Now

 

Time,

bearing the constant presence of

now,

is carried away by the 

wind.

Swept swiftly

into the irretrievable past.

 

Which is why I'm okay with

running against the wind;

prepared to get a glance

of whatever's coming at me

now.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Saul Lake Bog - Kent County - Michigan

Down the Line

Back in the days

when I was running longer miles,

I remember an American Kestrel

perched on a wire above

the gravel road I was on.

As I ran closer,

he lifted up effortlessly

on blue-gray wings

contrasting with his bronze back,

and flew farther down the line,

perhaps four hundred yards.

When I caught up to him,

he went airborne again,

his tail flared like a fan,

continued three hundred yards

down the line,

and perched on the wire.

I felt bad that I was

disrupting his hunting, and

searching for prey in the short grass

along this country road.

Finally, the Kestrel hovered

briefly, before returning,

back to his original perch.

Free again from disruptions.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Marco Island, Florida

 

Measured Miles

 

I'm out here again,

running against the wind.

Grateful to God

that I can still accomplish

these measured miles.

Accepting the challenges of

weather, hills, heat and cold.

Thankful for my lungs, legs,

strength and stamina.

Accepting limitations, but

persevering in my mid-seventies,

confident in the coming years.

Ready to run these measured miles

for another chance to taste

all four seasons outdoors.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Kaua'i, Hawaii  (Please note: In the Hawaii photo I'm only 58 years old.)

2. Castle Valley, Utah (In the Utah photo I'm 72 years old.)

3. December 16, 2024, was my 77th Birthday.

4. This is Poem # 1,025 since I began writing Poetry in 2012.

Unwrap Your Gifts

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

 

Watching Leaves Blow

 

Writing words of poetry

is like watching 

autumn leaves blow

during October's final days.

I try to catch a few

when I'm running

as they fall through the sky.

It's not easy to predict

where they'll fly to,

or where they will land.

Sometimes they hit me

square in the face.

© 2024 Richard Havena

Running Words

 

An umbrella of cloud

covers the morning.

I study the form, density, and 

altitude of these cloud bottoms.

Consider the potential

for afternoon rain.

Try to predict

without a weather map,

without a weather app,

today's forecast:

Run this gravel road

while it's still cool.

Weed my perennial garden

as the temperature slowly climbs.

Write on the deck

until raindrops make the words run.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan

The Plunge

 

The silky sand

slanting on grassy dunes

along the Lake Michigan shore

invite my bare feet

to run up the ridge,

around the poplar trees,

and leap in long bounds

back down the slope,

then, high-stepping the waves,

to plunge into the clear, cool water

of magnificent Lake Michigan,

invigorated,

refreshed,

restored.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1.  & 2. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Path of Time

 

There are others

just ahead of me

on this path of time.

I observe them discreetly;

watching their gait,

their growing caution

with everyday movements.

Taking mental notes,

imagining myself

five or ten years older;

Will I still be running?

Will my mind be lucid?

My eyes strong enough to read?

This journey I am on,

no matter my age,

will always convey one

perennial theme:

Forever gratitude to God

for the incomparable

gift of life.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Castle Valley, Utah

2. West Elk Wilderness - Colorado

Contentment

As a child, it was all about

rambunctious energy and play.

Now, in my mid-seventies,

I understand contentment.

Running and tennis

still energize my body.

Writing and reading

still stimulate my mind.

I had never dreamed

of becoming a poet.

With nature always available,

I will never run out of content.

Writing poetry

makes me feel content.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Key West - Florida

2. SaddleBrooke - Arizona

1994

 

I've carried nineteen years of memories

for twenty-eight years.

Counting his beginning steps at six months,

then, as a toddler, his trusting little hand 

holding my finger as we walked outside together.

Playing in Lake Michigan

at four years old.

Soothing his hurts from early spills

on his bike at six years.

Estimating the length of the bass we caught

in the Grand River when he was fourteen.

Worrying the hours while waiting for him

to return home; driving at sixteen.

Timing the miles during Forest Hills Central 

Track and Cross Country meets at seventeen.

Calculating his climbs while hiking with Ross Peterson

on the Appalachian Trail at eighteen.

Crying the tears over his death

in November of nineteen ninety-four.

Saying the prayers at his gravestone

when I'm forty-six, or seventy-four.

Carrying years of memories up the slopes;

 memories as permanent as mountains.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

End Note: 

This year Aaron would be 47. Born on April 2, 1975.

I was 46 when he died at age 19, on November 20, 1994.

Photo Locations:

1. First Home - Cascade, Michigan - Photo by Mary Havenga

2. Lake Michigan - Charles Mears State Park - Pentwater, Michigan 

3. Mom & Dad's Farm - Ada, Michigan

4. East Grand Rapids

5. Appalachian Trail National Park  - Photo by Ross Peterson 

6. West Elk National Wilderness Area - Colorado

Next Spring

 

How did you get to be seventy four?

You retired with some goals in mind,

and some of them were achieved.

What to do with all this

time

on your hands?

Embrace it.

Pursuing your passions:

Writing. Reading. Running. Nature Photography.

Spend your time outdoors.

Bring the outdoors inside

your poetry.

Next spring,

plant some trees and shrubs

that will outlive you.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Woods

2. Moab, Utah

3. Home Garden

Winter's End

 

Breathing in the cold silence.

Inhaling the morning fog.

Starting out my morning run.

Heading down this country lane.

Looking for a hint of color.

Waiting for the winter's end.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. 2. & 3. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Perceptive

I am always grateful

for the power of perception.

Deeper than simple observation,

perception contains the capacity

for emotion and passion.

While working in my spring garden,

a Song Sparrow singing sweetly

can make me suddenly attentive

to its joyful, solo performance,

carry music into my soul.

While fishing on McCarthy Lake,

I become conscious of

ballooning cumulus

reflecting on calm water,

surging into summer-blue skies.

While hiking in the Rocky Mountains,

my awareness is elevated

by golden waves of aspens

climbing slopes and ridges.

While running these country roads,

the autumn wind flings falling leaves

onto my head and torso,

producing a sensory experience.

While exploring the shoreline

of Pickerel Lake in early winter,

I witness the conversion

of water into ice.

I have become more receptive,

mindful and present;

influenced by the renewal and recurrence

of creation in all seasons.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

2. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

3. Ouray, Colorado

4. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan

5. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

Trail Run

The cold light of morning
glares through the windows.
I stare into the mystery
of a newly dawning day.

Soon the sun breaks the horizon;
invites me outside for a run.
On the wooded trail I push my pace
and burst through the sun's slanted rays.

My quickened breath and fast footfall
attain a solid rhythm, a familiar confidence.
Feet are cushioned by soft pine needles
as thighs and calves drive up steep hills.

I run strong under White Pines and tall oaks,
circling the perimeter of Pickerel Lake.
Nearing the finish, I push even harder,
welcome the challenge, spend what is left.

At the end of the trail
I stop my stopwatch, and proclaim out loud:
"Thank you God for this morning blessing!"

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

1. Pickerel Lake Park / Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan

Riding the Clouds

I'm running the trails in these forgotten fields.
Cloud shadows hurry over undulating hills.
I race with mesmerizing waves of light.
Pretend I'm riding the clouds. 
The light always wins.
I keep playing.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

Deer Creek Trail Head - Gallatin National Forest - Pray, Montana