Peace on the Water

 

A profound stillness

rests on the surface

of the lake.

It's as quiet

as these words

that dissolve slowly

as wispy strands of fog,

like spectral spirits

that rise into the morning,

and disappear 

in the atmosphere,

leaving peace

on the water,

and serenity

in my soul.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

3. Grand River - Kent County - Michigan

Guidelines for Poets

The necessity for solitude.

Sensitivity to your surroundings.

The significance of tranquility.

A reverent sense of place.

Awareness through all senses.

Recognition of the Spirit within.

The wonder of mystery.

A sincere love of nature.

Search for God's presence.

Pursue your curiosity.

Celebrate the seasons.

Write often. Revise more.

Honor the abundance of creation

with praise for the creator.

Gratitude. Every day, gratitude.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

1. Louisville, Colorado

 

Dear God

 

Dear God:

Please cultivate in me

a giving heart,

a gentle spirit,

and a mind nourished

with wonder and curiosity.

Help me praise you every day

by being a witness

to the astonishing miracles

in your always new creation,

and to share with others

what you've helped me discover.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

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

More

 

May your one singular life become more fruitful

than you ever thought possible.

May you regain the curiosity

you once held as a child.

You may be awakened by exuberant

birdsong in early spring.

You may hear the song of the river

and translate its meaning in your soul.

May you hear Sunday morning church bells

resound across farmers' fall fields.

May you feel the profound silence

of the night sky in winter.

You may find the Spirit inside you,

or reaching out to find you.

May you find more blessings

than you ever thought possible.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Blok Orchard - Kent County - Michigan

2. Home Woods/Wetland - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan

4. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

5. Inside the Steeple - St. Patrick Church - Parnell, Michigan

6. Luton Park - Rockford, Michigan 

"Stairway to Heaven"

"There's a feeling I get
  when I look to the West,
  and my spirit is crying for leaving."


Photo Location:

Hurricane Mesa - Wyoming


Lyrics: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin

slow dancing

Loose columns of vapor;
ephemeral silver spirits
in translucent gowns,
slow dancing to 
autumn music. 

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Mc Carthy Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County- Michigan

Dancing Light

The slant of sunlight
is caressing
the surface of the stream;

this film of wavering water
dancing with liquid light,
reflects upward, 

shimmering the undersides of leaves,
reaching out like warm hands
just above the cold current.

Captured by this dance
of light and water,
I cannot turn away.

Must stay:
to feel 
what the Spirit is sharing,

to learn the language,
to translate the dance
into words.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: 

Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

You may also enjoy: "Dawn's Early Light III" ~ October 25, 2013

Green Mansions

I walk into these woods;
green upon green,
shade upon shade,
under a summer canopy,
inside a living tapestry,
with Spirit voices singing:

"In my father's house
are many mansions." 
~ John 14:2

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan 

God Whispers

Allow the eyes of your heart
to open with wonder
and see the gifts
that quietly surround you.

Let creative desire
wash over you
like the current 
surrounding boulders
in a cold mountain stream.

As you reach for the reverence
this moment is building toward,
let the silence surround you,
accepting words from that quiet voice;
the whispers from God.

Recognize the miraculous,
accept the Spirit's inspiration,
turn the voice into words;
write your own page of praise.

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Virgin River - "The Narrows" - Zion National Park, Utah 

2. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

3. East River - Gothic, Colorado 

Waiting

Waiting for opportunities
for the wind to carry you;

You being the outstretched 
wings of a hawk. Its feathered resistance
riding the updrafts higher and higher.
Inscribing invisible ovals into the air,
traceless in a transparent sky.

You being the silken, feathery fibers
of the milkweed seed, 
parachuting horizontally
toward a new horizon, 

to wait over winter 
for promised germination,
hoping for conditions that will allow
growth.



You being the patient person
waiting for your life to become
what it is meant to be;
richer than it is, 
soaring to new a vision,
growing with inspiration
from the Spirit within.

©2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Lincoln Lake - Kent County, Michigan

2. Lafayette, Colorado

3. Grand River Nature Area - Ada, Michigan

Harvest

Writing:

Within the small space of a page;
boundless curiosity.
Seeking insight and nourishment
through faith in a fragment.

Exploring the broad
landscape of your life.
Comfortable not knowing
where the words will take you.

Waiting for the journey
to reveal your true voice.
Confident the Spirit
will provide direction.

A gentle stirring
within my soul
focuses my feelings,
celebrates the senses.

Inspired by the
pleasure of discovery.
Harvesting the 
treasure of language.

Witnessing creation,
my daily desire.
Giving praise to God,
one of my daily needs.

Watching this poem
grow and mature,
hoping to
disperse its seeds.

~ Written ~

In the Present

I'm taking my time,
entering the present,
allowing the nature
of my surroundings
to gather gently,
drift in slowly,
like the soft glow 
of restful luminosity.

I inhale deeply 
the favored scent
of Ponderosa Pine;
the bark and needles
warmed by afternoon sun.

Quieting myself,
the chorus of birdsong
becomes more noticeable;
amplifying the joy
inside my soul.

Like a silvery veil of rain
drifting over distant foothills,
and nourishing the pines,
I bathe in the shower of words
offered by the Holy Spirit.

I am moved by sight, scent, and sound,
and a sense of his presence within.

© 2014 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 4. Tin Cup, Colorado (Colorado)

2. Rocky Mountain National Park, (RMNP) Colorado

3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan (Michigan)

The Summons

There are special places
along my favorite rivers,
whether slow and placid,

or rushing and rapid,
where the Spirit within
is summoned
in that quiet voice
just above the conscious level,
along the soft fringe
of awareness. 

©  2014  Richard Havenga

CLICK on photos to enlarge.

Photo Locations:

1. Grand River - Kent County, Michigan (Michigan)

2. Blackfoot River - Missoula, Montana (Montana) 

3. Rock River - Dixon, Illinois 

Pope John Paul II

LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II  TO ARTISTS -  1999

"To all who are passionately dedicated to the search for new "epiphanies"  of beauty so that through their creative work as artists they may offer these as gifts to the world."

"Artists of the world, may your many different paths all lead to that infinite Ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe, exhilaration, unspeakable joy.

"And may your art help to affirm that true beauty which, as a glimmer of the Spirit of God, will transfigure matter, opening the human soul to the sense of the eternal."

A special thanks to:

"Who Is My Neighbor? Conference & Art Exhibit" (Art - Faith - Community) (Neighbor)

Held at the Catholic Information Center (Catholic) - Grand Rapids, Michigan  April 25 - 26, 2014.


Photography by Richard Havenga.


Photo Locations:

1. Wasatch Mountains - Provo, Utah (Utah) 

2. Sunset Beach,  North Carolina  (North Carolina) 

3. Tin Cup, Colorado (Colorado) 

The Source

Into these pages
I have placed words
like seeds into the soil
of a well-prepared field;

pulled the weeds,
and watched,
prayed for rain,
and waited...

for germination and
this new spring season.
Vibrant and welcome
after a severe, relentless winter.

Now:
sprouting with encouragement,
growing with promise,
flowering with beauty.

The fruit of satisfaction
tastes better 
when sprinkled 
with recognition.

Now:
time to acknowledge
and confirm
the source of inspiration.

It is provided 
by the Holy Spirit
dwelling
within.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

Aspen Fire

Walking along this shaded trail,
around the bend, on the ridge,
scattered among deep green spruce.

This sudden appearance.
This bright surprise.
I am stunned.

Breathless.
Captured by the light
of extravagant creation.

The Spirit summons.
Penetrates my soul.
Ignites a joyful song.
I feel recreated.

Aflame with passion.
Thankful for my vision.
Grateful for His presence.

I attend this aspen fire.
Let it grow.
Out of control,

with
triumphant
words of praise.

© 2013  Richard Havenga

Click on photo to enlarge.

Photo Location:

Grand Mesa,  (Grand Mesa)  Colorado  (Colorado)