Shallowing Waves

 

I am mesmerized,

hypnotized by the ensemble

of dark, mellowing light

on the shallowing waves

of Lake Michigan

as they slide gently

upon the shore;

colors fading into subtle

as the day calms

into evening.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Grand Haven State Park - Michigan

Waterline

 

We walk the waterline together

along this Lake Michigan shore.

Wavelets create artistic patterns

upon the slope of rippled sand.

I'm ankle deep in cool, fresh water

to feel the hard ridges under my feet.

You're on the saturated slope

making temporary tracks.

We're in our mid-seventies,

still walking the waterline together.

Sharing simple gifts of words,

and hands coming together.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. Lake Michigan - Grand Haven State Park - Grand Haven, Michigan

Shine

 

A poet always hopes

that the poem's words

will shine upon the page.

Be illuminated 

by the early light

of a June morning.

Create a sense of rhythm,

like the wavelets

licking the sandy shore.

Or the whooshing, rushing music

of a mountain stream

dancing with boulders.

Perhaps a gentle breeze

lifting and lilting

tiers of new maple leaves.

To wed experience with imagination.

Imagery with ingenuity.

Vision with enhanced awareness.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Lake Michigan - Grand Haven State Park - Michigan

3. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

Now

 

This new day dawning

is ours to cherish now.

A Mourning Dove's soft syllables

are drifting down from the spruce.

Light fog is being nudged off the lake

by a gentle morning breeze.

Along arching stems, Bleeding Hearts

are dangling pink valentines.

Afternoon cumulus are forming, 

growing, bulging into blue skies.

 A soft summer sun is settling into

Lake Michigan's broad horizon.

These words are finding 

their own trail across the page.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Canon Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Parnell, Michigan

4. Grand Haven State Park - Michigan 

Worthy

 

Harvesting these

seasons of the year,

the years of this life.

Standing at the edge of time,

watching the broad horizon,

grateful for abundant blessings.

Seeking deeper spiritual perception

by listening for the voice of God

in the wind, in the waves.

Praying for inspiration

from the Holy Spirit

to make these words

worthy to be read.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Acadia, Michigan

2. & 3. Grand Haven State Park - Grand Haven, Michigan

Returning

 

Returning

to the Atlantic Ocean

is like a homecoming.

Although my home

is on a pleasant peninsula

between the Great Lakes,

the warm water

of Florida's gulf coast

is always welcoming.

The perpetual motion

of the soothing surf

carries contentment,

shimmering in the sunlight,

settling into saturated sand,

washing my thoughts upon the shore.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park - Florida

2. Grand Haven State Park - Michigan

I Sit

I sit.
Beneath this arch of sky,
under the sublime influence
of Lake Michigan;
scanning the far horizon,
trying to perceive the slight 
curvature of the earth
at the edge of the sky. 

I sit.
Sheltered in the green shade
of an enormous White Oak,
while the drowsy summer sun
warms the surrounding fields
abundant with the soft faces
of Queen Anne's Lace.

I sit.
On the bouldered bank
of the Arkansas River,
bordered with Ponderosa Pines;
exhilarated by the rush of current,
mesmerized by the sound of rapids,
and time,
racing 
past.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore - Michigan

2. Grand Haven State Park - Michigan

3. Dixon, Illinois

4. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

5. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

God Speaks

Behind the silent stillness,
and within commanding storms,
God speaks an exclusive language
beyond our mortal words.

How to listen?
How to embrace
the grace of our days?

Simply carry these gifts
as grateful people,
and lay them at his altar
as worship.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand Haven Lighthouses - Michigan

2. Sunset Beach - North Carolina

3. Glacier National Park - Montana