Although it walks stiffly,
the swan flies gracefully
with wings whooshing;
swims peacefully, elegantly,
creating a silent wake.
A ghost swan
leaving a water trail
that lingers.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. McCarthy Lake - East Grand Rapids - Michigan
2. Reeds Lake - Grattan Township - Michigan
These paper pages, flat and white,
stacked with fine blue lines,
are hungry for words,
fervent for verses.
So I walk along the path,
or make my own way,
searching for opportunities,
exploring the possibilities.
My photographer's eye
supports my poet's sentiment,
and a close-up lens
enhances the effect.
So I peer into this flower's
inflorescence,
a common Orange Daylily,
an orange ornament,
an instrument trumpeting
from this roadside orchestra.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Home Road - Cannonsburg, Michigan
The long daylight
of our summer days
has diminished,
has been replaced
by late afternoon dusks.
Dusks that introduce
nights of long darkness.
So, less time outdoors
for work and recreation,
but more time indoors
for quiet hours of reading,
and time for writing
poems about light.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
The weightless flight of snow flakes
slowly flutter-falling through our view
on this calm December afternoon.
Please reveal the peace you feel
with words as precise and intricate
as these perfect, delicate crystals.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
I am following this trail
through the foothills of mountains.
On a new journey of exploration.
A slow walk of observation.
Eyes and ears alert.
Absorbing this experience.
Paying attention to the land.
Engaging the headwind.
Listening to the message
emerging from the earth.
Perceiving God's glory
within His marvelous creation.
Woven with divine transcendence.
Becoming an inheritor of the word.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Silverton, Colorado
3. West Elk Mountains Wilderness - Colorado
walking on water
Buffleheads perform fast dance
leave their liquid tracks
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan
Seasons are passing through us
from this vast ocean of sky.
A soft rain shower may be rinsing your face.
The wind could be furrowing your hair.
Red and yellow leaves falling at your feet.
Snow accumulating on your shoulders.
Silver-edged clouds holding the ceiling above your head.
And the light.
It's always the light,
performing miracles
in front of your eyes.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Buena Vista, Colorado
2. Kent County - Michigan
These separate words
become lines of poetry
floating across blank pages
like leaves on the river.
Paper-clipped together
to be reviewed again,
to be revised again,
released in the future.
Eventually assembled
into a discernable
current of perception.
Poets are keepers of the past
and our hope for the future.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand River - Kent County - Michigan
2. Murray Lake - Kent County - Michigan
3. Fallasburg Park - Lowell, Michigan
4. Cannonsburg, Michigan
If you are reading this, could you
please step outside for a moment?
I will need an accurate description
of the clouds, if you have some,
and the direction they are drifting,
if you have time to observe.
Next, could you name the leaf
that is fluttering past your face;
explain the shape of the lobes
and the pattern of its veins bulging underneath?
Also, would you identify all the birds
you are seeing and hearing,
with precise names for their colors,
and exact translations of their calls?
While you are out there,
hopefully in the quiet country,
I would like a thorough report
on the quality of light that surrounds you.
If you are still reading,
and if you have a moment,
please send your entire narrative to me,
or, if you want more time,
continue your collection of perceptions.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Kamloops, British Columbia
2. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
3. Elegant Trogon ~ Patagonia State Park - Arizona
4. Santa Catalina Mountains - Arizona
