December's Silent Night

 

Among the gratuitous

gifts of winter:

A large, rounded Cottonwood

feathered in frost.

Racks and stacks of firewood,

cured to be burned for our warmth.

Dark bones of trees stretch

long arms into cold air.

Ice Bells suspended 

above Bear Creek.

Loyal Northern Cardinals

bringing vibrant color to snowy days.

The dim glow of January sun

trying to melt persistent icicles.

The snow falling through

December's silent night.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

2, 3, 6, & 7. Home Yard & Home Woods

4. & 5. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Patient Pioneers

 

Along the boulder's

curving roundness,

circular splotches of lichen

cling tightly to the hardness.

Existing and persisting

for possibly a hundred years.

Weathering the rocks,

penetrating the pores.

Patient pioneers;

crustose creating

colonies of color.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor, Maine

2. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

3. Grand Mesa, Colorado

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