Between Here and There

 

From here,

in the Sonoran Desert,

I can see the pines

outlined along the ridge

of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

In that expansive space

between here and there,

a single raven rides the air.

Broad, black wings glossy

in the wide blue sky.

© 2026 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Arizona

Trespassing II

 

I was walking 

through the piney woods,

absorbing the view

between the trees,

when I suddenly spotted

a Barred Owl,

the color of pine bark.

Perfectly camouflaged

among the branches.

He stared at me so intently

with his shiny black eyes.

I froze in my place,

held my breath,

tried not to blink.

Could not look away.

I felt embarrassed for 

my clumsy invasion,

intruding on his privacy,

trespassing in his domain.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Trespassing" ~ August 27, 2025

Photo Locations:

1. Seidman Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Juvenile Barred Owl - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Pinus strobis

The magnificent White Pine,

(Pinus strobis)

fine tunes the breeze

(five needles to a bundle)

through its delicate twigs

(brittle, thin-barked)

and soft green needles.

(flexible, pungent)

Listen.
It calls to you
for your own translation.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. Cannon Township - Kent County - Michigan

Emerging

The moon is emerging
from passing clouds.

I observe and admire
with a joyful heart,
a searching soul,
and a mind alert
with awareness.

With eyes wide open,
ready for a message
from the Holy Spirit.

Will it resound
like a trumpet of triumph,

or whisper
like a breeze in the pines?

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Catalina, Arizona

3. Cannon Township - Kent County - Michigan

Tabernash

With gratitude to John D'Amico

How many hundreds
of thousands
of dark green spires 
of Lodgepole Pines
needle the sky
in this broad basin?

Highlighted by November snows,
they clothe the rising foothills,
stand perfectly vertical
on steepening slopes,
climb to the timberline
on North Arapaho Peak,
withstand winter winds,
remain ever
green.

Serve as models of perseverance
as we bend under life's strains,
lean into biting winds,
fade from once colorful selves. 

Yielding to the years,
weathering with grace,
faithful to the end.

Tapering, arrow straight
pointing to heaven
everlasting.

A thousand thousand
points of praise.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. 3. - Tabernash, Colorado

Fragments of Poetry 21

"... the pine trees 
were brushing themselves
against the sky
as though they were painting it, ..."


excerpt from the poem: "Thinking of Swirler" 
from the book: Evidence by Mary Oliver © 2009


You may also enjoy: 

Fragments of Poetry 20 ~ February 28, 2018

Fragments of Poetry 19 ~ November 28, 2016



Photo Location: Buena Vista, Colorado

May You Walk II

May you walk...

Under thunderheads rising high after sunset.

Into valleys streaked with earth's bold colors.

Among arching grasses frosted in winter sun.

Over rolling hills peppered with pines.

May you walk through the seasons 
of your life attentive, and alert,
with a joyful sense of gratitude.

© 2015 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: May You Walk - February 7, 2014

Photo Locations:

1. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County, Michigan

2. Dinosaur National Monument - Vernal, Utah 

3. McCarthy Lake - Kent County, Michigan

4. Theodore Roosevelt National Park - South Dakota

High Silence - Slow Prayers

Entering these mountains
again,
between cool canyon walls
and sun-warmed rock faces,
my level of gratitude
elevates.

With perseverance and trust,
pines hold fast;
to seams in the slabs,
to breaks in the boulders,
along bulges of rounded rock,
growing roots and branches
like slow prayers.

Waiting with patience and trust,
and inspired by this faith observed,
may I learn from these pines;
while listening 
in the high silence
for an answer
from a quiet voice.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Cedar Breaks National Monument, (Cedar Breaks) Utah 

2. Muddy Gap, Carbon County, Wyoming (Wyoming)                           

3. Estes Park, (Estes Park) Colorado

The Gift

Click on photo to enlarge.

Slash Pine - Pinus elliottii


Photo Location:

Estero,  (Estero)  Florida (Florida)