This golden kelp
is jeweled and tooled
by the tide.
Beads and bulbs
swelling along
rubbery ropes.
Slippery ribbons rising,
inflated blades wavering,
waving leathery hands
in deep seawater,
then washed and sloshed
upon the sandy shore.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
I welcome the return
of the Song Sparrow.
Its long song
lingers in the air,
then repeats
the sounding joy.
Up and down the scale,
each note worthy of praise.
to one who knows
nothing about music,
but treasures the song
and is grateful to be
in the audience
of one.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Saul Lake Bog - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Cannonsburg State Game Area - Cannon Township - Michigan
3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Don't you love the green space
that early spring brings us?
When the deep purples of hepatica
manifest their soft velvet royalty,
hugging the ground when
the rich soil warms in the woods.
When the vibrant yellows
of Trout Lily brighten
the floor of the forest
arching above bland winter leaves.
When the pure white petals
of Bloodroot unfurl and expand
in warm sunlight, then close
into a cup during overcast.
Don't you love the green space?
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. & 4. Gavin Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
Ravens wear black robes,
sweep over mesas,
slide into dark pines,
settle on stout branches.
Sleek silk shines
along their contours.
They walk more dignified
than their cousin,
the Common Crow,
and they know how to sail
on broad, fixed wings.
Ravens survive and thrive
because they understand the land.
And should you find yourself
close enough to see
their prominent beak;
their "Roman Nose",
you may also hear them
"krawk".
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Santa Fe, New Mexico
2. Alamosa, Colorado
3. Bisbee, Arizona
Along the shallowing shore,
the soft lips of spent waves
kiss the smooth stones.
Lake Superior water,
too cold to swim, but
just deep enough
here at the edge
to wash human feet
in this rounded, stony basin;
reminding me of
the ceramic basin used
on Holy Thursday.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
Taconite Harbor, Minnesota
Some bleached leaves
on the beech trees
have clung all winter
to cold, narrow twigs.
It's another cool, overcast day
here in West Michigan.
We are well into April now, and
those little blond banners are still waving.
I'll wait patiently for these remnant leaves
to release their grip,
and be ready for the conical buds
to swell from copper scales,
then slowly unfurl
into soft, pastel greens,
to unfold their tight pleats
and spread life into the May sunshine.
Photo Locations:
1. 2. 3. 4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
All the silver threads
glittering in the Payette River
briefly reflect the light, then blend
into the blue-green water
as the current weaves
a liquid tapestry
through the canyon;
laughing as it tumbles
over large boulders,
obeying gravity,
joyful on its journey.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. & 3. Payette River - Idaho
ever-expanding
their slow walk through the wetlands
mangroves will survive
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
I've carried nineteen years of memories
for twenty-eight years.
Counting his beginning steps at six months,
then, as a toddler, his trusting little hand
holding my finger as we walked outside together.
Playing in Lake Michigan
at four years old.
Soothing his hurts from early spills
on his bike at six years.
Estimating the length of the bass we caught
in the Grand River when he was fourteen.
Worrying the hours while waiting for him
to return home; driving at sixteen.
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Timing the miles during Forest Hills Central
Track and Cross Country meets at seventeen.
Calculating his climbs while hiking with Ross Peterson
on the Appalachian Trail at eighteen.
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Crying the tears over his death
in November of nineteen ninety-four.
Saying the prayers at his gravestone
when I'm forty-six, or seventy-four.
Carrying years of memories up the slopes;
memories as permanent as mountains.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
End Note:
This year Aaron would be 47. Born on April 2, 1975.
I was 46 when he died at age 19, on November 20, 1994.
Photo Locations:
1. First Home - Cascade, Michigan - Photo by Mary Havenga
2. Lake Michigan - Charles Mears State Park - Pentwater, Michigan
3. Mom & Dad's Farm - Ada, Michigan
4. East Grand Rapids
5. Appalachian Trail National Park - Photo by Ross Peterson
6. West Elk National Wilderness Area - Colorado
