Hollow Hearts

 

You could read the anguish

in their empty eyes.

The stabbing pain of grief

penetrated deep into their hearts.

They felt abandoned and alone

in a barren desert,

deserted by the death of a loved one.

For years

of pointless days

and vacuous nights,

the inexplicable loss

lingered on the edge

of their depleted lives

as they carried the burden

of a suffering love.

But eventually,

with the gentle 

passage of time,

fortified by their faith,

by the comfort and support

of family and friends,

their hollow hearts

were filled with the peace

of understanding and acceptance.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Mud Matters Studio ~ Kimberlee Matheny ~ Ceramic Artist

                

Love of Winter

 

The snow is falling

through a silent night

in late December.

Highlighting

diagonal branches

on barren trees.

A dream-like scene

accumulating enough reality

to crystalize your love of winter.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Seidman Park - Kent County - Michigan

3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan 

Advent

 

As we advance 

through Advent,

we are waiting for

immersion in grace.

Praying that it will take place

in the small nativity space

of our hearts where we'll meet

baby Jesus face-to-face.

Emmanuel ~ God is with us.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

St. Patrick Parish - Parnell, Michigan

Talking to My Shadow

 

Streaming through windows

etched with the lace of frost,

I'm wrapped in a veil

of pale winter moonlight.

My shadow on the floor

moves across white carpet

faithfully following me,

but wondering why we

are up in the morning at three.

"I couldn't sleep," I say

to my shadow, 

"when moonlight on snow

is as bright as day."

I think of Cat Stevens' lyrics:

" I'm being followed by a moon shadow,

moon shadow, moon shadow."

Then I return my view

to the bright moonlight

and begin to contemplate

a possible poem I could write.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Skies

3. Home Woods (at night) - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Little Boy on a Swing

 

Occasionally, in my travels,

I become a tourist of the past.

Returning to the locations

of old black and white photographs.

Here's a little boy on a swing,

swinging in his yard from a tree.

He seems to like being outdoors.

They used to call him Dickie Lee.

© 2023 Richard L. Havenga

Photo Credit: Lillian Havenga © 1951 (me age 3)

Wingtips

 

How could these Sandhill Cranes

ever realize the admiration

I have for their elegant grace

while flying through sky-blue sky

with their wingtips curved up,

feathering the golden air of autumn?

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - Arizona

Boundaries of Sound

 

Right at the edge of music

something else may be transpiring

besides what you're hearing.

Just beyond the boundaries of sound,

the musician, singer, conductor senses

they have transported you to another venue.

You know you have reached this place

when you feel your imagination soar,

when you perceive the music

in the chambers of your soul,

and it plays with inexplicable emotions,

creating a vast musical landscape

beyond the boundaries of sound.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Art Prize Grand Rapids (2014)

 

Compass

 

Like the pull of the earth

on a compass needle,

he was drawn in all directions

to explore diverse geographies.

Mountains, plains, deserts.

Rivers, lakes, streams.

Atlantic, Pacific, Great Lakes.

North, South, East, West.

Encouraged by desire.

Motivated to travel.

Restored by hope.

Inspired by the Spirit.

Every road trip,

all the hiking trails,

each photo excursion,

made him feel alive.

Born to be 

a "ramblin' man".

Always leaving,

always gone.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Deck

2. Florence, Arizona

3. Lake Michigan - Grand Haven, Michigan

4. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

5. Atlantic Ocean - Sunset Beach - North Carolina

6. Sandhill Cranes - Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - New Mexico

Counting

 

A large number of Canada Geese

were scattered across the dark water

in the middle of McCarthy Lake.

A skin of ice was growing

from the shoreline to the center.

The geese kept calling to each other

with increasing urgency.

Soon, with a great commotion

of  honking and splashing,

a flock of twenty-three lifted off.

Followed, a few minutes later,

by the clamor of seventeen.

Then, counting rapidly, I watched 41

rise up and noisily leave the surface;

webbed feet beating the water,

feathers spread, beating the air.

