How to Read Words

 

You are reading these words

as I have written them:

Transparent as Lake Superior's water.

Clear as the night sky in the desert.

Soft as the petals of Arizona's poppies.

Colorful as October woods in Michigan.

Generous as the ocean pushing onto the shore.

Fresh as spring daffodils in your garden.

Dependable as the seasons turning.

Striving as acorns aspire to become oaks.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Whitefish Point Bird Observatory - Upper Peninsula- Michigan

2. La Jolla, California

3. Wabasis Lake Park & Campground - Kent County - Michigan

Measured Miles

 

I'm out here again,

running against the wind.

Grateful to God

that I can still accomplish

these measured miles.

Accepting the challenges of

weather, hills, heat and cold.

Thankful for my lungs, legs,

strength and stamina.

Accepting limitations, but

persevering in my mid-seventies,

confident in the coming years.

Ready to run these measured miles

for another chance to taste

all four seasons outdoors.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Kaua'i, Hawaii  (Please note: In the Hawaii photo I'm only 58 years old.)

2. Castle Valley, Utah (In the Utah photo I'm 72 years old.)

3. December 16, 2024, was my 77th Birthday.

4. This is Poem # 1,025 since I began writing Poetry in 2012.

Room Enough

 

As the silver light of day

turns apricot, turns plum,

the Snowy Egrets

begin to glide in

to their roosting tree

on a small island

in a small pond.

Room enough for all

as day becomes dusk.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Vista Plantation - Vero Beach, Florida

Remembering Seasons

 

We walk

through the seasons of our lives.

The snow, the cold, the blizzards.

The rain, the heat, the thunderstorms.

Wildflowers emerge in the spring woods.

Tree buds swell and unfurl new leaves.

Vibrant autumn colors

flare briefly, then die.

Winter sun slides by low in the sky.

Summer sun climbs high.

We live our lives alive,

try to thrive in each season;

remembering.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

5. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Until

 

The farther up this trail I go,

the fewer people I see,

until I'm in the company of quiet.

Until I reach this rushing stream

and sit on a boulder to listen

to the talking waters.

Studying the current

rolling over rocks,

bending around boulders.

Silver veins of water

tumbling in turmoil,

falling freely with grace.

Until these words

 flow into lines

of liquid poetry.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Yellowstone National Park

Shore Dance

 

An ever-changing pattern;

this feathered flank of shorebirds.

A living, moving fleet

dancing along the shore.

Tracking the saturated sand,

feeding at the fringe of foam.

Until, in a flashing flurry,

they flutter-fly away.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. & 3. Sanibel Island - Florida

Starter Words

 

I scribble a few starter words

onto this empty yellow page.

Black letters across blue lines

awaiting a sense of direction.

Hungry for a hint, an indication,

or some subtle suggestion

on where to go, how to proceed.

Then I decide to stop and read:

Kenyon* and Kooser*,

Stafford* and Stafford* for starters.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

* Jane Kenyon

*Ted Kooser

*William Stafford

*Kim Stafford

You may also like:  "Hovering Pen"

If You Have Any

 

If you're reading this during daylight,

could you please go outside and find

a good, wide view of the sky?

Then, could you make a brief observation

of the position and composition

of the clouds in your sky?

If you have any.

You know, just the basic three types:

cirrus, stratus, cumulus.

And one last request,

if you don't mind,

if you have any 

time:

Could you please tell me the speed

and the direction they are drifting,

so I can watch for their arrival?

You may be watching your sky right now,

or you may still be reading.

Either way, 

thank you for your participation.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. North Fort Myers, Florida

2. Tubac, Arizona

3. Grand Mesa, Colorado

4. St. Patrick Church - Parnell, Michigan

Winter Angels

 

In this forgotten cropfield

that once grew soybeans,

it's a day in late winter,

still below freezing,

with a trace of snow remaining.

Sandhill Cranes toss stems and leaves.

With the slightest wing thrust

they rise effortlessly

eight feet up, then settle down

like winter angels.

They dance and call

and flare their wings

and toss and dance

and wait for spring.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan