Summer Theatre

 

He sat close to the window;

writing, and watching summer mature.

As the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

zipped and sipped at the feeders and flowers.

And the Sandhill Cranes

yodeled from nearby wetlands.

As the White Water Lilies

floated their purity upon the lake.

And White-tailed Deer raised

another generation of fawns.

As wheat, stretching straight and tall,

ripened green to gold in dense rows.

And fireflies flashed green-yellow lights

in the silky dusk of evening.

As frequent thundershowers

kept the heartland green.

And the window to his world offered

daily scenes of summer theatre.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Feeders

2. McCarthy Lake

3. McCarthy Lake

4. Home Fields

5. Home Fields

6. Home Woods

7. Home Fields

Silky Summer Evening

 

A waxing crescent moon,

appearing yellow in a hazy sky,

is suspended in the

silky, summer evening.

It's time to watch for

the erratic flights of bats,

and the flashing green lights

of early fireflies.

Time to listen to

little Gray Tree Frogs

chuckle and chortle

from their hidden places.

Time to savor the pleasure

of these mellow summer evenings

that you dreamed of

during winter's cold grip.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Sky

2. Home Deck

3. Home Woods

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

Earthshine

A soft, summer night,
sweet and ripe.

Whippoorwills kissing
the day goodbye.

Fireflies signaling
at the edge of the woods.

"Earthshine" glowing
on the dark side of the moon.

Time to come inside
and begin writing.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

SaddleBrooke, Arizona

Standing Still

 

A translucent night cloud

glides over the full moon,

continues its journey east,

while the moon arcs west.

I stand still on this planet,

listening to the soft sounds

of this warm summer night:

crickets, Katydids, and Gray Tree Frogs.

And nearby, from our woods,

a Barred Owl is asking:

"Who cooks for you?

Who cooks for youuuu...?"

Before I go back inside,

I'll watch the yellow-green light

of fireflies;

pulsing... pulsing.

I will try to predict where

the next little lantern light

will ignite, 

then I will go inside to write.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Sky

2. Home Deck

3. Seidman Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Deep Summer

On this August afternoon,
the drone of Cicadas
drills into my drowsy head.

During the softness of dusk,
early fireflies
always surprise me
with their next location.

Now, the evening rhythms
of rigid Katydids
measure the temperature
of the night.

I continue my fall
into deep summer;
into deep sleep.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

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

This Day, This Way

This day,
this moment,
in this place;
has never happened before,
and never will again,
in this particular way.

This butterfly alighting
and brightening the meadow.

This damselfly's
presence and iridescence.

The sublime design
on this moth's wings.

The firefly lifting, drifting,
and disappearing. 

Nature's rhythms 
released.

God's blessings 
increased.

This day, 
this invitation
to stay, and 
give back 
the quiet gift
of gratitude.

This way.

2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Pink-edged Sulphur - Colias pelidne - Townsend Park - Kent County, Michigan

2. Black-winged Damselfly - Calopteryx maculata - Fallasburg Park - Kent County, Michigan

3. Leconte's Haploa - Haploa lecontei - Lowell Township - Kent County, Michigan

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