I approach this mountain stream
with deep respect and admiration.
Walking upstream,
along the boulder-strewn bank,
accented with spruce
and Ponderosa Pines.
The sound of rushing water
is like a friend coming toward me;
it flows with companionship,
that I currently need more of.
I keep watching and waiting,
until it's time to move on.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Payette River - McCall, Idaho
2. Elk River - Steamboat Springs, Colorado
This land rolls away
in red soil and rabbitbrush.
Utah Junipers are scattered,
nearly equally-spaced,
over the wave of hills,
taprooting just enough moisture
from deep in the ground
to survive slowly, deliberately.
We admire their tenacity;
surviving for ages.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Dinosaur National Monument - Utah
2. Canyonlands National Park - Utah
A sudden whoosh of wings.
A swarm of fluttering feathers.
As a close cluster of blackbirds
flies from a dark tree
into the gray sky.
In this organized chaos,
how do they not touch
their wingtips?
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
San Pedro River Riparian National Conservation Area
San Pedro House - Sierra Vista, Arizona
Suffering attracts compassion.
Grief invites kindness.
I've been on both sides.
I know how it feels.
To give.
To receive.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
My legs brush the sage
hanging over the trail.
I crush the pale green leaves
and rub them between my hands.
Inhale the masculine scent
that blankets these high plains.
Continue along this trail
that rises with the foothills.
The higher mountains beyond,
remain always in view.
While following the path
scented with sage.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
3. San Juan National Forest - Colorado
Enchanted by mountain streams,
I sit in my camp chair
and watch the Blackfoot River
flowing past Ponderosa Pines,
carrying water music to my ears.
On the high slopes,
Aspens whisper secrets
between branches of trembling leaves.
I wait with patience
for some suitable words to appear.
Words worthy of mountain streams
lined with Aspen and Ponderosa.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Blackfoot River - Greenough, Montana
2. La Plata Mountains - Colorado
Within your comfortable solitude,
the mournful cry of the loon
heard from the opposite shore
serves up a taste of loneliness.
Not the same as solitude,
but still, you think about it.
How it might be
if she dies first.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
While living
our extraordinary lives
here on earth,
we cannot comprehend
the next dimension
which could be our future.
The final destination
we are yearning for
deep inside our souls.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
Ocean light
makes my eyes squint,
but brightens my day
as I behold the palette of blues.
A squadron of Brown Pelicans
glides above the rolling waves.
I hear the tuneful whistle
of an Osprey near its nest.
My face is brushed
by a gentle gulf breeze.
I am entranced
by ocean light.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Sanibel Island - Florida
3. Lowdermilk Park - Naples, Florida
A platoon of pillars.
Pale green and rigid.
Pointing to the sky.
Thick, bulging arms
grow out from the torso,
curve up to the sun.
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Persevering and patient.
Enduring the relentless desert.
Saguaro Cactus survive.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 3. Catalina State Park - Oro Valley, Arizona
2. Picacho Peak State Park - Arizona
From here,
in the Sonoran Desert,
I can see the pines
outlined along the ridge
of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
In that expansive space
between here and there,
a single raven rides the air.
Broad, black wings glossy
in the wide blue sky.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations: Arizona
An hour before dawn,
we were packing to leave
on a long road trip.
A cold and silent morning.
The sky was still dark
and strewn with stars.
As we got on the road,
we saw a faint brightening
on the eastern horizon.
And this new day
slowly opened around us,
silver with possibility
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
When we decide to slow down,
to leave the phone at home,
and go outdoors to engage in
intentional listening,
we will be practicing
the concept of yutori.
And we will be rewarded
as we contemplate
our life space,
and express gratitude to God
for our experiences outdoors.
A soft breeze whispering through
the fine needles of White Pine.
Birdsong streaming from
the density of green woods.
The rapids of a mountain stream
rushing over rocks, splashing boulders.
The faint chirp of crickets
on a late summer evening.
When we decide to listen.
Gifts we can give ourselves.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. White Pine - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. Indigo Bunting - Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan
3. Taylor River - Gunnison County - Colorado
This tall cottonwood
rises above the frozen lake.
Frosted by winter fog.
Ghosted by morning light.
Astonishing my sensitivity.
Dazzling my grateful eyes.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan
The reader meets the writer
on the page or on the screen.
And within that relationship
a significant bond is formed.
A learning, an understanding,
a shared emotion, an insight.
Sharing distinct imagery through
a unique blending of words.
Experience joins imagination.
Awareness enhances vision.
The interior voice
has emerged to be heard.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Lake Michigan @ Wilderness State Park - Mackinaw City, Michigan
Sitting at the shoreline again,
watching shorebirds feeding.
Waiting for the right words
to come in with the tide.
Perhaps they will arrive today.
Maybe tomorrow.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
These tight little bundles
of pale green needles.
Concentrated tufts,
soft to the touch.
Tender packets of life
emergent on Tamarack twigs.
Like batches of matches
rising to ignite
the green fire of spring.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations: Ccannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan
Even clean air,
seen through many miles,
like in western Wyoming,
or the Colorado Rockies,
can haze the distant mountains.
I am out here, attentive,
wrapped in time's presence.
Ready for an elk sighting,
a moose in a lake,
or a distant meadowlark
making music
from his throne
on a wooden fencepost.
In between the meadowlark's calls,
in the space between mountains,
God speaks in silence.
I am out here.
Listening.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
2. Telluride, Colorado
3. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
4. & 5. Mancos, Colorado
It's difficult to translate
the meaning of words
the mountain stream carries
as it hurries through the canyon;
bashing big boulders,
splashing through the rapids.
Elsewhere, the poetry of water slows
and swirls into clear pools;
transparent with nuance,
tranquil with meaning.
I kneel for a closer look.
Fine grasses and golden sky light
reflect on the smooth surface.
Through the clear lens of water
I examine the bottom of the pool
and read in the rippled sand
the words collected there:
Slow down. Be still.
Observe the smallest
contours of creation.
But this poem
does not end
here.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado
2. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
3. Santa Catalina Mountains - Arizona
A singular splash
of vivid illumination
highlights the fringes
of veiled cirrus.
Filaments of light
captivate our attention.
Pastel prisms high
in the desert sky.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations: Saddlebrooke, Arizona
