Arranging, Rearranging

 

I always look up

when I hear the geese

approaching, nearer and nearer.

Here they come, arranging

and rearranging themselves

into intentional V's.

I must count them;

can't help myself,

while I listen to the directions

they're calling to each other. 

To glean from the 

newly-harvested cornfield,

or glide down onto McCarthy Lake;

a splashing, clashing, clamor of sound,

then returning to quiet.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan 

3. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan

4. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Intimate As Tears

 

It's mid-April

in mid-Michigan.

A drizzly mist,

intimate as tears,

is shed by the clouds.

Overcast, with the promise

of a greening spring.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Gavin Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Visibly Graceful

 

Weeping Willows may be

in love with the invisible

winds of spring.

Watch them dancing together.

Waltzing, flowing, undulating.

A captivating choreography.

Braided yellow hair.

Swinging in the air.

Visibly graceful.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Thornapple River - Ada, Michigan

2. Plainfield Township - Kent County - Michigan

Long Hours

 for Aaron Havenga  (April 2, 1975 ~ November 20, 1994)

The first light to pierce the dawn

reminds me of your radiant smile.

I miss your warm presence

during the long hours of daylight.

Until the long hours of night,

when sleep becomes my friend.

Inside the vague territory of dreams

when the missing you is missing.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

Pleasant Peninsulas

 

In Michigan,

we live on one of two

pleasant peninsulas,

surrounded by inland seas.

Superior.

Michigan.

Huron.

Erie.

Plus, we have about 

twelve-thousand

inland lakes.

In the late 20th century,

our license plates boasted:

"Water-Winter Wonderland".

It's true.

We would appreciate

an exploratory visit

from you.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Arcadia, Michigan

2. Grand Haven State Park & Lighthouse ~ Michigan

3. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan

4. Wabasis Lake Park & Campground - Kdingent County - Michigan

5. Ludington State Park - Ludington, Michigan

Soft Lips

 

There is no color quite like it.

I'm talking here about the

golden-yellow-orange

of these California Poppies

that flower in dazzling abundance

in Arizona's Sonoran Desert.

When a warm spring

follows a wet winter,

they spread a golden carpet

over this dry land

to enchant the casual observer.

Bring joyous color

for the serious photographer

to capture a close-up view.

The yellow-gold intensifies.

Deeper, vibrant, fully alive.

Create lovely images

in the mind

of this grateful poet

when the desert breeze

kisses the soft lips

of poppy petals.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

Picacho Peak State Park - Arizona

Watching and Waiting

 

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

Taprooting

 

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

Wingtips

 

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

How It Feels

 

Suffering attracts compassion.

Grief invites kindness.

I've been on both sides.

I know how it feels.

To give.

To receive.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Sage Crush

 

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

Worthy Words

 

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

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