Wading alongside its reflection,
the Black-necked Stilt
steps delicately, yet deliberately
with pink, spindly legs.
Its black needle beak
pierces the smooth surface,
probes the silt beneath
like efficient tweezers,
advances in shallow water
with knobby knees
on pink stilts.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1, 2, 3, & 4. Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch - Gilbert, Arizona
circle of gray stones
a miniature Stonehenge
dressed in winter white
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Talmadge Township - Ottawa County - Michigan
After the stars retired,
a faint band of apricot light
began to glow and grow
on the eastern horizon.
Dawn delivers
a new concert of birdsong,
unraveling among
a chaos of branches.
A new sun
climbs the vault of sky,
creates slow shadows
that walk through the woods.
I find a suitable place
to sit and rest,
to watch and listen,
to think and write.
The sun casts a narrow shadow
from my pen point.
Shadow and black ink
meet upon yellow paper.
Produce words
with the urge
to travel.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
3. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
Pronghorn Antelope
are aware of me
long before I spot them
across the shared silence
of these rolling plains.
Their khaki jackets
blend into the tawny grasses,
blurring their outlines,
especially when lying down.
Multiple collars
of tan and white
curve up their
chest and neck.
Foraging in the sagebrush
they are hyper alert.
Able to detect movement
over a mile away.
Their presence
on these plains
as old as time.
Their speed
on this earth
as fast as thought.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
2, 3, 4, & 5. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
6. Hesperus, Colorado
7. Hailey, Idaho
St. Patrick's loved ones
in the shadow of the Cross
never forgotten
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: St. Patrick Cemetery - Parnell, Michigan
Winter's white curtain
brightens the windows,
softens the rolling hills,
quiets the woods and fields...
except for the
cheerful chickadee,
thrilled to be alive today,
and finding ways to
survive and thrive;
spreading energy and vitality
with its bubbly, buoyant song:
"Chick-a-dee,
Chick-a-dee-dee-dee."
Opening the curtain.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Woods - Kent County - Michigan
2. Chief Hazy Cloud Park - Ada, Michigan
4. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
3. & 5. Cascade Township - Kent County - Michigan
watching pretty stones
polished by silver water
which one should I keep?
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center - Lake Superior - Minnesota
