The sound of the surf
will intensify, then diminish,
and occasionally go calm,
but the water will always remain.
How is it between you
and your God?
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand Haven State Park - Michigan
2. Neptune Beach - Oregon
3. Acadia - Michigan
I pray
that my poems
will express
what I'm trying to say.
And not fly around erratically
like a Painted Lady butterfly,
or like Little Brown Bats
darting and diving in the dusk.
I would prefer
that my poems
rise softly, subtly,
and surely, like the dawn.
Then illuminate
my readers
like the morning light
on jeweled prisms of dew.
And in the reading
perhaps feel my hand
on your shoulder
offering encouragement.
And know that
I want to share
my feelings of gratitude
with you.
For one of the gifts
of the writer,
is the presence
of a gracious reader.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
American Goldfinches,
singing while flying,
undulate through the blue sky;
like yellow wildflowers
wavering in the wind.
They land in the garden
to feed on the seeds of Cosmos.
Perched and balanced
on the stems of windflowers.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Gray-headed Coneflower ~ Ratibida pinnata - Luton Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. Woodland Sunflower ~ Helianthus spp. - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
3. & 4. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Carried by the current of creativity,
I search the inner landscape for inspiration.
Eager to enter new opportunities
for creative expression.
As these tendrils seek a higher position,
reaching for the light,
I offer this new invitation:
may you expand your love of the land.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
Does fluency flow more freely
during the dark, silent night
than during the glare of daylight?
Are words more keenly felt
along musical mountain streams
than by broad, brown rivers?
I volunteer to be the poet
to evaluate various writing opportunities
in a variety of outdoor locations.
Here I go...
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Blackfoot River - Missoula, Montana
Heading for the trailhead
to explore the eastern foothills,
I look back westward
at a glimpse of Heaven.
Rays of sunlight
slash through tattered cumulus,
warming the broad valley
this summer afternoon.
All is well out here near
Pray, Montana.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Advancing steadily forward
like a sturdy workhorse,
the dependable seasons
pull through the landscape.
Pressing on with purpose,
directing the changes,
bearing the weight of another year,
under the reins of time.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
1. Mackinac Island ~ Michigan
After evening tree shadows lengthened,
and dusk overcame the daylight,
crickets and katydids
began their night rhythms.
Through the screens
of our bedroom window,
I listened to the soothing music
playing a late summer song,
and roamed into a deep forest of sleep.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Deck ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Home Woods ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan
