November Color

Fine flat needles 
of Tamarack linger, 
and lighten the swamp.

Cheerful Winterberries
decorate the edges of 
November wetlands.

Sparse, purple clumps
of wild grapes
dangle in tart bunches.

Bright red bundles
of Highbush Cranberry
hold early snow. 

The powder-blue fruits
of Red Cedar emit a
pungent aroma in the uplands.

Copper colored leaves
persist on slender twigs
of American Beech.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. 4.  Wabasis Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

5. Gavin Lake - Kent County - Michigan

6. Cascade Public Library - Kent County - Michigan

7. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

8. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

One More Glimpse

                         In Memory of:

Aaron Richard Havenga (April 2, 1975 ~ November 20, 1994) 

Spears of sunlight
penetrate holes in the clouds.

Your signal (to me)
that all is well
in the radiance
of your new home.

Memories of you return
in waves of autumn light
recalling your exceptional performance
in running Cross Country (at FHC).

Memories of you return
on a soft summer breeze
that cooled you as you hiked
the Appalachian Trail (with Ross).

Memories of you return
watching your big smile
as you "spray" a large plume
while water-skiing at Payne Lake.


Memories of you return
in the depths of winter cold
as you rode our local slopes
at Cannonsburg Ski Lodge.

I want to ride up
those shafts of sunlight
to get just one more glimpse of you,
to help me through a few more years,
until I can join you in the heavenly realm.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

curtain

reeds formed a curtain

above the shallow water;

it sways with the waves

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:  Leland, Michigan

Naked Light

Sugar Maples slowly shed their leaves;
gold coins falling through their branches,
their richness now collected on the ground. 

Now the naked light of November
displays the elegant tree skeletons
of White Oaks.

Exposes gray, globular hornets' nests
newly visible, hanging high,

and disheveled squirrel nests in Red Oaks;
compact clusters of leaves and twigs
tucked in the trees' tops.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. 4. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Silent as Shadows

a pair of Mute Swans

swimming with their reflections

silent as shadows

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Veteran's Day

For all U.S. Veterans
who gave their lives
for our freedom,
I offer my deep respect
and sincere gratitude.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Santa Fe National Cemetery - Santa Fe, New Mexico

2. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery - San Diego, California

Golden Braids

A Weeping Willow
turning yellow into gold
lingers into November.

I watch the autumn breeze
weave slender twigs
into golden braids. 

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

1. Big Crooked Lake - Kent County - Michigan

2. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Path Through the Leaves

I found these old words
fallen from familiar trees 
and saved them here
to be surprised in the future.

Like years of autumn leaves
pressed into the pages
of the silent books
that wait on my library shelves.

A broad Sugar Maple leaf
preserved in soft yellow
somewhere inside
William Stafford's work.

A two-lobed Sassafras leaf,
the left-handed one,
flattened on the Michigan page
of my Rand McNally.

And American Beech, my favorite,
gathered in early November;
veins precisely pinnate,
perfect for bookmarks within:

Mary Oliver, Luci Shaw,
Dan Gerber, and David Lee;
to be discovered years later,
they mark my place in time.

Hoping what I've found
will not be lost,
but saved within
the pages of books.

To recall once again
the seasons of life,
my journey with words,
my path through the leaves.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 2, 3. Home Library

4. 5. Home Woods

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

7. Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

Silver Wind

Wind lifts the leaves
of Silver Poplars.

It's because of the silver wind
that these trees' leaves are popular.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Cannonsburg, Michigan