Reluctant Poem

In the beginning,
this poem exhibited some reluctance
to cooperate (as you can see);
or even to ride along with me
at least until the next bridge
where we could have crossed it together
if we had gotten to it
in my pretty red truck.

But I stopped before the bridge,
got out, and began walking downstream
through this fine mountain valley.

Alone.

After I made it around the first bend,
I thought I heard the poem approaching;
sensed it getting closer to my brain,
perhaps changing its attitude.

Then, as I stopped, and looked back upstream,

there it was, indicating a desire to come along.
As it came closer, shyly at first,
I reached out to pat its shoulder. 

It gave me a little nudge.

The poem now became gracious 
in my presence;

and began pointing out a few things I might have missed:

Like the way the stream collected

the big sky and trees,

and returned these reflections for me to reflect on.

Like the sound of the current

that tumbled over and around
huge, smooth boulders.

It even called attention 
to the satisfied sound

of my own breathing,
as I inhaled the essence
of Ponderosa Pines.

I sat down in the pine-needled sunlight
to further absorb this pleasant landscape,

and hopefully become better acquainted

with this poem, and its intentions; 
but as I looked around,

it was gone. Just like that.

And long lines of words 
evaporated into the big sky. 

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. St. Ignace, Michigan

2. Buena Vista, Colorado

3. Bayfield, Colorado

4. Blackfoot River - Missoula, Montana

5. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan

6. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

7. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

8. Hamilton, Montana

9. South Dakota  

Feathered Sculpture

 

From my kayak, on calm water,

I watch the gray-blue

feathered sculpture

of a Great Blue Heron.

He stands on stick legs

in the soft shadows

of the smooth shallows,

as still as a dead branch.

Yellow eyes stare with intensity.

S-shaped neck ready to strike.

He leans slowly forward

with imperceptible movement.

But then a change of attitude:

He decides to leave the water;

lifting effortlessly on wide wings,

gaining altitude, legs dangling behind, 

rowing through humid summer air.

Seeking new water, a new site,

to resume stealth stalking

on stick legs, with a supple neck,

to stand as still as a sculpture.

I continue to paddle

in the soft shadows

along smooth shallows

gliding through humid summer air.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Rogue River ~ Rockford, Michigan

2. Eagle Lakes Park ~ Naples, Florida

Summer Poem

 

Vibrant poppies of scarlet orange

burst out of their capsules

ready to smooth out

their soft wrinkles.

Honey Locusts display their

curled clusters of white flasks

to perfume this June afternoon.

Deep green lily pads

carpet the lake shallows.

Thick and glossy;

floating solar collectors.

Pastel stalks of wheat;

feathered and filigreed,

reach for the summery sun.

Is now the time

to open the door

and look for your own

summer poem?

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. Pickerel Lake Park ~ Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan

4. Home Fields - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

5. Vergennes Township - Kent County - Michigan

Some Words

 

Some words,

especially those

jeweled in dew,

dream of becoming song.

Some words,

like passion, and spring,

volunteer

to enter poems

and wait patiently

to blossom.

Some words,

like blue,

have been around

forever;

in the measureless sky.

Sometimes, words,

in their humility,

are content to help

nudge a poem

along the trail,

up the mountain,

where they can see

forever.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Vergennes Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. & 4. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

duckweed spa

 

are you feeling green?

turtle at the duckweed spa

total immersion

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Small Things

 

Small things collected

from ordinary days:

The lavender softness

of Wild Geraniums

unfurling their

five-petaled dresses.

The exuberant call

of the first

Brown Thrasher

in mid-spring.

Fresh fawns

standing still

as statues

in deep grass.

Red Oak buds

becoming baby leaves

misted with

morning dew.

A delicate blossom

of Mayapple nodding

from the forked stem

below umbrella leaves.

The common 

Cabbage Butterfly

resting on tender petals

of Sulfur Cinquefoil.

The gradual pinking

of evening light

reflected on the slow

flowing Grand River.

The anticipated arrival

of familiar constellations;

especially Orion

and his girlfriend Cassiopeia.

Magnificent things collected

from extraordinary days.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Wild Geranium - Home Woods

2. Brown Thrasher - Home Woods

3. White-tailed Deer Fawns - Home Woods

4. "Baby" Red Oak leaves - Home Woods

5. Mayapple blossom - Home Woods

6. Cabbage Butterfly & Sulfur Cinquefoil - Home Fields

7. Grand River - Plainfield Township - Kent County - Michigan

8. Orion - Catalina, Arizona

Fifty

 Dear Mary:

Through fifty years

of laughter and crying,

of living and dying,

during losses and gains,

during pleasures and pains,

while traveling or staying,

while hoping or praying,

with anticipation and exploration,

with determination and dedication,

our love has remained,

our faith has sustained.

As our love continues,

it's you I still choose.

I would do it all over again,

amen.

Love,

Rich

Photo Locations: 

1.  770 Pennsylvania Avenue - Denver, Colorado

2. Teton Pass - Idaho/Wyoming border

3. Brighton, Utah

White Numbers

 

Thousands

of water lilies

open their white faces

after a night

of meditation.

One

Great White Egret

with yellow eyes,

leans slightly forward;

movement barely discernable. 

Hundreds of  white

Honeysuckle blossoms,

each one an asterisk,

release their perfume

into the understory.

One

old white man, 

living every day of his life,

offers praise for creation

from a grateful heart.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

photosynthesizing

 

beech leaves grow greener

while photosynthesizing

in the summer sun

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan