Nelumbo lutea

 

Rising from the wetlands,

a prized living trophy

glowing on the stage,

anthers bowing down

in adoration,

surrounded by

a supporting audience

of soft, pastel petals.

American Lotus.

Nelumbo lutea.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Grand River - Spring Lake, Michigan

Ready

 

I am eager to discover,

in the heavenly realm,

the mysteries experienced in this world

during our human existence. 

Will we understand then

what we cannot comprehend now?

The miracles of creation on earth?

Our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit?

When all is finally revealed,

the joy will be overwhelming.

I am ready.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

2. Santa Catalina Mountains - Oro Valley, Arizona

3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

Peace on the Water

 

A profound stillness

rests on the surface

of the lake.

It's as quiet

as these words

that dissolve slowly

as wispy strands of fog,

like spectral spirits

that rise into the morning,

and disappear 

in the atmosphere,

leaving peace

on the water,

and serenity

in my soul.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

3. Grand River - Kent County - Michigan

Downstream

 

It feels like I'm wading

into a smooth river of sleep.

The water feels warm,

the current slow and deep.

Ready to be carried away

inside a soothing dream.

Hoping to remember where I've been

when I get to my destination downstream.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Oxbow Bend - Snake River - Grand Teton National Park

2. Grand River - Kent County - Michigan 

Water into Water

 

Rain is progressing

up the Grand River valley;

softening the rich soil,

placing a sheen on the 

Silver Maple leaves,

dimpling the river's surface.

I watch the river

accept the rain;

water into water,

meandering 

through the landscape

on its silent course.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Grand River - Plainfield Township - Kent County - Michigan

Filling the Balloon ~ Riding the Wind

 In memory of Richard J. Havenga (June 5, 1923 ~ June 13, 2006)

For his 60th birthday,

our family gave Dad

a hot-air balloon ride.

I've never seen him

so happy, so excited,

with a smile illuminating his face.

He's lifting the fabric

so turbulent hot air

can fill the balloon.

He filled his family,

giving from meager means;

generous with the little he had.

Dad is glowing with

eager anticipation

of climbing into the sky.

Then the lift-off.

It's really happening.

He's riding the wind.

We watch Dad rise

and drift with the breeze

above the family he loved.

Over the land he farmed,

and the barn he filled

with hay and cattle.

Over the land he loved,

the fields he hunted,

the Grand River he fished.

Dad is still riding the wind.

Looking down at his family,

as we wait to join him up there.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Dad's Farm 

Temporary

Like the soft linen
of newly-formed clouds,
when I arrange words on a page,
I'm not always sure of the source.

I let them find each other,
and gather into tentative groups,
like the temporary lives 
of mountain wildflowers.

Perhaps my words will pulsate
with warmth inside your heart
like the brief  glow of evening
on a slow moving river.

Or, maybe fresh new words
will surprise the writer;
words hidden just beyond
the next bend in the road.

Or, the words could identify with
the feeling of acute awareness
that you notice when the wind
temporarily stops. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Tucson, Arizona

2. Columbine ~ Telluride, Colorado

3. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

4. Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The Fog Lifts

 

As the fog lifts, the landscape 

regains its personality,

restores its character.

Your attitude,

your outlook, goes from

contemplative to pragmatic.

The light,

from monochrome

to Kodachrome®.

The time,

from past

to present.

Then the wind increases,

trying to blow 

these words away.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Sierra Vista, Arizona

2. Grand River - Kent County - Michigan

3. Logan, New Mexico

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

Gifts of Winter

Thankful for
the gratuitous
gifts of winter:

Thin crystals of ice

reach like fingers

across frozen streams.

Crows congregate
on naked branches,
calling and cawing.



Clumps of snow
nest
in winter weeds.



Pileated Woodpeckers
hammer
the hardwoods.



Water in rivers
sings a colder,
older song.



Slopes are smoothed
by the simplicity
of snow.

Always grateful
for these wondrous
days of winter.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:


1. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

5. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

A Trace of Hope

As evening settles slowly,
the last Great Blue Heron
of  your fulfilling day
rows his gray boat
over the wetlands,
back to the rookery.

Then the sky flares crimson
against the softening clouds
aflame for a moment
then gone too soon;
but you were out there.
You were a witness.

You stand still on the porch
as dusk seems to pause,
waiting for you to recall
the highlights of your day;

before you enter
the bright light inside,
where you can illuminate
the lives of others with
more than a trace
of hope.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Rogue River - Rockford, Michgian

2. McCarthy Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

3. Grand River (Jupiter Bridge) Plainfield Township - Kent County, Michigan

Serching for Grace

Autumn leaves 
are landing
softly on the stream.

Like grace trickling
through the moment,
sliding into the future,

floating around the bend,
gathering downstream;

joining
a congregation of others
still searching

for grace.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

2. Flat River - Fallasburg Park 

3.  Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan

The Ripening

The wind rattles long rows of corn.
Deep green flags flailing in the fields. 

Bobolinks appear,
disappear in deep grass.

Roadside wildflowers stretch for the sun;
measure the ripening of summer. 

Great mounds of cumulus
shifting shape and size.

Wind leaves its tracks
on the surface of the lake.

My schedule is based on
what's going on outside;

and my creativity has the
entire sky to fly through,

whether blue or gray,
sunshine or rain, 

combing the fields and woods,
scanning the lakes and streams.

I am out here.
Please join me.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan 

2. Luton Park - Kent County, Michigan

3. Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County, Michigan

4. Reeds Lake - East Grand Rapids, Michigan

5. Grand River - Knapp Street bridge - Ada, Michigan 

Here in Winter

Gone are the delicious,
delightful days of spring;

gone are the long,
luxurious days of summer;

gone are the gorgeous,
glorious days of autumn;

now we endure the hard,
harsh days of winter;

drab and dreary,
rigid and relentless;

bleak and brittle,
but wait! ...

Observe with open eyes:

Magical moon shadows
are cast upon the snow.

Winter weeds exhibit
exquisite beauty.

Frozen fields are smoothed
by the simplicity of snow. 

Chickadees bring joy to the feeders.
Woodpeckers still hammer the hardwoods.

A thin skin of ice
fingers the narrow streams.

The glare of white sun
reflects the purity of snow.

Water in winter rivers
sings a colder, older song.

Here in winter 
are frozen lakes
you could walk on.

Here in winter
are wooded trails
you could ski on.

Here are the wonderful,
wondrous days
of winter.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 3, & 6. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

4. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan 

5. Grand River - Ada Township - Kent County, Michigan