During the pearly light of dawn,
I thought I heard the sun
announce its imminent approach
just below the eastern horizon.
It began as a soft murmur
in subdued tints of rosy gray,
reflecting off the cold waves
of Lake Superior.
Then the sun flared into sudden sight,
and golden trumpets played the new day.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Lake Superior - Paradise, Michigan
2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
Dawn is a gift,
given to you
every day.
A gift you can open
each morning
you find yourself alive.
A new day,
golden with opportunity,
silver with possibility.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Lowell Township - Kent County - Michigan
2. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
for Aaron Havenga (April 2, 1975 ~ November 20, 1994)
The first light to pierce the dawn
reminds me of your radiant smile.
I miss your warm presence
during the long hours of daylight.
Until the long hours of night,
when sleep becomes my friend.
Inside the vague territory of dreams
when the missing you is missing.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations: Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
An hour before dawn,
we were packing to leave
on a long road trip.
A cold and silent morning.
The sky was still dark
and strewn with stars.
As we got on the road,
we saw a faint brightening
on the eastern horizon.
And this new day
slowly opened around us,
silver with possibility
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Sometimes, my poems
rise softly, subtly,
like the slow approach
of a summer dawn.
Frequently, they fly about
erratically, sporadically,
like Little Brown Bats
darting and diving during dusk.
Occasionally, the words
may illuminate the lines
like early morning light
on jeweled prisms of dew.
Always, know that
I share my offerings
with humble gratitude
that you are here.
Indelibly, the best gift
to the writer
is the presence
of a gracious reader.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
As dawn expanded into morning,
I watched this piece of earth
fill with radiant light.
A breeze stirred the leaves,
and colors awakened
in summer wildflowers.
Listening to the quiet start
of this brand new day,
birdsong sounds like praise.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 2. Glacier National Park - Montana
3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
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
Our cardinals
begin singing at dawn
and linger into dusk.
The last to dine at the feeders.
They like to nest
in the dense branches
of our viburnum and hawthorn.
Weaving strands of wild grape vines.
Cardinals are common,
loyal and hardy.
They look spectacular
in the white of winter.
© 2023 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. 3. Home
4. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
Dawn birds begin to sing,
awakening the sky.
Eager to join the sun
in birthing this new day.
A soft breeze stirs the leaves,
splintering the morning light
that falls upon my path
through these familiar woods.
I sit down and lean against
a broad maple trunk,
then close my grateful eyes
and inhale the fragrant earth.
Between my place on the ground
and the airy canopy above,
abundant branches grow,
capable of supporting my prayers;
holding them up to Heaven.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Vergennes Township - Kent County - Michigan
2. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
Inside the contours of creation,
God hides while we seek.
From the vast oceans of the earth,
or within the least little raindrop,
He is present in His creation.
In the first glimpse of sunlight
at the edge of dawn,
He is shining bright with promise.
In the last glimpse of sunlight
before the arrival of dusk,
He is shining bright with hope.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Muir Beach Overlook - California
2. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
4. Estero, Florida
During the long list of days
that has made up your life,
have you noticed how each one
opens differently?
And how each day's close
is never the same?
No matter the number of days
you have accumulated,
each dawn and sunrise
should be a surprise.
Every dusk after sunset
should leave no regret.
Cloud formations grow then dissolve,
changing by the minute.
The water in the mountain stream today
is not the same as yesterday.
This week's wildflowers will be dying
when next week's begin to blossom.
And the birds?
Each and every day of their short lives,
they unravel their sweet songs,
and live.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
2. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan
3. Goodwillie Environmental School - Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan
When spring birdsong
begins to escalate
an hour after dawn,
you could be there to
appreciate the chorus.
When the calm morning
rises into a soft breeze
just enough to bend the reeds,
you could feel it
upon your skin.
When the sun
penetrates the canopy
and brightens the forest floor,
you could find a place to sit,
give thanks and meditate.
When the serenity you experience
lasts as long as you can stay,
you could take the light with you;
carry it along your path, to others,
like a treasured, transparent gift.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Indigo Bunting ~ Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan
2. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan
3. & 4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
After the stars retired,
a faint band of apricot light
began to glow and grow
on the eastern horizon.
Dawn delivers
a new concert of birdsong,
unraveling among
a chaos of branches.
A new sun
climbs the vault of sky,
creates slow shadows
that walk through the woods.
I find a suitable place
to sit and rest,
to watch and listen,
to think and write.
The sun casts a narrow shadow
from my pen point.
Shadow and black ink
meet upon yellow paper.
Produce words
with the urge
to travel.
© 2021 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
3. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
