Rural Roads with Mom

 In Memory of Lillian Havenga (1922 ~ 2021)

He knew

from long experience

with the land,

where the best blooms

of Redbuds were growing.

He invited his mother,

in her mid-nineties,

for a ride in the country.

A ride she wouldn't remember

the next day, or next week.

But along those rural roads,

magenta-pink blossoms

lit up the gray hillside

sloping to the river's edge.

And she released

a barely perceptable sigh:

"Oh My!"

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. & 4. Thornapple River - Ruehs Park - Alaska - Kent County - Michigan

2. & 3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan