They tread lightly
as a breath of spring
over the water's smooth surface.
Long legs pushing, propelling,
rowing themselves with
persistence and purpose.
Navigating the quiet waters.
Efficiently patrolling
the surface film.
Walking on water.
Water riders.
Water Striders.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. & 3. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
It's mid-April
in mid-Michigan.
A drizzly mist,
intimate as tears,
is shed by the clouds.
Overcast, with the promise
of a greening spring.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Gavin Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
Among the gratuitous
gifts of winter:
A large, rounded Cottonwood
feathered in frost.
Racks and stacks of firewood,
cured to be burned for our warmth.
Dark bones of trees stretch
long arms into cold air.
Ice Bells suspended
above Bear Creek.
Loyal Northern Cardinals
bringing vibrant color to snowy days.
The dim glow of January sun
trying to melt persistent icicles.
The snow falling through
December's silent night.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan
2, 3, 6, & 7. Home Yard & Home Woods
4. & 5. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
melancholy days
sadness accumulating
in the fallen leaves
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. Fremont, Michigan
I am eager to discover,
in the heavenly realm,
the mysteries experienced in this world
during our human existence.
Will we understand then
what we cannot comprehend now?
The miracles of creation on earth?
Our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit?
When all is finally revealed,
the joy will be overwhelming.
I am ready.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan
2. Santa Catalina Mountains - Oro Valley, Arizona
3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
You are that leaf
freshly fallen
onto the small stream.
Floating first on smooth water,
then riding the ripples
above a bed of pebbles,
then over rocks
and rising rapids
to be churned and turned
and twisted underwater.
At last settling
near a sidebank
in a festival of colors
where your
autumn gold attitude
still reflects the sun.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Grand River - Knapp Street Bridge - Kent County, Michigan
2. Page Creek - Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan
3. Bear Creek - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michiagn
If I should ever be summoned,
I would be a willing witness.
When placed on the stand,
I would raise my right hand,
and swear to tell the truth,
and the whole truth,
so God would help me recall
the multiple miracles of creation
that I've witnessed outdoors
during my life of abundant blessings.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. SaddleBrooke, Arizona
Under a sky-blue ceiling,
I open the green doors of spring.
The first words to appear
are like veins extending
in newly born leaves;
expanding to capture sunlight.
I feel the sense of longing;
the desire to hold back time.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. & 3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
There is more room to listen
when you choose to go outside.
There's an expansive space to contemplate.
Find your personal place to meditate.
It's easy to calm your own chatter,
to intentionally practice listening.
Ready to receive quiet inspiration.
A gift you can give yourself.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Coronado Island - San Diego, California
2. Estero, Florida
3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
The wind is playing
in the golden trees.
Leaves and their shadows
are meeting on the ground.
Seasons are rushing past.
The years are coming true.
Plans are not promised.
Our lives are transitory.
But I am optimistic,
and abundantly blessed.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 4. & 5. Wabasis Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. & 3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
I have let myself
love this world,
and it has loved me
in return.
I have shared
its gifts;
the quiet secrets,
its hidden treasures.
I have chosen
beauty, mystery,
and the intricacies
of nature.
Each time I respond
with sincere gratitude,
I am given more,
always more to discover.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Oro Valley, Arizona
2. Pink Lady Slipper ~ Townsend Park -Kent County - Michigan
3. Hollyhock ~ Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
4. Redbud ~ Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Walking down the fairway
approaching my well-hit ball,
this challenging game of golf
has several benefits for all.
At hole number one it's obvious:
you get to be outdoors;
observing dynamic skies
and all this nature can be yours.
I'm hearing Eastern Bluebirds
fly from tree to tree,
watching them snatch small insects
that I can't even see.
Then a Red-tailed Hawk
sweeps and sails into view,
riding on summer thermals,
another distraction for you.
And down in the wetland,
a group of Canada Geese,
dabbling in shallow water,
paddling and feeding in peace.
And so by the time we begin
our putting at number eighteen,
I've scored a lot more birdies
than my partners from tee to green.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan
Have you listened, lately,
to the sound of the wind singing?
It could be calling your name.
Perhaps in the long and slender
braids of the Weeping Willow,
undulating like the arms
of a ballerina.
Or in the high canopy
of a tall oak forest,
the crowns being pushed;
swaying yet resilient.
For me, I hear the secret
whispering through thousands
of fine green needles
while standing by the White Pine.
Have you listened, lately,
to the sound of the wind singing?
It is calling your name.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Thornapple River - Ada, Michigan
2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
Is there anything in nature
as delicately soft as the
petals of a wildflower in spring?
Select your species.
Where I live, I'll choose
the tender hepatica,
humbly growing
close to the soil,
close to the earth,
a royal purple satin
too precious to touch.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
Our loyal cardinals
brought vibrant color
to a gray and white winter.
And on summer evenings,
they pierce the silence
with sharp, bold whistles.
Filling the air with song.
Filling my ears with music.
Filling my eyes with gratitude.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. & 3. Home Woods
I'll try to put myself
inside the head
of a friend
from Viet Nam,
who lives in
Miami and Naples
when she comes to
Grand Haven
or Traverse City
during a winter
in West Michigan
to experience
for the first time
snow crystals
falling on her face
and how wind chill
feels on her skin
when the temperature
is eight below zero
and the wind is
blowing at twenty-four
miles per hour
gusting to thirty
and the stubborn
overcast has persisted
for nearly five weeks.
Then if she
stays a few days
and is patient
enough to listen
while dressed
in flannel and fleece
I will lift up the
handy mitten map
of Lower Michigan
conveniently located
at the end
of my left arm
and proceed
to explain
"Lake Effect" snow
as she's reaching
into her purse
to check the
departure time
of her
return flight.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
