Pool of Poetry

 

My pen is poised

over this yellow pad

like a heron's beak

above the river's surface.

Ready to plunge

for a choice word

swimming in the dark water.

Probing the possibilities,

within the pool of poetry.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. North Fort Myers, Florida

2. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan

The White Cross

 

The pure whiteness

of  the swans' feathers

displays pure elegance.

Like blossoming 

clouds of cumulus drifting

on a still water lake.

The s-curved neck,

flexible, arching;

a smooth, supple rope.

Then swimming with nobility,

its royal wings raised like sails

into a vessel of grace.

And after it has

climbed the sky,

behold the white cross

passing through 

your present life;

an image of resurrection.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. McCarthy Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan 

4. Reeds Lake - East Grand Rapids, Michigan

5. Petty's Bayou - Spring Lake, Michigan 

Wading

 

Wading in the residue

of this world we now live in,

I try to keep my focus

on the world outdoors.

I much prefer wading in 

clear mountain streams

than the digital streaming

on the flooded internet.

Wading the shallows

of lakes and rivers,

Great Blue Herons survive

on patience and persistence.

God, please grant me these traits,

as I watch and witness 

with wonder and gratitude 

your countless gifts of creation. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Clark Fork River - Montana

2. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan

3. Blackfoot River - Missoula, Montana

Blue Statue

 

The Great Blue Heron statue,

standing still in shallow water,

begins a slow-motion ballet.

A picture of patience,

leaning over its own reflection,

holding a pose of predation.

Cattail leaves swaying gently,

frame the backdrop for

the anticipated attack.

Living spear thrusts.

Calm water splashes.

Heron pierces prey.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Estero, Florida

3. & 4. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan

Silver the Wetlands

Late into autumn,

after the hard frosts,

dark brown cattails

silver the wetlands.

Seeds as light as air,

prepared for flight,

on the next breathe

of November wind.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan

A Container of Grace

As dusk dims
the day's light,
the evening wind sighs,
subsides.

My day has  been spent
watching,
and waiting,
and listening.

Collecting images.
Gathering words.
Trying always
to behold the Glory.

Combining:
the camera with the pen;
my eyes with imagination;
my mind with inspiration.

Waiting for this
container of grace
to be filled,
then poured out

onto this page,
so that my blessings
may be shared
with you.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Searching for Grace" ~ October 23, 2017

Photo Locations: 

1. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve 

2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Rogue River ~ Rockford, Michigan

4. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

5. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

6. St. Malo Catholic Church - Allenspark, Colorado

Hope of the Heron

Rising
with the pearled light of dawn,
on strong, broad wings,
he lifts into a soft rain.

Wings the color
of this overcast.

A few drops fall
from the tips of his toes
to dimple the surface
like countless other raindrops.

He flies away
with a hope
as large as this lake,
or the next one.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy these Great Blue Heron poems:

"Heron Dreams"  ~ April 13, 2013

"A Trace of Hope" ~ July 9, 2018

Photo Locations:

1. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan

2. Murray Lake - 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

Lifts with Wings

A life,
unlike our own,
lifts with wings
above the dusk.

Gray upon gray,
as evening yields
with a sigh from
diminishing winds.

Heron lifts with wings
above the dusk;
finds a firm branch
to spend the night.

A life,
high enough 
for dreams
to be lifted. 

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Rogue River ~ Rockford, Michigan 

Warrior

Wading and walking
with slow stealth,
dark feet slip
into dark water;
barely a ripple,
graceful as a ballerina,

yet ready as a warrior
to thrust its spear,
to plunge with precision
at a silver minnow,
to pierce its silver scales;
or miss.

Now waiting again;
yellow eyes
intensely focused,
prepared for prey,
patient as a monk,
still as stone,
wading the wetlands,
stalking in silence,
this master of the marsh,
this fierce, feathered warrior.

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan 

3. & 4. Eagle Lakes Park - Naples, Florida 

River's Edge

In the evening he stands;
stands still
as a pewter sculpture,
in stagnant water that's
covered with a living coat
of green duckweed.

In the morning, he wades;
wades the wide river's edge,
yellow eyes intense, alert,
feet frozen in time.

Within any unpredictable second,
his sharp, bold beak
could plunge
into dark water
like an orange spear.

Instant death
for a suspended fish.

Necessary meal
for a patient heron.

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Eagle Lakes Park - Naples, Florida

2. Ada Township - Kent County, Michigan

3. & 4. Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan

5. McCarthy Lake - Grattan Township, Michigan


Click on photos to enlarge.

A Great Blue Heron

Alert

Aware

Active

Asleep

Aflight

Abreast the Nest

All Groomed

A Banner

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Eagle Lakes Park - Naples, Florida

2, 3, 4, & 5 - Rogue River - Rockford, Michigan  

6. Cannon Township - Kent County, Michigan

7. Corkscrew Woodlands - Estero, Florida 

8. Bostwick Lake - Kent County, Michigan 

Short History of Rivers

From how far away did this water come?
I think of its sources; blended, mixed, combined. 
Thunderstorms and showers, snow and ice.
Tributaries, trout streams, and small creeks.
I see the collected current become this silent river. 

Listen: 

Bear Creek is somewhere in there.
Rogue River is wrapped within.
The Flat River enters at Lowell.
The Thornapple approaches from the south.
Add more from the Michigan map.

Their distinct voices are blended 
into this flowing stillness.
The Grand River is carrying its
silent chorus
into Lake Michigan. 

I am only saying: 
pay attention to the
short history of rivers.
Each river day appears the same, 
unless you account for:

the mix of molecules,
the surrounding land,
the gradient of light,
the depth of the water,
this new day.

This long linear ribbon of living current.
Always the same. Never the same.
Like time pulling you along,
when you want to wait
in this interval of now.

© 2014 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 7, & 8 = Grand River - Kent County, Michigan

2 & 5 = Flat River - Kent County, Michigan

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

4. Rogue River - Rockford Dam (Rockford Dam) - Rockford, Michigan

6. Thornapple River - Ada / Cascade, Michigan