Memory of Mary Oliver (1935 ~ 2019)

When I remove this special rock
from the shoulder of the mountain,

and during the descent,
feel its weight inside my pack,

I picture it displayed
on my library shelf.

Or,

I may use its weight to hold open
a book of poems I'm reading

by Mary Oliver, William Stafford, 
Jane Kenyon, Ted Kooser,
Luci Shaw, or Dan Gerber, ...

as I sit on the bank
of this rocky river,
thinking about its source.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Library - Cannonsburg, 

3. Elk River - Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Shadows Unfurl

As dawn births a new day,
the bronze light of morning
gathers on the horizon.

A ridge of clouds
collects early light.

Pink becomes lavender
along the shoulders
of ancient mountains.

Shadows unfurl
beneath rounded junipers
clutching the orange hills.

I witness the earth
being born again.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Unspoken" September 30, 2013


Photo Locations: 

1. Home Woods - Kent County - Michigan

2. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

3. Utah 

Gifts of Winter

Thankful for
the gratuitous
gifts of winter:

Thin crystals of ice

reach like fingers

across frozen streams.

Crows congregate
on naked branches,
calling and cawing.



Clumps of snow
nest
in winter weeds.



Pileated Woodpeckers
hammer
the hardwoods.



Water in rivers
sings a colder,
older song.



Slopes are smoothed
by the simplicity
of snow.

Always grateful
for these wondrous
days of winter.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:


1. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

5. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Dawn Gives Birth to Color

For John D'Amico

Sitting on a boulder,
surrounded by desert,
savoring the silence,
lingering in solitude.

Darkness has dissolved. 
Morning has broken.

Before shadows arrive,
dawn gives birth to color.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Saguaro National Park ~ West -Tucson, Arizona

2. Pontatoc Canyon Trail - Santa Catalina Mountains - Tucson, Arizona

3. Finger Rock Trail - Santa Catalina Mountains - Tucson, Arizona

Ceremony

It's time to attend

the ceremony of dawn.

Will you come with me?

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy these other poems of Dawn: 

"Willing"

"These Blessings"

Photo Location: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming 

Prayer Leaves

I've seen hundreds
of examples and
thousands of samples
of prayer flags
hanging tattered
like dirty clothes
on a line.

I can appreciate
what they signify,
what they try
to mystify,

but they don't work for me

as well as
leaves on a tree.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy "Silent Towers" - March 5, 2018


Photo Locations:


1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Tubac, Arizona 

3. Fallasburg Park - Kent County, Michigan

4. Ouray, Colorado

5. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan