First Chair

 

While crickets,

hidden deep in the night grass,

provide the background music,

a katydid,

wearing its leaf-green jacket

occupies the first chair

of this summer symphony.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Home Deck - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Yutori

When we decide to slow down,

to leave the phone at home,

and go outdoors to engage in

intentional listening,

we will be practicing

the concept of yutori.

And we will be rewarded

as we contemplate

our life space,

and express gratitude to God

for our experiences outdoors.

A soft breeze whispering through

the fine needles of White Pine.

Birdsong streaming from

the density of green woods.

The rapids of a mountain stream

rushing over rocks, splashing boulders.

The faint chirp of crickets

on a late summer evening.

Gifts we can give ourselves.

When we decide to listen.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. White Pine - Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Indigo Bunting - Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan

3. Taylor River - Gunnison County - Colorado

Quiet Words

 

Usually, the words

emerge from the quiet.

In the silence of dawn

before the first birds awake.

On the smooth table of water

before the minnow jumps.

During the slow approach of dusk

before the tree crickets chirp.

At the golden glow of moonrise

when wavelets waver the light.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Crooked Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Night Rhythms

 

After evening tree shadows lengthened,

and dusk overcame the daylight,

crickets and katydids

began their night rhythms.

Through the screens

of our bedroom window,

I listened to the soothing music

playing a late summer song,

and roamed into a deep forest of sleep.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Deck ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Home Woods ~ Cannonsburg, Michigan

Until

 

The meadowlark is silhouetted

in the dimming light of dusk.

I heard his musical song

sung for the last time today.

Then the silence of the night

embraced the spacious prairie.

Until the secretive crickets

started filing their raspy instruments.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Crow Indian Reservation - Crow Agency - Montana

Bats, Crickets, & Fireflies

 

As this August evening cools,

a breath of a breeze

sifts through the screen

onto my head and shoulders,

brings soothing relief

after a week of humid heat.

I sigh, breathe deeply,

and continue to write:

about the bats

with their skittering flight

as dusk descends,

about the Snowy Tree Crickets

trying to synchronize their sounds

from the string section

high in the canopy of trees,

about the fireflies

flashing their yellow-green lanterns

under the darkening woods. 

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Videos taken with Samsung Galaxy S-10 from Home Woods

Early Autumn Stage

As summer settles
into September,
asters and goldenrod
accept the invitation
for this month
of transition.

Yellow and gold,
purple and lavender,
assume their places
on this early autumn stage.

In the background,
from the percussion section;
acorns and hickory nuts
begin to pound the ground,
zip through layers of leaves,
bounce off the inverted canoe.

And in the evening,
as the air cools,
crickets slow their song.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 3. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

2. & 4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Walk With You

Upon the shoulders of mountains,
under the vast roof of stars,
I will walk with you.

Along the ribbons of rivers,
along the shallow shore,
I will walk with you.

In the cathedral of trees,
on desert paths of cactus,
I will walk with you.

Within choirs of birdsong,
and evenings of crickets,
I will walk with you.

All the days of this life
God has given me to live,
I will walk with you.

Please come along
on this trail of life,
and walk with me.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. West Elk Wilderness - Gunnison National Forest - Colorado

2. Crested Butte - Colorado

3. Sunset Beach - North Carolina

4. Tucson, Arizona

5. Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan

6. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

Sleeping With Crickets

I prefer the AC  OFF
and the windows open,
so that, through the screen,
the background percussion
of chorus frogs
enters our bedroom,
and blends with
the string section
of crickets.

I'm listening, but drifting,
as they approach
a closer harmony
in the deep fields.

After I've fallen asleep,
I dream of crickets
sipping silver drops of dew
collected on midnight
leaves of grass.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Lowell Township - Michigan 

September Stage

As summer settles
into September,
asters and goldenrod
accept the invitation
to audition
for this month
of transition.

Yellow and gold,
purple and lavender,
assume their places
on this September stage.

In the background,
from the percussion section,
acorns and hickory nuts
zip through the leaves,
pound the ground,
and bounce off my
inverted canoe.

During these cooler nights,
cricket calls seem calmer
as they continue to crank out
their calibrated wing rustles;
soft stridulations 
with temperature affecting
their measured notes.

The stage is set.
Harmony prevails.
The audience approves.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Season Tickets

The symphony
of summer evenings
is tuning up again
as soft dusk
approaches night. 

Cicadas are finishing
for the day,
while katydids and 
snowy tree crickets
begin to strike
their measured notes.

They don't seem to mind
if I fall asleep
during their performance.

I know it will happen
each night I open
the bedroom windows
of my country home.

I've been given
season tickets
to summer dreams.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 1. & 2. Home woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

I Cup my Ears

On these end-of-summer nights,
just before I go to bed,
I step outside for a few minutes,
to be enclosed by the darkness.

Forming two funnels
to amplify sounds,
I cup my ears
to better hear
the crickets 
of September;
knowing 
the coming silence 
of November.

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Long Summer Evening

Monumental mountains
fade into silhouettes,
as pink clouds hover
above their rocky height.

This long summer evening
sends my invitation;
washes the skirts of trees
with soft, shimmering twilight.

Songbirds becoming silent--
must be seeking shelter
on a safe perch 
to spend the night.

Overhead, spotted briefly,
against the dimming light,
bats snatch flying insects
in erratic, fluttering flight.

Fireflies recognize their time 
to shine from dark hollows;
sending sporadic, short signals
pulsing bright.

Crickets crank up their
calibrated wing-rustle
from the entrance of their chambers;
a listener's delight.

This long summer evening
spatters the darkening sky
with early stars
as I begin to write.

© 2016 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming 

2. Home Woods

Chamber Music

Approaching
from the back edge of day,
this twilight, gentle and soft,
is patiently collecting my thoughts.

Shadows 
merge into a deeper dusk,
filling the evening with quiet;
except for the crickets
within their hidden chambers
tuning up 
for their next performance.

Capturing the thoughts
from this audience
of one.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

 

When

When the soft
fabric of dusk
begins to wrap
around the shoulders
of summer trees...

When the swallows
and waxwings have
finished swooping
for insects
over the water...

When the fireflies
begin flashing
yellow-green
in the dark
understory...

When the bats
flutter erratically
through the
dimming sky
light...

When the evening crickets
secretly resume
their wing-ed,
scraping
static...

When the day
is slowly
introduced
to the
night...


Will you be
present, 
attentive,
and astonished,
all over again?

©  2013  Richard Havenga