Winter stars
shine through
the bare branches
of naked trees.
An ornamental moon
creates tree shadows
on crusty snow.
I stand in stunned silence,
embraced by the cold,
overwhelmed by serenity.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Catalina, Arizona
2. Murray Lake - Kent County - Michigan
3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
I'm sitting in my darkened
ice-fishing shanty,
with cold fingers,
with cold toes.
With my size fourteen
insulated snow boots,
I've kicked and cleared fourteen
inches of snow off the ice.
I've manually augured
a cylindrical hole
through fourteen inches
of clear and opaque ice.
I've dropped a teardrop,
baited with a waxworm,
fourteen feet into
the cold, dark water.
Now I sit and wait.
Now I jig the bait.
Sit. Wait.
Jig bait. Wait.
It's almost
this much work
waiting to catch
a poem.
A keeper.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. & 3. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan
I set out for a walk,
wearing layers
of flannel and fleece,
but winter's cold hand
slaps the tight skin
on my wind-burned face.
Six degrees
makes my eyes water
blurs my vision.
I seek shelter
from the wind
in a Tamarack swamp,
crowded with cattails,
and arduously follow
a narrow deer trail
through deep snow
and half-frozen black mud.
While stumbling and grunting
through eight-foot cattails,
fluff is sticking to my lips,
and to my stocking hat.
Hidden hummocks of grass
trip me up,
try to bring me
down.
I try to maintain balance,
and get warmed-up
by the effort.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. 3. & 4. Cannon Township - Kent County - Michigan
While the stars are watching,
I invite the quiet into my mind.
Trying to fathom the distance
between me and Orion.
or from here to the moon,
or the many years I've lived
on this beautiful planet,
and what to do, significantly,
with the time I have left,
and how long that might be?
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan
I have carried these words
over trails we've hiked,
lugged them down from
rocky mountains while walking
parallel to mountain streams
that call to me to stay awhile.
I have collected these words
among Ponderosa Pines
thriving in grassy meadows.
I have written these words
with the hope that what I can give
may be something you need,
and be graciously received
when you decide to read.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Glacier National Park - Montana
2. Blackfoot River - Missoula, Montana
3. Hamilton, Montana
My morning is shrouded
with fog above snow.
Inhaling cold, moist air
while running this country lane.
Cautious with my footing,
carefree with my thoughts.
Pushing forward into
limited visibility.
The future obscure,
the present secure.
Yet imagining the
bright clarity of spring.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
2. 3. & 4. Home Road - Kent County - Michigan
Lake Michigan accepts
some of the light
slanting down
between the clouds,
and gives the rest back
to the grateful observer
who stands on the land
slowly absorbing
the immensity
of this great lake,
and wishing he could
live this close.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Lake Michigan ~ Benzie County - Michigan
