How to Read Words

 

You are reading these words

as I have written them:

Transparent as Lake Superior's water.

Clear as the night sky in the desert.

Soft as the petals of Arizona's poppies.

Colorful as October woods in Michigan.

Generous as the ocean pushing onto the shore.

Fresh as spring daffodils in your garden.

Dependable as the seasons turning.

Striving as acorns aspire to become oaks.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Whitefish Point Bird Observatory - Upper Peninsula- Michigan

2. La Jolla, California

3. Wabasis Lake Park & Campground - Kent County - Michigan

Small Treasures

 

How many years did it take

for these stones to slowly migrate

from the depths of Lake Superior?

How many years have they

been blasted by wind-driven sand

along this brutal coast?

To be shaped flat and smooth

into ovals and circles

in a spectrum of colors?

But it only takes a few  minutes

to lift a few out of packed sand

with grateful fingers;

small treasures of granite

sculpted by water, wind, 

sand, and time.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Whitefish Point Light Station - Lake Superior - Michigan

Polygons

 

Underwater,

polygons of light

quiver on stones,

waver on rocks;

bright on the bottom

of clear Lake Superior.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Whitefish Point - Michigan

3. Sugarloaf Cove - Minnesota

Holy Thursday

 

Along the shallowing shore,

the soft lips of spent waves

kiss the smooth stones.

Lake Superior water,

too cold to swim, but 

just deep enough 

here at the edge

to wash human feet

in this rounded, stony basin;

reminding me of

the ceramic basin used 

on Holy Thursday.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Taconite Harbor, Minnesota

jewels

washed by Great Lakes waves

these precious, persistent stones

jeweled by the sun

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Whitefish Point - Upper Peninsula - Michigan 

Patient Watchers

The freshwater abundance
of Lake Superior
is never taken for granted
by natives of the U.P.

Time spent on a rocky shore.
Hours absorbed selecting excellent stones.

The aquamarine pastels
of northern Lake Michigan
are highly prized by
the people Up North.

Sitting on a quiet beach.
Perched upon a remote sand dune.

All along these Great Lakes shores,
patient watchers wake early
to anticipate a welcome sunrise,
and linger longer for a satisfying sunset.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Eagle River / Lake Superior - Upper Peninsula - Michigan 

2. Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park - Michigan

3. Acadia, Michigan

4. Ludington State Park - Michigan 

5. Paradise, Michigan

Fragments of Poetry 19

"... the grass.

it anchors sand in place,
then names itself,
signing landscape

by bending in a gentle curve,
swaying half-circles, penning
a transitory letter..." 


from the poem: "Meditation On Creation" by Anne-Marie Oomen 
in:  Seasons of the Sleeping Bear  p.22



Photo Location: Whitefish Point Bird Observatory - Lake Superior - Paradise, Michigan 


You may also enjoy previous "Fragments"...

Fragments of Poetry 16 - September 29, 2016

Fragments of Poetry 15 - February 8, 2016

picking stones

ripples rinsed with sun

picking stones in cold water

Superior clear

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Lake Superior @ Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center - Schroeder, Minnesota