Yesterday

Walking in late October...

I read the invitation:

"Country roads, lined with gold.

Tree shadows underfoot.

Yellow leaves may brush your cheek.

Close your eyes when taking deep breath.

Your presence requested,

down these autumn lanes."

(Leave phone at home)

Yesterday's gone.

Tomorrow's plan?

© 2014 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Canon Township, Kent County, Michigan

The Promise III

Milkweed seeds
suspended
from fine, 
silvery threads.

Parachutes of promise
in an aerial dance
to a destination
unknown.

Unknown,
even by the wind
that carries
them.

The promise was made
for a chance
to live life,
to give life.

The opportunity
to accept,
and possibly
sacrifice.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy:

The Promise - May 19, 2013

The Promise II - July 2, 2014

Photo Locations:

1. 2. & 5. Grand River Nature Area  (GRNA)  Ada/Cascade Townships,  Kent County,  Michigan

3. Lafayette, (Lafayette) Colorado

4. Cannonsburg State Game Area, (Cannonsburg) Kent County, Michigan

Harvest

Writing:

Within the small space of a page;
boundless curiosity.
Seeking insight and nourishment
through faith in a fragment.

Exploring the broad
landscape of your life.
Comfortable not knowing
where the words will take you.

Waiting for the journey
to reveal your true voice.
Confident the Spirit
will provide direction.

A gentle stirring
within my soul
focuses my feelings,
celebrates the senses.

Inspired by the
pleasure of discovery.
Harvesting the 
treasure of language.

Witnessing creation,
my daily desire.
Giving praise to God,
one of my daily needs.

Watching this poem
grow and mature,
hoping to
disperse its seeds.

~ Written ~

Fragments of Poetry 14

"When I rise up
let me rise up joyful
like a bird.

When I fall
let me fall without regret
like a leaf."

Excerpt from: "Prayers and Sayings of a Mad Farmer" 
- New Collected Poems by Wendell Berry  (Wendell Berry) p. 149  © 2012



You may also enjoy other "Fragments of Poetry" by:

William Stafford - December 16, 2012, and Mary Oliver - August 18, 2012



Photo Locations:

1. Wood Thrush - Home Woods

2. Sugar Maple leaf - Fallasburg Park  (Fallasburg) Page Creek , Kent County, Michigan

3. Silver Maple leaf - Grand River, (Grand) Kent County, Michigan (Michigan) 

In the Present

I'm taking my time,
entering the present,
allowing the nature
of my surroundings
to gather gently,
drift in slowly,
like the soft glow 
of restful luminosity.

I inhale deeply 
the favored scent
of Ponderosa Pine;
the bark and needles
warmed by afternoon sun.

Quieting myself,
the chorus of birdsong
becomes more noticeable;
amplifying the joy
inside my soul.

Like a silvery veil of rain
drifting over distant foothills,
and nourishing the pines,
I bathe in the shower of words
offered by the Holy Spirit.

I am moved by sight, scent, and sound,
and a sense of his presence within.

© 2014 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 4. Tin Cup, Colorado (Colorado)

2. Rocky Mountain National Park, (RMNP) Colorado

3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan (Michigan)

Before and After III

This is the third edition of "Before and After". 

Please enjoy this Botanical sequence of events, brought to you by "Father Nature". I also encourage you to get outside, in all of our beautiful seasons, to make your own discoveries. Perhaps you will be surprised here, as you view this series from flower to fruit. 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Sensitive Fern

fertile fern fronds - spore stalks

Swamp Rose

Swamp Rose - Hips

You may also like: 

Before and After II - June 5, 2014

Before and After - January 30, 2014

1. Jack-in-the-pulpit - (Arisaema atrorubens) - Home Woods

2. Sensitive Fern - (Onoclea sensibilis) - Home Woods

3. Swamp Rose - (Rosa palustris) - Gavin Lake,  Kent County,  Michigan

American Beech View

Very soon, in Michigan, and around the midwest, my all-time favorite deciduous tree, the American Beech will be displaying its spectacular sequence of color changes. I hope you can find time to witness these changes in a woods near you. If not, these leaves are for your view:

green leaves fade into yellow 

yellow with green veins

yellow with green veins, brown edges beginning

brown with yellow veins

striking striations of yellow veins on brown

aging, yet still clinging to twigs

lingering in late autumn - a coppery sheen

Thank you for spending time with "Father Nature". Try to get outside soon, and often to discover the changes in these amazing American Beech leaves for yourself. 

Gratefully,

~ Richard Havenga ~

You may also enjoy previous posts about the American Beech:

"Holding Life" — June 1, 2012

"grandifolia" — October 18, 2012 (exactly two years ago today)


Photo Locations: Home Woods

American Beech - Fagus grandifolia

Sky Stream

A liquid blue sky carries 
swirling white clouds
into red and yellow leaves
merging, 
collecting, reflecting
this gift 
for my eyes to uplift.

Squinting
to receive this gift
reflected from above;
this liquid sky, 
this leaf stream,
this life stream,
this sky stream.

© 2014 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan 

Floating on a Mirror

This dry, wrinkled leaf

fell from its summer home.

Placed with perfection

by a carrying breeze.

Now it glides slowly 

down the smooth surface,

making a statement,

reflecting itself.

Its crisp sail

catching a breath.

The river's current 
steady, purposeful.

This golden leaf,
floating on a mirror,
ready for change,
accepting its destiny.

Willingly riding

the wind 
and water
with grace.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

Photo Location:  Grand River,  (Grand River) Kent County,  Michigan (Michigan) 

Saturday Morning Backroads II

This is the second edition of "Saturday Morning Backroads". All of these photographs were taken within four miles of my home, near Cannonsburg, Michigan. 
Sit back and enjoy the views. 
Then, prepare for your own departure. 

Egypt Valley State Game Area - Biking anyone?

Silver Maple — turned scarlet.

Wild Grapes

Mute Swans with Cygnets

Virginia Creeper — Climbing Walnut Trees

Turkey Vultures circling Murray Lake

Parnell Pastoral

Wood Ducks

Cannonsburg pond in the rain.

You may also enjoy the first edition of "Saturday Morning Backroads" from June 12, 2012.

Fragments of Poetry - 13

"Watching the black grackle

come out of the gray shade

into the sun, I am dazzled

by an unsuspected sheen,

yellow, purple, and green,

where the comb of light silkens

unspectacular wings--"

"A Grackle Observed" Alive Together - New and Selected Poems by Lisel Mueller © 1996 (Mueller)

Click on "Fragments of Poetry" in my "TOPICS" section to read other poets. 

Or, click on these most recent "Fragments of Poetry" dates:

Fragments of Poetry 12: February 28, 2014 
Fragments of Poetry 11: January 13, 2014 
Fragments of Poetry 10: September 19, 2013 
Fragments of Poetry  9: May 13, 2013 


CLICK on photo to enlarge.

Boat-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus major

Photo Location:  Lakes Park, Fort Myers,  (Fort Myers) Florida (Florida) 

The Summons

There are special places
along my favorite rivers,
whether slow and placid,

or rushing and rapid,
where the Spirit within
is summoned
in that quiet voice
just above the conscious level,
along the soft fringe
of awareness. 

©  2014  Richard Havenga

CLICK on photos to enlarge.

Photo Locations:

1. Grand River - Kent County, Michigan (Michigan)

2. Blackfoot River - Missoula, Montana (Montana) 

3. Rock River - Dixon, Illinois 

Robert Frost