Tulips

 

After months of patience,

buried in the frozen soil,

these bulbous globes

send their shoots up,

break the ground,

grow toward the sun.

Tight green buds

open into soft cups

of delicate petals.

Explode with color,

achieve their days

of fulfillment.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. 2. 3. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

4. Holland Tulip Time Festival - Holland, Michigan

Intentions

Another spring arrives
with endless opportunities
to watch the speed of life
accelerate,

to witness again
the miracles occurring,

intentionally taking time
to capture a few of the gifts
going by,

to wrap them up
in this poem
and give them
to you,

with the intended grace
by which they were received.

New birds returning,
wildflowers rising,

and children;
their faces
growing with promise.

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Bloodroot - Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

2. Round-leaved Hepatica - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan

3. Scarlet Tanager - White Pine Trail - Rockford, Michigan

4. & 5. Mayapple - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

6. Tulip Time Festival - Holland, Michigan