Let's paint these walls
the color of Wyoming sage
thriving on the Antelope Flats
of Grand Teton National Park.
Let's carpet these floors
the color of fresh green moss
velveting rounded rocks
in this Michigan trout stream.
Let's paint these ceilings
the color of pure blue skies
rising above the Colorado
Rocky Mountains.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
2. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
3. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
These four horses' asses
that were grazing on grasses
now ignore the photographer
who's not offended
who likes the contrast
of browns and blacks
against the pale green sage
in the rolling summer hills
above the aspen grove
below the blue-gray clouds
east of the Grand Tetons
in northwest Wyoming.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Gros Ventre Road - Kelly, Wyoming
While living
our extraordinary lives
here on earth,
we cannot comprehend
the next dimension
which could be our future.
The final destination
we are yearning for
deep inside our souls.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
From afar,
I have always loved
small herds of horses,
and the mountain meadow
pastures where they live
with apparent contentment.
These large, beautiful animals,
grazing in the grass,
in the shadow of mountains.
I can sense
a peaceful, easy feeling
of intimacy with the land.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
3. Cut Bank, Montana
I'm waiting expectantly
for this morning's sunrise.
Hoping to be filled
with luminous light,
and a few creative words
inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Starting with receptivity.
Finishing with gratitude.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
An ambitious wind
rises with the sun,
pushes its way through the day.
Twists tiers of leaves
to expose their undersides,
dances with towering tree tops.
Carries cumulus clouds
from west to east
over your sky view.
Tickles your skin.
Furrows your hair.
Freshens your face.
Turns your book's pages
before they've been
read.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
2. Joliet, Illinois
3. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
4. Home Deck - Cannonsburg, Michigan
An umbrella of cloud
covers the morning.
I study the form, density, and
altitude of these cloud bottoms.
Consider the potential
for afternoon rain.
Try to predict
without a weather map,
without a weather app,
today's forecast:
while it's still cool.
Weed my perennial garden
as the temperature slowly climbs.
Write on the deck
until raindrops make the words run.
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
2. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan
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
find the source of light
that illuminates your life
follow it with faith
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
After the sun sets
behind the mountains,
as dusk gradually arrives,
there is a slight breeze
that rolls softly
down the shoulders
of the foothills.
It feels like
a prayer of gratitude
to finish this blessed day.
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Moran, Wyoming (with the Grand Tetons peeking through)
A massive dark head,
anvil-shaped and dense
with shanks of woolly hair.
Substantial shoulders.
Torso tapering to narrow hips.
A brown wedge of muscle in motion.
Black nose,
shiny when wet,
snorting, snuffling.
Brute strength
on the hoof,
this burly Bison
moving with controlled grace
over the land
it belongs to.
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 3. Custer State Park - South Dakota
2. & 4. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
I think I'll drive West
without a map.
After rolling over the prairies,
I'll hit the Rocky Mountains.
Then, maybe I'll take a right, and
head for the Snowy Mountains in Wyoming.
After that, perhaps a left
to search for a quiet cove
in the Grand Tetons.
Maybe I'll camp for a few days,
maybe I'll camp for a week.
Photograph the moose browsing
along the Snake River.
Watch the Pronghorn prancing
through the sagebrush,
kicking up dust with their hooves.
Write a few lines
in my poetry notebook.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
1. Tie Siding, Wyoming
2. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
3. & 4. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
5. Home Deck - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Approach each day
with eager anticipation
for the gifts
we are about
to receive.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
2. Sunset Beach - North Carolina
Oxbow, my friend,
I have traveled far
to visit you
several times over the years.
Your vast, blue skies
spattered with small clouds,
reflected in the Snake River,
have energized me in the past.
Your pelicans, cormorants,
eagles, mergansers,
moose and river otters,
have enlivened my days.
Your Grand Teton outlines,
always spectacular and dramatic,
have inspired my soul,
enriched my mind.
This past summer,
a summer of smoke and haze,
I suffer for you;
for the visibility lost,
for the grandeur
of the Grand Tetons
diminished.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1, 2, 3, & 4. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
