Inconspicuous?

You could easily 
pass over
this obscure
little wildflower
unless your eyes
were wide open
looking for
discoveries,
eager to 
notice 
things.

The inside portion
resembling orchids;
cream colored
to yellowish,
with purple spots,
in between
layers of lavender.

Close up however,
you  can see it's borne
in leafy, interrupted spikes.

Its leaf-like bracts are
conspicuous, recurved,
lilac to whitish.

The corolla tube is elongated,
with a slightly inflated throat. 

Have you noticed?

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Horsemint - (Spotted Monarda) - Monarda punctata

Botanical source: Michigan Wildflowers ~ Helen Smith ~ Cranbrook Institute of Science - Michigan © 1961

Photo Location: Home Fields ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan

Reverence

Reverence comes over me
while sitting in deep silence
under the forest canopy.

Reverence flows through me
while watching
the river's steady current.

I inhale it with eyes closed
while standing in a 
wildflower meadow.

I absorb it
like the sounds of birdsong
becoming memories,

or when 
ribbons of wind
wrap around my ears.

I feel it surging
while walking barefoot
on ocean's sandy shore.

Reverence resides in my soul
when I'm a guest
in the mansion of mountains.

Even when I'm too old
to walk the shore,
to hike the trails,
and wander the meadows,

I will not lose
this sense of reverence,
because I carry it
inside my heart,
within my soul.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Snake River - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2.  Elk River - Steamboat Springs, Colorado

3. Along St. Mary's River - Glacier National Park - Montana 

4. Indigo Bunting - Egypt Valley State Game Area - Kent County, Michigan

5. Sunset Beach, North Carolina

6. Glacier National Park - Montana

Sleeping With Crickets

I prefer the AC  OFF
and the windows open,
so that, through the screen,
the background percussion
of chorus frogs
enters our bedroom,
and blends with
the string section
of crickets.

I'm listening, but drifting,
as they approach
a closer harmony
in the deep fields.

After I've fallen asleep,
I dream of crickets
sipping silver drops of dew
collected on midnight
leaves of grass.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Lowell Township - Michigan 

May You Walk V

May you walk along the ridge
above spring-green aspens vibrant in the valley. 

May you walk between clumps of sage
scattered and spaced over red dirt deserts.

May you walk among dense, dark ferns
unfurling on the floor of the forest.

May you walk under pillars of Ponderosa Pine, 
and inhale the aroma of butterscotch-vanilla-honey. 

May you walk, upon waking, in the morning woods
vibrant with the voices of vireos. 

May you walk on the ocean's sandy shores
resplendent with the rising sun.

May you walk through the seasons of your life attentive and alert,
with a joyful sense of gratitude.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Peaceful Valley, Colorado

2. Canyonlands National Park - Utah

3. Cinnamon Fern - Home Woods - Kent County - Michigan 

4. Pinesdale, Montana

5. Yellow-throated Vireo - Home Woods - 

6. Sunset Beach, North Carolina

You may also enjoy: 

May You Walk III  - July 20, 2015

May You Walk II - January 12, 2015

Climax

Striving for these
sensory images to be
crystallized into words,

I am surprised
and delighted
when a description
shines on the page;

like this pink 
lady slipper
thrusting up from
a floor of pine needles

to be illuminated
by the morning sun
in the early June light
of this sensuous summer,
rising toward its climax. 

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan 

morning drive

on the morning drive

cowboys between cloud shadows

Colorado green

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Glencoe Valley, Colorado 

Carrying

As the shadows grew longer,
the wind released its grip
and the silence grew wider.

That evening the watery moonlight
danced enticingly upon the ocean,
carrying her to a new horizon.

After years of offering 
everything she had,
she realized she was
much more than his echo.

Now, carrying the parts of herself
she knows will grow and flourish,
she sails in her imagination
to a new and brighter place
where her dreams 
may begin to shine. 

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Anna Maria Island, Florida