Their strong wings carried bulky bodies

up and over the leafless trees.

They skillfully formed a broad "V",

and, sure of their intention, and direction,

the calling slowly diminished.

And now, convinced of their purpose,

they turned to the south,

leaving me at the edge

of the ice-fringed lake,

counting the days until spring.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Return of the Juncos

The Juncos have returned

to southwest Michigan

after breeding and nesting

in northern Ontario.

In October and November

I watch them feed

on the minute seeds

of my garden weeds.

Their dark eyes shine

from the slate-colored head

as they pick at the stems

with a pale pink beak.

In winter they scrape and claw

frozen ground under the feeders

with a scritch-scratch,

forward and back.

From the gray tail,

narrow white feathers

flare and flash as they

hop and bop around the shrubs.

Then, some decide to leave,

and a dozen or more

hurry away to catch up.

This small flock of chittering chips.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

 

More

 

May your one singular life become more fruitful

than you ever thought possible.

May you regain the curiosity

you once held as a child.

You may be awakened by exuberant

birdsong in early spring.

You may hear the song of the river

and translate its meaning in your soul.

May you hear Sunday morning church bells

resound across farmers' fall fields.

May you feel the profound silence

of the night sky in winter.

You may find the Spirit inside you,

or reaching out to find you.

May you find more blessings

than you ever thought possible.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Blok Orchard - Kent County - Michigan

2. Home Woods/Wetland - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan

4. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

5. Inside the Steeple - St. Patrick Church - Parnell, Michigan

6. Luton Park - Rockford, Michigan 

Long Road

 in memory of Aaron Havenga (April 2, 1975 ~ November 20, 1994)

The long pain of grief

cannot be ignored,

but after twenty-nine years,

it can be absorbed;

endured by a gracious heart

and a long life of gratitude

for continued blessings

down this long road

I did not choose.

I no longer wander around

like a lost child, but

walk forward firmly in faith,

powered by a brave heart.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Centennial, Wyoming

Release

 

Narrow, golden pennants

cling to flexible willow braids

waiting for November's release.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

2. Crooked Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Running Words

 

An umbrella of cloud

covers the morning.

I study the form, density, and 

altitude of these cloud bottoms.

Consider the potential

for afternoon rain.

Try to predict

without a weather map,

without a weather app,

today's forecast:

Run this gravel road

while it's still cool.

Weed my perennial garden

as the temperature slowly climbs.

Write on the deck

until raindrops make the words run.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan

Under a November Sky

 

I am huddled under

a dull November sky,

ready to start my run,

eager to have it done.

I'm searching for remnants of beauty

along this remote country course:

Brittle leaves on cornstalks

are rattling in erratic winds.

The brown cigars of cattails

are swaying on stiff stems.

Congregations of starlings

mass and merge in leafless trees.

Tamaracks are fading from gold

to tan and dropping soft needles.

Stripped trees ready for slumber

are standing dormant until spring.

An aggressive southwest wind

is whisking through bare branches.

Dark silhouettes of willow trunks

stand steadfast in the wetlands.

Thin crystals of early ice form 

geometric patterns in shallow wetlands.

I'm finding fragments of beauty

under this fine November sky.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan

3. Canon Township - Kent County - Michigan

4. Vergennes Township - Kent County - Michigan

5. Home Woods Wetland

My Middle Name

 

I'm seventy-five years old.

This is the middle

of the eighth decade

I've been blessed to live

on this beautiful earth.

The morning hours

of writing poetry

have been fulfilling and fruitful.

These past twelve years

passing too swiftly.

I am enriched every day

by observations of nature.

Grateful to God the Creator

for sensory awareness,

and for the freedom to explore. 

I am

accepting the past,

living in the present,

and anticipating the future

when I'll be running and writing.

My middle name is Gratitude.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Canyonlands National Park - Utah

2. Home Deck - Cannonsburg, Michigan 

3. Butonbush - Kent County - Michigan

4. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado