Untethered

 

I drive from Michigan to Montana,

to admire the sweep of the big sky.

Afternoon cumulus climb the slopes

of the Mission Range; pile high

and wide over Flathead Lake.

A sailboat is moored with sail down

prepared to ride out the inevitable storm.

I am prepared to watch, 

untethered. 

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Big Arm, Montana

Rainsong

 

First, the fields and forests

are tormented

by the wind.

Then cumulus bottoms

darken and

threaten.

Lightning stabs and startles.

Thunder growls and rumbles.

Large drops of rain

splatter the soil,

churn the surface

of the lake.

The song of the rain

commands your attention.

Saturates your senses.

Demands to be heard.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Flathead Lake - Montana

2. Pickerel Lake - Kent County - Michigan

3. Estero, Florida

"Why do you drive?"

They ask:
"Why do you drive, when you could fly?" 
I answer:

 to see the breadth of the land,

 to feel the expanse of the sky,

 to experience the weather,

 to sense the mass of the mountains,

to encounter the wildlife,

to hold all this in my mind,
to contain it in my soul,
to share it with you.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Monument Valley - Utah

2. Flathead Lake - Montana

3. Flaming Gorge - Utah

4. Pray, Montana

5. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado