The Gift Before It's Given

 

I can see the gift

before it's given.

The prize 

before it arrives.

Partial appearance

prior to blooming.

Always treasured,

never possessed.

Garden flowers

before they open.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Bosque del Apache

 

Sandhill Cranes,

hundreds per flock,

fix their wide wings

in a stalling descent,

a controlled falling to earth.

They're gliding into

Bosque del Apache

National Wildlife Refuge

in New Mexico.

Yodeling their calls,

ruffling and preening

their feathers.

These muttering multitudes

creating a cacophony of sound.

A popular place to overwinter

until their spring departure.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - New Mexico

Acceptance II

 

As time seems to accelerate

in these older years,

my attachment to life

has strengthened.

Of course there is

a sense of aching in my heart,

like things could start

to unravel in the next ten years.

However, at seventy-eight,

my current grip on life

feels firm and confident,

like when I'm lifting weights.

Or running wooded trails, or the beach.

Or playing tennis and pickleball.

Or swimming in the ocean.

Or hiking in the mountains.

Or photographing nature

all over this beautiful country.

Or Writing outdoors 

in numerous locations.

A working combination of

adaptability, and perseverance.

Acceptance and gratitude

for my abundant blessings.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Acceptance" - October 23, 2023

Photo Locations:

1. Canyonlands National Park - Utah

2. Kauapea Beach - Kauai, Hawaii (12-22-05)

3. Angels Landing Trail - Zion National Park - Utah

4. White Sands National Park - New Mexico

5. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

Now

 

Time,

bearing the constant presence of

now,

is carried away by the 

wind.

Swept swiftly

into the irretrievable past.

 

Which is why I'm okay with

running against the wind;

prepared to get a glance

of whatever's coming at me

now.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Saul Lake Bog - Kent County - Michigan

Kaleidoscope

 

These attractive stones

lying on the bottom

of the Kootenai River

are massaged by

the continuous current,

magnified by shallow water;

turned into a kaleidoscope 

of moving, liquid color.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Kootenai River, Montana

Water into Ice

Water into water.

Turbulent into tranquil.

Merging. Converging.

Water into ice.

Blending. 

Ending the pain.

Mending your wounds.

Tending your hurting heart.

Ascending to a better place. 

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Pickerel Lake Park ~ Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan 

 

Geography of Dreams

 

The inner landscapes of my mind

have been shaped by a language

learned and discerned

from connections with nature.

Mountains, meadows, woods and fields.

Rivers, lakes, oceans and streams.

They blend together to become

the geography of my dreams.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Canyon de Chelly - Arizona

2. Wyoming

3. West Elk Wilderness - Colorado

Sheaf of Starlings

A cloud of dark feathers

rises up from a leafless tree.

A rush of wings brushing

cold November air.

A swarming sheaf of starlings

riding the north wind south.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Spring Lake, Michigan

Circling

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

Pure joy

radiates from his face

at age four, as he spins

in his circle of life.

Making a small, round wave

in Lake Michigan

that still reaches me,

still touches me.

I've been circling 

for decades

into the future

without him.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Pentwater State Park - Pentwater, Michigan

Photo by Mary Havenga © 1979

 

last light

in late November

last leaves collect the last light

brief glow in tree tops

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Golden Collection

 

In late November,

when all the leaves have fallen,

the Weeping Willow

retains possession

of its golden collection;

narrow, tapered fingers

pointing at their future

among the others

on the cold, hard ground. 

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Small Herds of Horses

 

From afar,

I have always loved

small herds of horses,

and the mountain meadow

pastures where they live

with apparent contentment.

These large, beautiful animals,

grazing in the grass,

in the shadow of mountains.

I can sense

a peaceful, easy feeling

of intimacy with the land.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

3. Cut Bank, Montana

 

Trespassing II

 

I was walking 

through the piney woods,

absorbing the view

between the trees,

when I suddenly spotted

a Barred Owl,

the color of pine bark.

Perfectly camouflaged

among the branches.

He stared at me so intently

with his shiny black eyes.

I froze in my place,

held my breath,

tried not to blink.

Could not look away.

I felt embarrassed for 

my clumsy invasion,

intruding on his privacy,

trespassing in his domain.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Trespassing" ~ August 27, 2025

Photo Locations:

1. Seidman Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Juvenile Barred Owl - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

My Friend the Moon

 

The moon is like a living thing.

I give it much more attention

than the average human being.

It travels across the night sky,

and sometimes lingers in the daylight.

Appearing and disappearing.

Growing and shrinking.

Waxing and waning.

I anticipate her fullness,

rising after the sun has set.

I eagerly seek 

her first new crescent;

a sliver of silver,

and miss her when she's hidden

behind the overcast.

I photograph her in all her moods,

and write poems about her.

My friend the moon.

Worthy of reflection.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Sky - Kent County -  Michigan

2. North Fort Myers, Florida

3. SaddleBrooke, Arizona

4. Crooked Lake - Kent County - Michigan

5. Vero Beach, Florida

6. Home Sky - Kent County - Michigan

7. Bozeman, Montana 

brittle

 

brittle leaves hang down

wall of cornstalks stand rigid

ready for harvest

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

melancholy days

 

melancholy days

sadness accumulating

in the fallen leaves

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Fremont, Michigan

Ear Buds

 

I never have,

nor will I ever start,

to use headphones,

ear buds, etcetera,

when I'm running outdoors.

I prefer to hear

the music of nature

along quiet country roads.

Songs from the Indigo Bunting,

Scarlet Tanager, Yellow Warbler,

or a distant Eastern Meadowlark.

A fall flock of Canada Geese.

An ambitious wind in the trees.

The rising rapids in rivers. 

Rigorous waves on Lake Michigan.

All sounds superior,

to my favorite symphonies

by Haydn or Beethoven.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Indigo Bunting - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Scarlet Tanager - Home Woods - Kent County - Michigan

3. Yellow Warbler - Home Woods - Kent County - Michigan

4. Canada Geese - Saul Lake Bog - Kent County - Michigan

5. Grand Haven State Park - Michigan

Outdoor Ballet

 

Here it comes again;

the annual autumn

medley of leaves.

All the talk is about the colors,

the intensity, the "peak week",

where to drive or walk

for the perfect peek.

Or simply watching

these golden slippers;

a gathering of grace

as they flutter-fall to earth.

A short-lived display.

An outdoor ballet.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Wabasis Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

3. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan

4. East Grand Rapids, Michigan