I cannot explain it to you,
and I do not understand it myself,
but I am assured that the Holy Spirit
resides inscrutably inside my soul.
It's an intimate feeling of contentment;
a promise fulfilled.
When I seek inspiration to write,
the Holy Spirit provides.
When I vow dedication to the work,
confirmation is received.
When I experience difficulty,
comfort is given.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
I would like to be the narrowest twig
at the end of a narrow scrub willow branch
that a Yellow Warbler grasps
with its narrow, scaled toes
for the few seconds it takes
to snatch a hidden larva.
Singing while feeding,
sipping the spring air
through narrow nostrils,
then vanishing from view.
As light as the air it flies through.
A pinnacle in this thin tract of time.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
When an exclusive gift
is presented by a loving God,
it carries a responsibility;
to be cultivated, amplified, and shared
to celebrate His glory,
to praise our God,
from whom all blessings flow.
So, as I seek inspiration
and understanding,
I invite the Holy Spirit
into my work,
and promise to rekindle
the gifts bestowed
upon my soul.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Butchart Gardens - Victoria, British Columbia
2. Spring Lake, Michigan
3. Coronado Island - California
On this early May morning,
birds are waking the sky.
The sweet syllables of their songs
resonate through the canopy of leaves.
A choir of praise performing
while hidden in the temple of trees.
A chorus of soft secrets
rising with the sun.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Goodwillie Environmental School - Ada, Michigan
2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Cannonsburg State Game Area - Cannonsburg, Michigan
This morning, every morning,
I anticipate
what the sky may bring.
How light, reflecting
from assembled clouds,
will affect the day's personality.
These aging eyes
still viewing the world
like a curious child.
This old brain
trying to recall
the assembled memories.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Home Fields - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
Does your breath
come faster and deeper
when you're flying
versus perching?
Like when I'm running
versus walking?
How often and how long
do you rest while migrating?
Maybe every ten to twelve hours
like when I'm driving cross-country?
How exactly does your navigation system work?
Is it similar to my truck's GPS?
How do you build such cool
and functional nests
with only two feet and a beak?
We need manufactured materials;
lumber, metals, plastics,
and a plethora of power tools.
How is your diet so simple;
seeds, insects, berries, worms and larvae?
We plant, process and package
our protein and nutrition.
How long will you,
your particular species,
survive and multiply,
if we first do you no harm?
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Swallow-tailed Kite ~ Collier County - Florida
2. Yellow-headed Blackbirds - San Pedro House ~ Sierra Vista, Arizona
3. Snow Geese ~ Bosque del Apache NWR - San Antonio, New Mexico
4. Yellow-throated Vireo ~ Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
5. Cedar Waxwing~ Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
6. American Avocet ~ Mono Lake, California
7. White-crowned Night Heron ~ "Ding" Darling NWR - Sanibel Island - Florida
A seed in the soil
is the promise of patience.
I don't mean radish seeds or beans
that kids plant in backyard gardens,
that emerge and surge into green;
flourishing by the next full moon.
Rather, acorns, hickory nuts,
samaras from maples,
hard seeds of Black Cherry.
Young saplings that will achieve
the height of the parent trees
decades after we're gone.
That's a promise.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Fallasburg Park - Lowell, Michigan
2. Wabasis Lake Park - Michigan
3. & 4. Lowell Township - Kent County - Michigan
Some of our favorite birds,
especially the migrating warblers,
had been reduced to faint memories
during the long winter days.
Now, as another spring reassembles,
we watch with eager anticipation
for the early arrivals:
The exuberant Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
The spunky House Wren.
The tail-bobbing Palm Warbler.
Now the loyal Yellow Warblers,
so bright below the sweater of clouds.
They will stay all summer,
hiding within their favorite
lakefront property.
Secretly singing:
"Sweet-sweet-sweet,
Sweeter-than-sweet."
© 2022 Richard Havenga
A fresh morning breeze strokes
the slender fingers of willows.
They undulate vertically
above the small pond.
They return old memories
of my twelve-year-old self,
when I expertly climbed
their thick, spreading limbs;
seeking refuge and solitude
in a secret, higher place
to think about important matters:
like the death of my grandpa,
and how high above the blue sky
heaven might be,
and if he can hear me
from up here.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Cascade, Michigan
2. Thornapple River - Ada Dam - Kent County - Michigan
3. Blythefield Memory Gardens - Kent County - Michigan
