I'm standing
in a rain shower
with my back to the sun.
Suspended in the atmosphere,
a vibrant bridge between
earth and clouds.
Colors arching briefly;
a visual gift
of rainbow design.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Location: Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Can you taste
the salty water on your lips
while being thrashed by Atlantic waves?
Or smell the freshness
of spring soil
during an April rain shower?
Can you see diamonds
in the morning dew
sparkling on blades of grass?
Or hear the
melody of the Wood Thrush
singing from his secret woods?
Can you feel the gifts
placed all around you,
waiting for your discovery?
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Sunset Beach, North Carolina
2. Lee County - Illinois
3. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, 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
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
I can see the gift
before it's given.
The prize
before it arrives.
Partial appearance
prior to blooming.
Always treasured,
never possessed.
Garden flowers
before they open.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations: Home Garden - 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
I have removed the obstacles.
Tossed aside the branches and sticks.
Raked away the fallen debris.
And now the trail is smooth for you.
Won't you please enter my poet trees?
The words are clear and accessible.
The light shimmers through the trees.
An inviting path of discovery;
a gift for you,
from me.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Ohio Creek Pass - Crested Butte, Colorado
2. Snake River Overlook - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
Within this soft peace,
I seek contentment
inside my solitude.
I step cautiously between
the Jack-in-the-Pulpits
and Trillium's white purity.
I listen attentively
to the Scarlet Tanager
and the Red-eyed Vireo.
The Holy Spirit enlightens me;
brings inspiration
to my words.
I glorify the Creator,
and express gratitude
for these precious gifts.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. & 3. Grand River Basin - Lowell, Michigan
the gift given twice
first his birth then sacrifice
the ultimate price
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Bring forth the relevant gifts
that God gave you
and unwrap them.
Share with the world
your passions, your talents,
your desire to create or compete.
Run your miles.
Take your photographs.
Write your words.
Make your music.
Sing your songs.
Dance your steps.
Bake your pies.
Pray your prayers.
Love your family.
Thank you for your
valuable contributions
and the gifts of your talents.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
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
We walk the waterline together
along this Lake Michigan shore.
Wavelets create artistic patterns
upon the slope of rippled sand.
I'm ankle deep in cool, fresh water
to feel the hard ridges under my feet.
You're on the saturated slope
making temporary tracks.
We're in our mid-seventies,
still walking the waterline together.
Sharing simple gifts of words,
and hands coming together.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. 3. Lake Michigan - Grand Haven State Park - Grand Haven, Michigan
This is a gift
created for you.
It was offered to me
by the Holy Spirit,
in the middle of the night,
as I awoke from a dream.
I accepted it with reverence
and deep appreciation.
And now I am honored
to share it with humble generosity.
I hope you will accept
these simple, yet profound words:
God is love,
and God is the answer
to your questions
about directions.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
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
Let us always notice
the fine brushstrokes
that God has applied
to our created world.
These numerous gifts
of visible grace
worthy of our
gratitude.
May we always be
awake, and watching.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Sky - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Oro Valley, Arizona
3. Yosemite National Park - California
When Aaron was four years old
he walked from our backyard
into the wooded ravine.
He spotted the beautiful trilliums
growing with pure white radiance
in the cool shade of the woods.
He picked some with his soft hands.
He picked some with his kind heart.
He picked some as a precious gift.
A handful of happiness for his Mommy.
Then he carried them back home
with warm love shining in his eyes.
They were more elegant, more dazzling,
than the common dandelions
he gave her yesterday.
These trilliums were the sweetest,
most tender and generous gift
she had received since his birth.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. & 3. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan
for Barb Brege
She was a teacher
seeking to reveal the gifts
her young students
were still unaware of.
A classroom of faces,
their eyes bright with sparkle,
their dreams waiting
to be unmasked.
Too young to see
what she saw;
their hidden gifts
waiting to be unveiled
in the invisible future.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Location:
Old Schoolhouse (1896) Marion County - Kansas
I pray
that my poems
will express
what I'm trying to say.
And not fly around erratically
like a Painted Lady butterfly,
or like Little Brown Bats
darting and diving in the dusk.
I would prefer
that my poems
rise softly, subtly,
and surely, like the dawn.
Then illuminate
my readers
like the morning light
on jeweled prisms of dew.
And in the reading
perhaps feel my hand
on your shoulder
offering encouragement.
And know that
I want to share
my feelings of gratitude
with you.
For one of the gifts
of the writer,
is the presence
of a gracious reader.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
