Cry of the Loon

 

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

Photo Locations:

1. Tahquamenon Falls State Park - Michigan

2. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

The Next Dimension

 

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

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

Pointing to the Sky

 

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.

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

Between Here and There

 

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

Silver With Possibility

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

Yutori

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

Ghosted

 

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

Emerging Voice

 

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

Maybe Tomorrow

 

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

Photo Locations:

1. La Jolla, California 

2. Sanibel Island, Florida

3. Sunset Beach, North Carolina

Tamarack Tufts

 

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

Out Here

 

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

The Poetry of Water

 

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

 

 

Tracks

I returned to the boot tracks
I left in the snowfield
the day before yesterday.

Today, they contained tiny seeds
from Mullein and Evening Primrose,
blown in by the winter wind.

Today, a batch of Horned Larks
and Dark-eyed Juncos
are feeding in the trough of my tracks.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Kent County - Michigan

3. Buena Vista, Colorado

4. Madera Canyon - Arizona

Pastel Prisms

 

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

After She Left

 

Dusk sneaks up on me,

creeps onto these pages

I'm trying to read

from Donald Hall's poetry.

His wife, poet Jane Kenyon, is dying.

Their future together looks dark;

but their love is a bright fire

burning with intensity.

He promises to keep

the remaining embers

glowing forever

in his plaintive heart.

So he wrote letters to her,

and wrote poems about her,

for many years

after she left.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

 

Photo Locations:

1. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Lafayette, Colorado

Mood of Gratitude

 

The evening sky is being brushed

by the subtle grays of dusk.

Tints of lavender paint the clouds.

Warm pinks reflect on the river.

A comforting mood of gratitude

for another  good day of life.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

You may also enjoy another Gratitude poem: "Reaching" ~ July 13, 2025.

Sonoran Silence

 

In the quiet solitude

of the Sonoran Desert;

Saguaro Cactus

tower over my head.

Mexican Poppies

glow golden at my feet.

Teddy Bear Chollas

are backlit by the sun.

Absolute silence

permeates my soul.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Saguaro National Park ~ East - Tucson, Arizona

2. Picacho Peak State Park - Arizona

Solvitur Ambulando

 

When the tensions of your life,

and the troubles of our world

begin to overwhelm your mind

and dominate your thoughts,

stop the mental talk

and take a long, brisk walk.

Solvitur ambulando*

It can be solved while walking.

*St. Augustine

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Glacier National Park - Montana

2. Great Sand Dunes National Park - Colorado