"I Am Here"

While walking these rolling foothills,

ribbons of wind caress my face.

Morning light illuminates the

expansive dimensions of clouds.

Sunshine warms the cinnamon bark

of sturdy Ponderosa Pines.

My eyes are captivated by

vibrant wildflowers at my feet.

I inhale the 

masculine scent of sage.

My hearing is alerted by

small segments of birdsong.

As I continue on this path,

God says: "I am here."

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 6. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. 3. & 4. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

5. Goodwillie Environmental School - Ada, Michigan

Receptacle II

Please fashion me 
into a receptacle
for your grace.

And fill me
with a greater awareness
of your magnificent creation,

so that I may share
what I have seen
through the gift of sight;

what I have heard
through the gift of hearing;

what I have absorbed
through all my senses.

taste

smell

 touch

May I weave choice words
into a fabric of comfort
that readers may wear.

This is my prayer.  

© 2020 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "receptacle" ~ May 2, 2016

Photo Locations:

1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. Blue-winged Warbler - Goodwillie Environmental School - Ada, Michigan

3.  Townsend Park Trails - Kent County - Michigan

4. Lilly-of-the-Valley - Mom's Farm - Kent County - Michigan

5. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

6. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

Book of Songs

The pulse of the earth
is quickening.

Old trees creating
new leaves each spring.

Returning warblers
open their book of songs.

Every April our inheritance
is renewed.

Time again to celebrate
victory over winter.












Old trees with new creation
in their branches.

Holding birds that sing
with triumph in their songs.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Silver Maple - Chief Hazy Cloud Park - Ada, Michigan

2. Blue-winged Warbler - Goodwillie Environmental School - Ada, Michigan 

3. Tamarack - Ada Township Park - Ada, Michigan

4. Indigo Bunting - Cannonsburg State Game Area (Egypt Valley) - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Into Daylight

The faint, pink flush
growing on the horizon
of morning
draws me outside.

High in the Red Oaks,
crows are squabbling,
intermittently,
in the growing light.

Morning has broken,
and birdsong builds
into choirs of praise.

I can scarcely
take it in.

I want to absorb
my surroundings;
these vibrant birds,

this morning sky
holding the gibbous moon
that is fading into the day's light.

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Snake River - Grand Teton National Park 

2. Home Woods

3. Goodwillie Environmental School - Forest Hills Public Schools - Ada, Michigan

4. Earth

fade away

Stepping out

in early May,

birdsong,

spun like fine

silver silk,

is woven into

the morning light. 

Listen to them
calling...

Listen to
their voices...

warblers to grace your day,
warblers that will not stay,

like the silver light of morning
soon to fade away.

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Bird Identification:

1. Prothonotary Warbler - Kalamazoo River - Allegan State Game Area, Michigan

2. Bay-breasted Warbler - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Blue-winged Warbler - Goodwillie Environmental School - Ada, Michigan

4. Yellow Warbler - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

5. Black-throated Green Warbler - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

6. Chestnut-sided Warbler - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan



Play these bird calls from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Prothonotary Warbler 

Bay-breasted Warbler

Blue-winged Warbler 

Yellow Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler