The Shiny Ocean

 

I long to hear the song

of the shiny ocean

gliding onto shallow shores,

polishing the slopes of sand

with brief  shimmering light,

again, again, again.

I want to return

to the seashore

to watch the shorebirds

dancing in and out,

leaving tiny, temporary tracks

along the reach of the surf,

that rinses away 

any trace of their tracks.

To witness the Brown Pelicans

flying in formation

close to the surface, then

plunging their massive bodies

headlong into the water;

coming up with a scoop

of cold fish soup.

After these many winters

hiking dry desert washes,

I thirst for the sensation

of waves washing my feet,

and the wide horizon curving away,

carrying shiny ocean dreams.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Neptune Beach - Oregon

2. Sunset Beach, North Carolina

3, 4, & 5. Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park - Naples, Florida

emergence

 

just like moody love,

the full white moon emerges,

then it disappears

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan

ice bells

 

hung above the stream

my Christmas decorations

ice bells of Bear Creek

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

The Bridge

 

While volunteering my time

at "God's Kitchen" and

"Degage Ministries"

in Grand Rapids,

especially during

the Christmas season,

I feel like a bridge

between love and need.

In the crossing,

the giving becomes receiving.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Mackinac Bridge - Lake Huron - Michigan

God's Kitchen

Degage Ministries

Still 3

 

I am still listening

to wind and rivers

as they each speak

in their unique

languages.

I am still watching the clouds

as they beautify the sky,

and the rain, as it moistens

the thirsty

land.

I am still aging,

but growing in patience,

accepting the reasons for seasons

and the passage of

time.

I am still living a life

of profound attention.

Working to reveal the blessings

that surround me.

Writing, to share the miracles

in nature.

Waiting for more inspiration

to come.

Watching the long light of evening

spreading across the landscape,

and these words

spreading across long lines of the page.

Enjoying this small segment of time,

still wanting just a little more. 

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Snake River - Swan Valley, Idaho

2. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Alamosa, Colorado

4. Ada Dam - Ada, Michigan

Proof

 

Like the wake of a boat,

we leave evidence

of our lives lived.

The silver undulations

spreading across the lake

sustain their own energy.

And eventually touch the shore,

causing small ripples of sound.

Proof that we once lived.

Proof that our purpose

is more powerful

than our past.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Wabasis Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

Black Mirror

 

The black mirror of this pond

appears even darker when

surrounded by winter's first snow.

A Belted Kingfisher drops

from a Black Willow branch;

plunges into ice-cold water,

shatters black reflections

of overhanging trees;

comes up empty.

Rattles away to a new site.

Reflections return.

Winter tightens its grip.

Wants to make white ice.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Cannon Township - Kent County - Michigan

Next Spring

 

How did you get to be seventy four?

You retired with some goals in mind,

and some of them were achieved.

What to do with all this

time

on your hands?

Embrace it.

Pursuing your passions:

Writing. Reading. Running. Nature Photography.

Spend your time outdoors.

Bring the outdoors inside

your poetry.

Next spring,

plant some trees and shrubs

that will outlive you.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Woods

2. Moab, Utah

3. Home Garden

Approach

 

Approach each day

with eager anticipation

for the gifts

we are about

to receive.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. Sunset Beach - North Carolina

Woodworking

 

back in the old days

I was into woodworking

it ruined my teeth

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Pickerel Lake Park / Fred Meijer Nature Preserve ~ Kent County - Michigan

Prayer Leaves

 

Each yellow leaf

that has fallen this fall,

and the red, orange,

and brown ones too,

represent  so many 

fluttering prayers.

Prayers of gratitude

that have illuminated

my autumn days.

An elegant  ballet of twists and turns

sifting through branches and twigs,

to land softly upon the ground;

a book of uncommon prayer.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Home Woods ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. 4. & 5. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Aaron

 

When I introduced you

to this beautiful world,

we walked outside together.

I thought it would last a lifetime.

In commemoration 

of the life

of Aaron Havenga:

April 2, 1975 ~ November 20, 1994.

"But I always thought that I'd see you again." 

~ James Taylor ~ "Fire and Rain"  © 1970

Photo Location: First Home - (Cascade, Michigan) by Mary Havenga 1976

Authority

 

The rain upon the windows

sounds different this fall

compared to last spring.

In the background,

ambitious clouds are murmuring,

craving freezing temperatures again.

Recalling the influence of snow

upon the land, upon people's lives;

eager to restore its authority.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area - Wyoming

2. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

New Connection

 

Listen to the whispered conversations

from the ambitious autumn leaves

as they prepare for departure

from their green summer home.

Letting go 

with faith

for the future.

A brief, graceful

dance with gravity,

then a new connection

with the nurturing earth.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

The White Fire of Ice

The morning fog is a silk shawl

sliding over this November wetland.

Hanging upon dark silhouettes

of dying willow trunks.

Beneath the willows, ghost-like geese

swim slowly on still water.

Water that will soon transform

into the white fire of ice.

Ice that triggers departure

for this small, local flock.

A flock that will join

a larger formation.

A formation flying

farther south

in the efficient

V-shape.

A shape that has

served their lives

for all time.

They know when it's time.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Grattan Township Kent County - Michigan

2. Home Wetland - Cannonsburg, Michigan

4. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - SanAntonio, New Mexico

 

 

Harvest

 

Ground fog lays a heavy blanket

over a ripening field of soybeans.

First green and growing,

then yellow and slowing,

to a golden-brown glowing.

Harvest time knowing.

Abundance bestowing.

Before it starts snowing.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

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

Losing Light

 

Dusk carries a delicate sadness;

especially in autumn,

when daylight diminishes

day to day.

You look up through the trees,

and the splotches of bright

you expected to see

have already grown dim.

Your time spent outdoors shortens;

precious time on the deck,

valuable hours of reading,

memorable moments of writing,

eating lunch and dinner

in the summer sun,

while listening to birds

in the background,

hidden in the woods.

Losing nearly three minutes a day;

a difficult adjustment

when you love the outdoors,

but must come indoors

after the delicate dusk

descends.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Ada Dam - Thornapple River - Ada, Michigan

2. Home Deck - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Loveland, Colorado

Teton Twilight

After an extraordinary day

of watching Pronghorns

scramble through sagebrush flats,

of observing bull Moose

browsing willow shrubs

along the Snake River,

of examining Elk

grazing grasses

along the forest edge,

twilight arrives in the Tetons.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 2, & 4. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

3. Telluride, Colorado

After Rain

 

After six days of overcast,

it's restorative to see

the blue dome of sky

emerging  from the gray,

and dripping with sunlight.

Sunlight that sparkles

from rounded raindrops

that cling to the undersides 

of yellow Sugar Maple leaves

gathered on the ground.

Raindrops that magnify

the prominent veins

that once brought life

to the leaves when

they were green.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

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