November Light

 

The light in November

changes slowly, subtly. 

The sun,

when it does shine,

sneaks in at a low angle,

with patience.

You finally accept

that warm summer days

are long gone,

and autumn colors

have faded out.

You begin to admire 

shades of brown.

Yet, the sun,

when it does shine,

carries a subtle hope

for tomorrow.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

surrender

fragile flakes of gold

hovering over dark creek

soon to surrender

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Spring Creek - Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

value of gold

 "Nothing gold can stay." ~ Robert Frost

fog softens the woods

Sugar Maple leaves linger

valuable as gold

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

drinking the wind

 

I'm drinking the wind,

running through golden showers:

Sugar Maple leaves

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Released

This poem is no longer mine.
I have released it into the world,
hoping it will find a place
in someone else's mind and heart.

It now belongs
to anyone who wants it.
It's a gift.
It's for you.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. & 3. Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

Unanimous

After feeding on
fermenting crab apples,
a cluster of Cedar Waxwings
disappears.

Now perched among remnant leaves
of Red Oak in early November,
I hear their thin, whistled calls.

In a unanimous decision,
they all agree
to take sudden flight
in a loose, wavering flock.

I take a quick count:
twenty-eight!  

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

sudden

 

these sudden mushrooms

emerge after autumn rains

with moist, rounded caps

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Wabasis Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

cornfields

 

stratus clouds lighten

above these golden cornfields;

dawn brings soft gray light

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan