Ocean Lyrics

 

These unrelenting waves

surge over the sandbar,

then swish and hiss

upon the sloping shore;

repeating the ocean's lyrics

in a pulsating presence:

now,

now,

now...

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Pacific Ocean ~ Oregon Coast

2. Pacific Ocean ~ Carmel-by-the-Sea, California  

 

  

Enough

 

I'm perfectly content, at least satisfied,

to let the inexplicable mysteries of nature

remain mysterious, unresolved.

Not every thing, or process, or event

can be transcribed into language,

and understood using mere words.

To acknowledge beauty,

to cultivate awareness,

to believe in miracles.

That is enough for me.

The transformative power

of paying attention;

that is contentment,

that is enough.

To approach the divine

is more than enough.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Pacific Ocean - La Jolla, California

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

Columbia

 

The wide Columbia;

deep and cold,

big and bold,

pushes relentlessly

down the gorge.

Slowed by several dams,

it seeks the ocean,

and always achieves its goal.

How many fish live

in a mile of water?

How many miles of water

patiently pursue the Pacific?

How many megawatts of electricity 

can the Columbia River produce?

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Hood River, Oregon

2. Biggs Junction, Oregon

contours

inside the contours

of his creation on earth

God hides while we seek

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Point Reyes National Seashore - (Tomales Point) - California

Compass

 

Like the pull of the earth

on a compass needle,

he was drawn in all directions

to explore diverse geographies.

Mountains, plains, deserts.

Rivers, lakes, streams.

Atlantic, Pacific, Great Lakes.

North, South, East, West.

Encouraged by desire.

Motivated to travel.

Restored by hope.

Inspired by the Spirit.

Every road trip,

all the hiking trails,

each photo excursion,

made him feel alive.

Born to be 

a "ramblin' man".

Always leaving,

always gone.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Deck

2. Florence, Arizona

3. Lake Michigan - Grand Haven, Michigan

4. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

5. Atlantic Ocean - Sunset Beach - North Carolina

6. Sandhill Cranes - Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - New Mexico

Timeless

 

These ocean waves

keep repeating

the relentless

movement of time.

And as you inhabit 

your own physical form,

can you possibly imagine

the eternity of your soul

carried on the breath

of the Holy Spirit

to an incomprehensible realm;

the timeless eternal kingdom?

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint - Oregon

2. Sanibel Island - Florida

Kelp

 

This golden kelp

is jeweled and tooled

by the tide.

Beads and bulbs

swelling along

rubbery ropes.

Slippery ribbons rising,

inflated blades wavering,

waving leathery hands

in deep seawater,

then washed and sloshed

upon the sandy shore.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Monterey Bay - California

Tideline

 

The tideline of the Pacific,

hissing upon the shore;

glistens briefly 

with reflected light,

then settles into

the saturated sand.

Repeating

the mundane miracle,

again, and

again.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Point Reyes National Seashore - California

2. LaJolla - California

3. Manhattan Beach - Oregon

Why Do You Drive? II

They ask: 
"Why do you drive, when you could fly?"
I answer: 

To absorb the variety of landscapes.

To feel the ocean waves.

To experience the weather.

To walk the woods and fields.

To hike the trails.

To observe the plants, trees, and birds.

To learn and discover.
To hold it and be held by it.
To seek intimacy with the land.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Why Do You Drive?" ~ February 25, 2019

Photo Locations:

1. Canyon de Chelly National Monument ~ Chinle, Arizona

2. Beverly Beach - Oregon Coast

3. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

5. Mesa Verde National Park - Colorado

6. American Avocet ~ Gilbert Riparian Preserve - Gilbert, Arizona

7. Canyonlands National Park - Utah 

follow

Photo Location:

LaJolla, California 

"Sacred Silence"

"Sacred silence.
holy ocean,
gentle water,
washing over me;

help me listen,
Holy Spirit,
come and speak to me.

Come and be with me.
Come and speak to me." 

Photo Location:  Beverly Beach, Oregon


Text/Music: © 2011 Tom Booth

"Sacred Silence" -Tom Booth © 2011

Practicing Goodbye

Memories rise and fall
with the undulating waves.

Remembering washes over my mind,
then retreats down the wet slope of sand.

Like creation in front of me,
like creation repeating the past.

Like a flock of gulls rising together,
then landing together.

Like sensing the amenities of heaven,
or the sense of heaven.

Like practicing how to say goodbye
when it's time to leave or time to die.

Like the tide coming in and going out,
coming in and going out...

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Sunset Beach, North Carolina

2. Cape Perpetua - Yachats, Oregon

3. Holland State Park Beach - Holland, Michigan

4. Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint - Oregon

Climax

The river's silky, curving torso

rubs up against the solid land,

then is carried to its climax,

blending into the ocean of sighs.

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Crested Butte, Colorado 

2. Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming 

3. Pacific Ocean - Carmel-By-The-Sea, California 

Hope

The stream
that begins 
in the mountains

carries hope
on its meandering journey;

believes in
the ocean
it cannot see. 

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Bridal Veil Falls - Provo River, Provo, Utah 

2. East River - Mount Crested Butte, Colorado 

3. Yellowstone River - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 

4. Pacific Ocean - La Jolla, California  

Rumi

Photo Location:  

Point Reyes National Seashore, (Point Reyes) California (California)

The Sand

The fog reaches
over the beaches.
The tide 
rises,
surprises;
to gnaw on the land,
resettle the sand.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Neptune State Park,  (Neptune)  Oregon (Oregon State Parks) 

The Words

Photo Location:

LaJolla,  (LaJolla) California

At the Edge

Spending your days
finding food.
Your one true vocation.
Surviving.

Thriving
at the edge of the sea
where humans long to be
on their short vacations.

You walk daily in this place
along the tapered, sandy shore,
gleaning the thin skim of water,
where continents greet oceans.

Your spindly legs
running past,
running fast.
Legs an intermittent blur;
a cartoon-like whir.

Zigzagging

back and forth,

along the froth,

patrolling the line of foam

for fresh organisms;

rolling in,

rolling in

again.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3.  Sunset Beach, North Carolina (N.C.)

2. 4. & 5.  Point Reyes National Seashore, (Point Reyes) California

Click on photos to enlarge.

Willet - Catoptrophorus semipalmatus