Glide Path

three geese on glide path

settle into lavender

shelter overnight 

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Big Crooked Lake - Kent County, Michigan

Soft Peace

The cold night sky,
scattered with distant stars,
is slowly warmed
by the gift of dawn.

Soon, small clouds,
sailing on a ship of wind,
powder the blue sky;
color this fresh day.

I greet this new morning
and its creator
with prayers of gratitude
for this soft peace.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Snake River - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan 

4. St. Patrick Parish - (my church) - Parnell, Michigan

Effect of Angels

Although I know
from a lifetime of prayer,
that everywhere I go
you will be there;

guiding me
every step of the way
along the path;

sometimes it feels 
as if this life
is as predictable
as the flight
of a butterfly,

as mysterious
as the effect of angels.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. Home Fields/Home Gardens - Cannonsburg, Michigan

4. Art Prize Grand Rapids - 2013

penalty

Florida golfer

accepts a penalty stroke

while retrieving ball

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Columbia River - Oregon

Pinus strobis

The magnificent White Pine,

(Pinus strobis)

fine tunes the breeze

(five needles to a bundle)

through its delicate twigs

(brittle, thin-barked)

and soft green needles.

(flexible, pungent)

Listen.
It calls to you
for your own translation.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. Cannon Township - Kent County - Michigan

water, river, wind, fire

Are you the water,
or the glass pitcher 
that holds it?

Are you the river,
or the earthen banks
that guide it?

Are you the wind,
or the bending reeds
that show it?

Are you the fire,
or the fuel
that feeds it?

©  2019  Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Cataract Falls Trail - Bolinas, California 

2. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

3. Huyser Lake - Cannon Township - Kent County - Michigan 

4. Elk Bend, Idaho

gibbous

In the middle of the night,
a rectangle of moonlight
paints the floor near our bed.

I rise, 
walk to the window,
and greet the gibbous moon;

thinking:
a small poem 
may be growing here.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Home - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Patient Watchers

The freshwater abundance
of Lake Superior
is never taken for granted
by natives of the U.P.

Time spent on a rocky shore.
Hours absorbed selecting excellent stones.

The aquamarine pastels
of northern Lake Michigan
are highly prized by
the people Up North.

Sitting on a quiet beach.
Perched upon a remote sand dune.

All along these Great Lakes shores,
patient watchers wake early
to anticipate a welcome sunrise,
and linger longer for a satisfying sunset.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Eagle River / Lake Superior - Upper Peninsula - Michigan 

2. Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park - Michigan

3. Acadia, Michigan

4. Ludington State Park - Michigan 

5. Paradise, Michigan

Green Meditation

Dreaming of a poem
I want to write, while
gazing into the great mystery.

This lake is a blue mirror.
The wealth of summer
unfolds too quickly.

Life is flourishing.
Not enough time
to praise sufficiently.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Coal Bank Pass - Highway 550 - Colorado