A soft, female rain
falls gently upon his fields.
Inside his masculine body,
a kind, sensitive soul
feels the sublime sense
of simple contentment.
The showers fall.
The earth drinks.
All is well in his heart.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan
On this Memorial Day,
I salute and respect
all the Veterans
from the Armed Forces
of the United States of America
who sacrificed their lives
so that we may live
our lives in freedom.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery - San Diego, California
2. Santa Fe National Cemetery - Santa Fe, New Mexico
Late this morning,
summer sunlight
sifts through the canopy
of these tall Red Oaks.
Flocks of cumulus
assemble overhead;
form clusters
in a sky-blue sky.
Now cloud shadows
crawl across the land
as an increasing breeze
murmurs through the woods.
I think I hear
Vivaldi
playing in the trees:
Allegro!
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Walking down the fairway
approaching my well-hit ball,
this challenging game of golf
has several benefits for all.
At hole number one it's obvious:
you get to be outdoors;
observing dynamic skies
and all this nature can be yours.
I'm hearing Eastern Bluebirds
fly from tree to tree,
watching them snatch small insects
that I can't even see.
Then a Red-tailed Hawk
sweeps and sails into view,
riding on summer thermals,
another distraction for you.
And down in the wetland,
a group of Canada Geese,
dabbling in shallow water,
paddling and feeding in peace.
And so by the time we begin
our putting at number eighteen,
I've scored a lot more birdies
than my partners from tee to green.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan
When Aaron was four years old
he walked from our backyard
into the wooded ravine.
He spotted the beautiful trilliums
growing with pure white radiance
in the cool shade of the woods.
He picked some with his soft hands.
He picked some with his kind heart.
He picked some as a precious gift.
A handful of happiness for his Mommy.
Then he carried them back home
with warm love shining in his eyes.
They were more elegant, more dazzling,
than the common dandelions
he gave her yesterday.
These trilliums were the sweetest,
most tender and generous gift
she had received since his birth.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. & 3. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan
Get close enough
to the American Beech
in late April, so that
you can take its pulse,
and examine the
narrow, tapered buds,
sharp as a pencil point,
and notice them swelling
until they unfold
their coppery sheaths,
to reveal young leaves;
soft, tender, and wearing
green pleated skirts.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. 3. & 4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Specifications
for a fine day in May:
More than just
a handful of time available;
but a bucket, a bushel, a basket
waiting to be filled.
Some woodland wildflowers;
like Mayapple, Trillium, and
a velvet-soft Hepatica all qualify.
Migrating warblers are essential;
Chestnut-sided, Magnolia,
Yellow and Bay-breasted.
A warm breeze is necessary,
borne in the southwest, carrying
a promise of the mid-seventies.
The most obvious requirement
is to be outside, under the broad
blue sky arranged with small cumulus.
And hopefully, a proviso of words,
waiting with eager anticipation,
and qualified to enter these lines.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
2. Magnolia Warbler - Home Spruce - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Have you listened, lately,
to the sound of the wind singing?
It could be calling your name.
Perhaps in the long and slender
braids of the Weeping Willow,
undulating like the arms
of a ballerina.
Or in the high canopy
of a tall oak forest,
the crowns being pushed;
swaying yet resilient.
For me, I hear the secret
whispering through thousands
of fine green needles
while standing by the White Pine.
Have you listened, lately,
to the sound of the wind singing?
It is calling your name.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Thornapple River - Ada, Michigan
2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
