rsvp

 

My God sends me

frequent invitations

to open the door

and go outside.

I always rsvp, and bring along,

as the invitation requests,

the gift of my senses;

my awareness and appreciation

of his awesome creation.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Ada Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Creede, Colorado

Inspired Souls

Artists seek and discover

epiphanies of beauty

and receptacles of mystery.

Poets follow paths of passion

pursuing relevant words

that translate their imaginations.

Both artists and poets

value the vision

that opens their senses,

and enables them to

capture on canvas

or in lines on a page,

what they seek

from within

their inspired souls.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

 

Guidelines for Poets

The necessity for solitude.

Sensitivity to your surroundings.

The significance of tranquility.

A reverent sense of place.

Awareness through all senses.

Recognition of the Spirit within.

The wonder of mystery.

A sincere love of nature.

Search for God's presence.

Pursue your curiosity.

Celebrate the seasons.

Write often. Revise more.

Honor the abundance of creation

with praise for the creator.

Gratitude. Every day, gratitude.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

1. Louisville, Colorado

 

Essence of Summer

 

I step onto the deck

this fine July morning

and a Carolina Wren

fills my ears with its

repertoire of joyful song.

Then on the front porch

the air is infused 

with the unforgettable

fragrance of Phlox.

Tall towers of Hollyhocks

stretch for the sun;

their cups of color

flaring like small trumpets.

Heavy humidity creates

brilliant diamonds of dew

clinging to blades of grass

that dazzle in the early sun.

Lovely, lavender Balloon Flowers

burst into five pointed petals

revealing a network

of deep purple veins.

From the field to our east,

the well-known scent

of fresh-cut hay

drying in windrows.

With senses alert,

I am blessed in this place,

absorbing the sensuous

essence of summer.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve - Fort Myers, Florida

2. 3. 4. & 5. Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan

6. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

Presence

 

A mysterious,

but enlightening presence

permeates this place.

Your senses

are attentive,

eager for contact.

Even the birds,

though busy

with their feeding,

seem aware

of your appearance

and accept your silence.

Then a chickadee,

buoyant with enthusiasm,

shares its joyful song:

"Chickadee, chickadee-dee-dee."

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Cascade Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Chief Hazy Cloud Park - Kent County - Michigan

Rainsong

 

First, the fields and forests

are tormented

by the wind.

Then cumulus bottoms

darken and

threaten.

Lightning stabs and startles.

Thunder growls and rumbles.

Large drops of rain

splatter the soil,

churn the surface

of the lake.

The song of the rain

commands your attention.

Saturates your senses.

Demands to be heard.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Flathead Lake - Montana

2. Pickerel Lake - Kent County - Michigan

3. Estero, Florida

Taking Time

 

I wander the woods with wonder.

Taking my time, taking my poetry notebook.

Allowing my senses their freedom

to absorb, to accept this invitation.

I scrape dead leaves into a cushion,

and sit against a solid trunk of White Oak;

feeling the furrows and ridges of the bark

press into the muscles of my back.

Taking time to quiet my mind,

I let worldly thoughts settle into the soil.

Occupying this profound stillness,

I'm prepared for inspiration's embrace.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1, 2, & 3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Receptacle II

Please fashion me 
into a receptacle
for your grace.

And fill me
with a greater awareness
of your magnificent creation,

so that I may share
what I have seen
through the gift of sight;

what I have heard
through the gift of hearing;

what I have absorbed
through all my senses.

taste

smell

 touch

May I weave choice words
into a fabric of comfort
that readers may wear.

This is my prayer.  

© 2020 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "receptacle" ~ May 2, 2016

Photo Locations:

1. Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming

2. Blue-winged Warbler - Goodwillie Environmental School - Ada, Michigan

3.  Townsend Park Trails - Kent County - Michigan

4. Lilly-of-the-Valley - Mom's Farm - Kent County - Michigan

5. Grand River - Grand Rapids, Michigan

6. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

Eyes of the Heart

Like ribbons of silk
weaving the landscape,
rivers and streams
attract my attention,
captivate my senses.

The pure, natural sound
from this mountain stream
draws me close enough
to hear the clear voices
of angels singing. 

I approach the threshold
of the great mystery;
seeing with eyes
of the enlightened heart,
absorbing His grace into my soul.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

2. Arkansas River - Buena Vista, Colorado

3. Taylor River - Gunnison National Forest - Colorado

Rainsong

Words emerge,
silent as seeds

germinating
from fertile soil.

Baptized
like a sacrament

inside the song
of this soft spring rain.

Stirring new life
into hibernating senses.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Amboy, Illinois

2. Kent County, Michigan

3. Alamosa, Colorado

4. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

In the Present

I'm taking my time,
entering the present,
allowing the nature
of my surroundings
to gather gently,
drift in slowly,
like the soft glow 
of restful luminosity.

I inhale deeply 
the favored scent
of Ponderosa Pine;
the bark and needles
warmed by afternoon sun.

Quieting myself,
the chorus of birdsong
becomes more noticeable;
amplifying the joy
inside my soul.

Like a silvery veil of rain
drifting over distant foothills,
and nourishing the pines,
I bathe in the shower of words
offered by the Holy Spirit.

I am moved by sight, scent, and sound,
and a sense of his presence within.

© 2014 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 4. Tin Cup, Colorado (Colorado)

2. Rocky Mountain National Park, (RMNP) Colorado

3. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan (Michigan)