Path Through the Leaves

I found these old words
fallen from familiar trees 
and saved them here
to be surprised in the future.

Like years of autumn leaves
pressed into the pages
of the silent books
that wait on my library shelves.

A broad Sugar Maple leaf
preserved in soft yellow
somewhere inside
William Stafford's work.

A two-lobed Sassafras leaf,
the left-handed one,
flattened on the Michigan page
of my Rand McNally.

And American Beech, my favorite,
gathered in early November;
veins precisely pinnate,
perfect for bookmarks within:

Mary Oliver, Luci Shaw,
Dan Gerber, and David Lee;
to be discovered years later,
they mark my place in time.

Hoping what I've found
will not be lost,
but saved within
the pages of books.

To recall once again
the seasons of life,
my journey with words,
my path through the leaves.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 2, 3. Home Library

4. 5. Home Woods

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

7. Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

Book Rock

In Memory of Mary Oliver (1935 ~ 2019)

When I remove this special rock
from the shoulder of the mountain,

and during the descent,
feel its weight inside my pack,

I picture it displayed
on my library shelf.

Or,

I may use its weight to hold open
a book of poems I'm reading

by Mary Oliver, William Stafford, 
Jane Kenyon, Ted Kooser,
Luci Shaw, or Dan Gerber, ...

as I sit on the bank
of this rocky river,
thinking about its source.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Library - Cannonsburg, 

3. Elk River - Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Writing on the Deck

"Is it an old man's hunger to take in all he can of what's left of his life?
... to save what I can for them to see through my eyes?" ~ Dan Gerber *

Aging sweet peas arch
from an antique vase;
decorate my writing table,
capture my curious eyes.

The stillness of an empty blue sky
is cradled by the glossy canopy of trees.

A lively little wren hops along the handrail.
A hummingbird hovers over the petunias.
Steeples of Delphinium blue the green shadows.
A Pileated Woodpecker hammers in the woods. 
A cicada cranks up its hypnotic, electric buzz.

Despite the comfort of these morning hours,
the days rush past, seasons change swiftly,
but I am out here; a witness.

Surrounding trees breathe in silence.
Then a soft breeze stirs,
lifting graceful fern fronds.

Like the breath of God
confirming these words,
blessing my time,
giving this day.

Filling my soul 
with gratitude.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

* Excerpt ~ "In Our Rented Cabin" from Dan Gerber's book: Sailing through Cassiopeia © 2012

Photo Locations: 

Home Deck, Home Garden, Home Woods.

page thirteen

This poem was written July 17, 1992, outside our family tent, at Interlochen State Park, (Duck Lake Campground) in northern Michigan.


Little brown butterfly,
you've landed on page thirteen
of the book I'm reading
to warm your wings
in the morning sunlight.

First your right side,
and then your left.
Slanting and tilting
to keep your wings
perpendicular
to the warming rays.

I slowly slant and tilt
the page you've clung to,
to test your sensitivity.
You adjust your stance.
The experiment works.

You start to walk
over the words:
"Lake Michigan".
You have now entered
this short story* I'm reading;
become a new character.

Stepping over a few sentences
down to the next paragraph,
you pause on the words:
"butterflies migrate".

Then you take flight.

©  1992, 2013 - Richard Havenga

*Short Story: "The Way A Woman Thinks" from collection: Grass Fires - Dan Gerber © 1989

Fragments of Poetry 7

It is early December and ice
has formed again on the lake.

I sit and watch the twilight

fade away without notice

like a widow who has outlived

her sympathy.  - Dan Gerber

(Click on photo to enlarge) 

excerpt from poem: "Sunset on a Cloudy Day"

from collection:   A Last Bridge Home  (Bridge)  by Dan Gerber   c 1992


Photo Location:  Mc Carthy Lake,  Kent County,  Michigan


View previous "Fragments of Poetry":

May 1,  May 13,  July 19,  Aug. 18,  Nov. 13,  Dec. 16