I know you must
have touched them
at some time in your life.
The powdery scales
of moths, so soft
they rub off on your fingers.
Wearing furry skirts
on short, fluttering flights.
Queens of the night.
Attracted by your light.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Flat River State Game Area - Lowell Township - Kent County - Michgian
The tight flower bud
is a potential prayer.
Developing quietly.
Swelling slowly.
Unfolding gradually,
until it becomes
a wide open blossom;
the delicate petals
offering this
full-bodied prayer.
Giving praise and reverence
to the creator.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
While crickets,
hidden deep in the night grass,
provide the background music,
a katydid,
wearing its leaf-green jacket
occupies the first chair
of this summer symphony.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Home Deck - Cannonsburg, Michigan
My hope in writing,
is that the lines
in some of my poems
may breathe with insight.
Inhaling inspiration.
Exhaling satisfaction.
A discernable voice.
A distinctive vision.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
This handsome yellow bird,
accented with a black cap,
black wings and tail,
swoops across the summer sky
in shallow arches;
an undulating flight between the trees.
Singing yellow notes
of freedom
into the blue sky.
Until it comes down to earth
to feed on the seeds
of flowers.
American Goldfinch.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Roselle Park - Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan
A gauze of fog
softens the dawn.
Microscopic droplets
collect on the web.
Threads of silk.
Strings of pearls.
Making the invisible
visible.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Oxbow Bend ~ Snake River - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
Let's paint these walls
the color of Wyoming sage
thriving on the Antelope Flats
of Grand Teton National Park.
Let's carpet these floors
the color of fresh green moss
velveting rounded rocks
in this Michigan trout stream.
Let's paint these ceilings
the color of pure blue skies
rising above the Colorado
Rocky Mountains.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
2. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
3. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
