My words do not
crash from the clouds
and rumble like thunder
echoing in the atmosphere.
like the sound of petals
curling open to reveal
the essence of the flower.
Like the soundless rise
of the morning sun
birthing a new day
with the soft music of poetry.
Silent treasures
brought into the light of today.
Carrying the quiet hope
of one more tomorrow.
© 2026 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. 2. 3. Balloon Flower -Home Garden - Cannonsburg, Michigan
Among the gratuitous
gifts of winter:
A large, rounded Cottonwood
feathered in frost.
Racks and stacks of firewood,
cured to be burned for our warmth.
Dark bones of trees stretch
long arms into cold air.
Ice Bells suspended
above Bear Creek.
Loyal Northern Cardinals
bringing vibrant color to snowy days.
The dim glow of January sun
trying to melt persistent icicles.
The snow falling through
December's silent night.
© 2025 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan
2, 3, 6, & 7. Home Yard & Home Woods
4. & 5. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan
After weeks of snow and overcast,
brilliant blue sky returns in February.
The ice on the lakes is silent,
buried under a crusty snow.
Although it's below zero and calm,
it feels good to breathe crystalline air,
to withstand the biting cold,
and absorb winter sunshine.
© 2024 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan
3. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan
Whenever a quick,
silent shadow sweeps
over the ground around me,
I immediately look up
toward the sun,
to find the shadow's source.
Was it a Turkey Vulture,
Red-tailed Hawk,
or Sandhill Crane?
A Canada Goose, of course,
would announce its arrival
before it arrived.
This time a large surprise:
a Bald Eagle carving easy circles
between sun and clouds.
Silent shadows
sweeping the earth,
far below the source.
© 2022 Richard Havenga
Photo Locations:
1. & 3. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan
2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan
4. Pickerel Lake Park - Fred Meijer Nature Preserve - Kent County - Michigan
5. Eagle Lakes Park - Naples, Florida
