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 

Syllables

 

A Mourning Dove walks

pink-footed through the sand,

unfurling soft syllables

into the September sun.

I glance up from my writing,

look through the binoculars,

and watch the breast feathers

settle back into place.

I look back at my work,

and attempt to write

my own syllables,

but they fall short.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Canon Township - Kent County - Michigan

vowels

 

A Mourning Dove

the color of river mud,

the color of autumn dusk,

puffs up its breast feathers

and murmurs a soft lament;

cooing up and down the scale.

Emphasizing the vowels "o" and "u".

Repeating the question "who?"

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Play the Mourning Dove call:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Canon Township - Kent County - Michigan

Feathers

On the belly of the Elegant Trogon,
feathers the color of tart cherries.

On the throat of the Anna's Hummingbird,
feathers the color of raspberries.

On the back of the Mourning Dove,
feathers the color of dusk.

On the flanks of the Gambel's Quail,
feathers the color of rust.

On the crown of the Sandhill Crane,
feathers the color of blood.

On the side of the Northern Shoveler,
 feathers the color of mud. 

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Patagonia State Park - Arizona

2. SaddleBrooke - Arizona 

3. Boulder Creek Golf Club - Belmont, Michigan

4. SaddleBrooke - Arizona

  

5. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

6. Eagle Lakes Community Park - Naples, Florida