Prairie Voices

 

Out here on the lonely plains,

smoothed hills roll

along the horizon.

The prairie wind

sings a plaintive song

through miles of fence lines.

Voices from the past;

homesteaders and ranchers,

can be heard

in the rusting blades

of these remnant

windmills. 

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Plains, Kansas

 

Until

 

The meadowlark is silhouetted

in the dimming light of dusk.

I heard his musical song

sung for the last time today.

Then the silence of the night

embraced the spacious prairie.

Until the secretive crickets

started filing their raspy instruments.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Crow Indian Reservation - Crow Agency - Montana

Cottonwoods

A cluster of Cottonwoods

gathers along the Platte River

in Nebraska. 

The prairie wind

creates a clatter

in the congregation

of brittle leaves.

I listen carefully.

Their conversation is

about the far horizon;

recalling their shimmering youth,

before roads paved the prairie.

When badgers and buffaloes belonged. 

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Head and Hands

With this pen in my hand
my fingers reach down
to touch the texture
of lichens and soft, green moss.

My head sees my hand
stretching over foothills,
casting irregular shadows
the shape of clouds.

Walking through tall prairie grasses,
with arms outstretched,
my palms and fingers
tingle with their touch.

Inside the canyons 
of my head
curved ribbons of wind
caress my mind.

Outside my self, 
God says: "I am here."
I reply,
"Here I am."

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Pine Stump Junction - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

2. Ward, Colorado

3. Saul Lake Bog - (Land Conservancy of West Michigan) - Kent County - Michigan

4. Bryce Canyon National Park - Utah

5. Buena Vista, Colorado

Clatter

broad cottonwood leaves

clatter by the Platte River

stirred by prairie winds

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Platte River - Ogallala, Nebraska 

Long Horizon

Some of the young boys in this old school
didn't get to finish their education.

Had to leave early to help on the farm;
to groom, plant, irrigate and harvest
these long, flat fields in Kansas;
these long acres of bountiful wheat.

With dedication, grit and loyalty,
they persevered on the prairie,
fulfilling their obligations
to family survival.

Maybe returned to class for the winter.
Perhaps paid the price for their sacrifice.

You can still find them today, standing out in their fields,
looking back at the long horizon of yesterday.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:  1896 Schoolhouse ~ District 84 ~ Marion County, Kansas  

May You Walk III

May you walk along summer gardens colorful with birds and blooms.

May you walk along shady riverbanks of slow current 
with fish feeding at the smooth surface.

May you walk through native prairies tall with coneflowers. 

May you walk along rural roads beside fields 
rich with topsoil growing soybeans and corn.

May you walk after rain in warm meadows
fresh with sweet clover.

May you walk along the edge of dense woods 
with Staghorn Sumac clustering yellow-green.

May you walk during dusk, when columns of cumulus 
are illuminated by the sun already set.



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

May You Walk II - January 12, 2015

Photo Locations:

1. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. Rock River - Grand Detour, Illinois

3. St. Mary's Quarry/Prairie Restoration - Dixon, Illinois

4. Lee County, Illinois

5. & 6. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

7. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County, Michigan

Meadowlark Music

Photo Location:  

Battle of the Little Bighorn National Monument,  (Monument)  Crow Agency,  Montana (Montana)

Proposal "P"

To produce a package for a time capsule that would portray my place on this planet, I provide these preferences:

* the puffy pouch of a Pink Lady's Slipper

* the pleasure perceived from a rainbow prism

* a Prickly Pear piercing the desert air

* the pounding percussion of a Pileated Woodpecker 

* trillium petals peppered with pollen

*  powerful roots pushing and probing below the Ponderosa Pines

* a pastel painting of pink petals

* the pacing pulse of a Phoebe in April

* the peculiar parts of a Pitcher Plant

* a penstemon propelling scarlet trumpets

* a pensive place beside a peaceful river

* particles of pollen packed in a bee's pouch

* a patch of pretty poppies

* the parallel leaves of a pixelated palm

* cumulus piling along the perimeter of the prairie





* the passion to prepare a persuasive, perceptive poem




* the patience to proclaim praise in a penetrating prayer

©  2014  Richard Havenga