Royal Purple

Is there anything in nature 

as delicately soft as the

petals of a wildflower in spring? 

Select your species.

Where I live, I'll choose

the tender hepatica,

humbly growing

close to the soil,

close to the earth,

a royal purple satin

too precious to touch.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

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

Devoted

 

In the cold spring air,

on the cool April ground,

green blades of  young grasses

spear through the dead mat of tans.

Here in a small depression,

a hidden patch of earth

is warmed by the breast

of a nesting Woodcock.

Four elegant eggs

splotched with earthy colors.

Vulnerable to the elements.

Dependent on her devoted presence.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Mares' Tails

 

Look at them racing.

Their long white tails

trailing across

the broad blue sky.

These "Mares' Tails"

galloping to the east.

The finish line

just out of sight,

beyond the horizon,

into the troposphere.

Equestrian sweepstakes.

Competition among clouds.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Spears

 

It's April again,

and in bland fields,

matted down by winter snows,

new grasses emerge.

Spears of jubilant green

piercing the carpet of tan,

stretching toward the yellow sun.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Yellowing

 

April is leaning forward,

greeting the arrival of spring

with patient exuberance.

Yellowing these warmer days

with happy thickets of Forsythia,

and  Daffodils trumpeting with joy.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Home Road - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Water into Water

 

Rain is progressing

up the Grand River valley;

softening the rich soil,

placing a sheen on the 

Silver Maple leaves,

dimpling the river's surface.

I watch the river

accept the rain;

water into water,

meandering 

through the landscape

on its silent course.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Grand River - Plainfield Township - Kent County - Michigan

Finishing

 

I'm waiting expectantly

for this morning's sunrise.

Hoping to be filled

with luminous light,

and a few creative words

inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Starting with receptivity.

Finishing with gratitude.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

Filling

Our loyal cardinals

brought vibrant color

to a gray and white winter.

And on summer evenings,

they pierce the silence

with sharp, bold whistles.

Filling the air with song.

Filling my ears with music.

Filling my eyes with gratitude.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. & 3. Home Woods

 

Driving

 In Memory of

 Aaron Havenga   April 2, 1975 ~ November 20, 1994

Driving late at night,

still a long way

from our destination.

Very few cars

on this remote highway.

I'm playing

some of his favorite music

from the Grateful Dead

inside the warm cab of my pickup,

while driving through

the cool, Colorado rain. 

Driving into the future,

I feel like these headlights,

and even though I strive,

I cannot see everything

that may be out there.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Steamboat Springs, Colorado

2. Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area - Utah