After She Left

 

Dusk sneaks up on me,

creeps onto these pages

I'm trying to read

from Donald Hall's poetry.

His wife, poet Jane Kenyon, is dying.

Their future together looks dark;

but their love is a bright fire

burning with intensity.

He promises to keep

the remaining embers

glowing forever

in his plaintive heart.

So he wrote letters to her,

and wrote poems about her,

for many years

after she left.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

 

Photo Locations:

1. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Lafayette, Colorado

Starter Words

 

I scribble a few starter words

onto this empty yellow page.

Black letters across blue lines

awaiting a sense of direction.

Hungry for a hint, an indication,

or some subtle suggestion

on where to go, how to proceed.

Then I decide to stop and read:

Kenyon* and Kooser*,

Stafford* and Stafford* for starters.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

* Jane Kenyon

*Ted Kooser

*William Stafford

*Kim Stafford

You may also like:  "Hovering Pen"

Aspen Eyes

 

Along these parallel lines

of hieroglyphics

that curve around

the aspen trunk,

a pair of eyes 

calling you close.

Happy to see you stop

and study

the lines of letters;

searching for 

possible words

in this volume of trees.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

West Elk Wilderness - Colorado

The Apostrophe Catastrophe

Some people's
use of the
apostrophe
is a catastrophe,

but you're not 
among those writers,
because your skills
are more refined.

It's not that hard,
really, to remember
when and where
to hang this
little hook:

dangling up there
joining friendly letters;

taking the place
of i in it's,
it is especially
beneficial;

or shyly
possessing things,
like the poet's words
on New Year's Eve;

or humbly 
substituting itself 
as a contractor 
in word construction,
when other punctuations
can't, or don't,
or simply won't
accept responsibility.

The apostrophe 
has no feelings of  
superiority to its
lower cousin 
the comma,
it's merely 
doing its job,
in the place it belongs,
overseeing things,
bringing meaning
to this lovely language
that's ours.

It is always eager 
to help its letter friends 
become words.
That's why it's there, 
to be useful
to you and yours.

It has always,
always loved
s the best,
don't you agree?

Now that we're 
in agreement,
we are able
to move on,
are we not ?

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Catalina, Arizona