Muted

Muted, yet still holding

a subdued vibrancy,

a palette of chrysanthemums 

on display at country farm markets.

 A cooler, dry atmosphere

carries fair-weather cumulus,

pushing them slowly eastward

where they pile up on the horizon.

Ripened acorns zip through leaves

and bounce off my inverted canoe.

A sound that signals

the approach of autumn.

Some fall warblers in muted colors

are in a feeding frenzy

as they move in waves

slowly southward.

These autumn days are magnificent,

but growing much shorter.

Warm light slants in at a lower angle;

muted, but welcomed.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Frugthaven Farm - Greenville, Michigan

2. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

4. Naples Preserve - Naples, Florida

Branches

 

Dawn birds begin to sing,

awakening the sky.

Eager to join the sun

in birthing this new day. 

A soft breeze stirs the leaves,

splintering the morning light

that falls upon my path

through these familiar woods.

I sit down and lean against

a broad maple trunk,

then close my grateful eyes

and inhale the fragrant earth.

Between my place on the ground

and the airy canopy above,

abundant branches grow,

capable of supporting my prayers;

holding them up to Heaven. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Vergennes Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Transplanted

 for Lillian Havenga (1922 ~ 2021)

Lily-of-the-Valley

always grew under the thornapple

next to the trout stream

on your spacious farm.

You always admired them;

large linear leaves

with tiny, delicate blossoms,

petite like you always were.

I laid on my belly

to photograph them one spring,

and gave the photo to you

for your 97th birthday,

as you laid on your back

in your narrow bed in the home;

all of us knowing you wouldn't

be seeing them growing again.

But they still grow there,

and in the spring I will go there

to transplant some lilies 

into the ground around 

the gravestone for you and Dad.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Grand Haven, Michigan (by Mary Havenga)

Climbing the Clouds

 

I am:

Saying a prayer on the porch.

Reading a devotion on the deck.

Meditating in the mountains.

Worshiping the Creator in the woods.

My mind is:

Astonished by golden aspens.

Contented by a river's current.

Climbing into the clouds.

Hoping to achieve Heaven.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand Lake, Colorado

2. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

Space Between Words

 

How could these meager words

ever hope to emulate

a cluster of Sugar Maple leaves

as they waver on long petioles

after a gentle autumn rain?

How could these modest words

ever hope to simulate

a tier of American Beech leaves

when they rise and fall;

like taking a bow

after a ballet performance?

How could these mere words

ever hope to duplicate

the way a mild breeze

whispers through

ten-thousand fine needles

of a large White Pine?

There is nothing

but air and sky

in the spaces

between these words.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Home Woods ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Egypt Valley Loop Hike - Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan

4. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

5. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Empty Hands

 

If you go outside often,

you could be blessed; 

enclosed by the golden glow

and vibrant colors

of an October afternoon.

You could find a quiet place

to sit still, with empty hands

and wide open senses,

and allow the peace

of the present landscape

to enter your busy brain

and your hungry heart.

And after you inhale the silence,

and sense the serenity,

you will feel renewed;

knowing what is true,

and eager to carry it with you

inside your satisfied soul.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. & 3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Released

 

Last night's raindrops cling

to yellowed aspen leaves.

Then the leaves are released from 

their birth home on the twigs.

They drift on a slight breeze

to lay upon the welcoming earth. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Tabernash,  Colorado

Water Lens

 

Through this water lens,

long ropes of water lily

rise from the lake bottom.

Flexible underwater,

growing toward the light,

smooth yellow discs 

float on the surface.

A single Bluegill,

suspended in time,

stares in stillness at my kayak.

I sit still and stare back.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Wabasis Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Privacy

There are so many others watching.
A long line of feelings
follow her to the chalkboard.

She wanted to write,
had so much to say,
but her life was private,
not meant for display.

The words in her journal,
she hoped no one would steal,
but the teacher insisted,
just write what you feel.

The look in the girl's eyes

created empathy from her friend,

so she made up what they expected,

felt forced to pretend. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Art Prize 8 (2016 - Grand Rapids) : "Handwritten Dreams" 
by: Leslie Adams ~ Artist  
     

2. Old Schoolhouse (1896) - Marion County, Kansas