Right now, under the
brittle shell of winter,
below the insulating snow,
beneath the layer
of mulching leaves,
within and throughout
the mineralized soil,
live roots and rootlets
angle and tangle,
probe through microbes,
lengthen and strengthen,
stretching and fetching
nourishment for these
wintering deciduous trees.
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
2. Lowell Township - Kent County - Michigan
3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
These separate words
become lines of poetry
floating across blank pages
like leaves on the river.
Paper-clipped together
to be reviewed again,
to be revised again,
released in the future.
Eventually assembled
into a discernable
current of perception.
Poets are keepers of the past
and our hope for the future.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand River - Kent County - Michigan
2. Murray Lake - Kent County - Michigan
3. Fallasburg Park - Lowell, Michigan
4. Cannonsburg, Michigan
I pray
that my poems
will express
what I'm trying to say.
And not fly around erratically
like a Painted Lady butterfly,
or like Little Brown Bats
darting and diving in the dusk.
I would prefer
that my poems
rise softly, subtly,
and surely, like the dawn.
Then illuminate
my readers
like the morning light
on jeweled prisms of dew.
And in the reading
perhaps feel my hand
on your shoulder
offering encouragement.
And know that
I want to share
my feelings of gratitude
with you.
For one of the gifts
of the writer,
is the presence
of a gracious reader.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
After evening tree shadows lengthened,
and dusk overcame the daylight,
crickets and katydids
began their night rhythms.
Through the screens
of our bedroom window,
I listened to the soothing music
playing a late summer song,
and roamed into a deep forest of sleep.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Deck ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Home Woods ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan
When slices of sunlight
penetrate the branches of our east woods,
I extend my arms in gratitude
for these inspiring shafts of light;
accepting this morning offering,
reaching for the arms of God.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Purple blossoms of vetch
dangle like living jewels;
like amethyst
on a green necklace.
These delicate gems
adorn summer fields,
use their tender tendrils
to climb and cling to grasses,
seeking better exposure
to the mid-summer sun.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Under the dark silk
of water in this wetland,
fat-headed tadpoles are
wriggling in their aquatic jungle.
Pushing with broad, slippery tails
through layers of old, wet leaves.
Watching with tiny black eyes.
Settling into the soft silt.
do they like to eat that
bright green duckweed?
Or do they prefer the
more meaty
aquatic invertebrates?
I hold you briefly in the air;
can see you are stunned in
this foreign atmosphere.
Waiting for four legs
to sprout and grow;
for lungs to breathe
the free air
above the
ceiling of water.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. 3. & 4. Home Woods Wetland - Cannonsburg, Michigan
An overnight chill
silenced the Spring Peepers.
Perhaps tomorrow
the chorus will return,
and the early Trout Lilies
will unfurl, uncurl next week,
followed by Bloodroot
breaking through organic debris,
and wrapped in their own leaves.
as the soft soil of the woods
slowly warms with April.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. 3. 4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
1. & 2. Trout Lily
3. & 4. Bloodroot
I wander the woods with wonder.
Taking my time, taking my poetry notebook.
Allowing my senses their freedom
to absorb, to accept this invitation.
I scrape dead leaves into a cushion,
and sit against a solid trunk of White Oak;
feeling the furrows and ridges of the bark
press into the muscles of my back.
Taking time to quiet my mind,
I let worldly thoughts settle into the soil.
Occupying this profound stillness,
I'm prepared for inspiration's embrace.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1, 2, & 3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Dull, gray light
seeps from the morning fog.
Dark trunks of oak
lift their thick columns
into a flat, pewter sky.
Long branches have shed
yesterday's snow.
Dripping to the ground,
exposing soggy brown leaves.
Small pockets of ground snow
are pocked by falling drips.
Small silver drops
cling to tapered twigs.
As the end December approaches,
the front edge of winter
waits to begin
its long, stubborn stay.
© 2020 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. & 3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
