Summer Theatre

 

He sat close to the window;

writing, and watching summer mature.

As the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

zipped and sipped at the feeders and flowers.

And the Sandhill Cranes

yodeled from nearby wetlands.

As the White Water Lilies

floated their purity upon the lake.

And White-tailed Deer raised

another generation of fawns.

As wheat, stretching straight and tall,

ripened green to gold in dense rows.

And fireflies flashed green-yellow lights

in the silky dusk of evening.

As frequent thundershowers

kept the heartland green.

And the window to his world offered

daily scenes of summer theatre.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Home Feeders

2. McCarthy Lake

3. McCarthy Lake

4. Home Fields

5. Home Fields

6. Home Woods

7. Home Fields

Water Lens

 

Through this water lens,

long ropes of water lily

rise from the lake bottom.

Flexible underwater,

growing toward the light,

smooth yellow discs 

float on the surface.

A single Bluegill,

suspended in time,

stares in stillness at my kayak.

I sit still and stare back.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Wabasis Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Still 4

 

Summer ripens into August,

spawning heat, haze, and humidity;

the air so still,

not a leaf moves.

The surface of the lake

so smooth, so still;

lily pads are glossy green plates.

A table setting on calm water.

I'm still waiting

for the next

rigorous thunderstorm

to arouse the atmosphere.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy:

"Still 3" ~ December 16, 2021

"Still 2" ~ April 29, 2019

"Still" ~ September 12, 2016

Photo Locations:

1. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

2. Ludington State Park - beach - Ludington, Michigan

Plates and Bowls

 

Floating flat as fabric

around the lake's circumference;

lily pads cover the tablecloth surface

with smooth plates of glossy green.

Bowls of soft blossoms

hold purity in their petals.

Displaying individual crescents

arching like the new moon.

White explosions

over calm water.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. McCarthy Lake - Kent County - Michigan

Forgotten Dreams

 

Some dreams seem

to bubble up from 

the deep water of sleep,

like the long, curving stems

of water lilies emerging

from the bottom silt.

Rising through the cold water

of spring, to lay flat circles

of glossy green on the surface.

And by early summer

creating bowls of white,

deep with forgotten dreams.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. McCarthy Lake - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

White Numbers

 

Thousands

of water lilies

open their white faces

after a night

of meditation.

One

Great White Egret

with yellow eyes,

leans slightly forward;

movement barely discernable. 

Hundreds of  white

Honeysuckle blossoms,

each one an asterisk,

release their perfume

into the understory.

One

old white man, 

living every day of his life,

offers praise for creation

from a grateful heart.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Crown of Purity

How many years
of patient waiting,
of staying alive
in the dark water,
in the cold mud
at the 
bottom of the lake...

How many seasons
did it take to break
the smooth surface
of the lake?

To generate this 
explosion of white?

After enduring the burial...
we witness

this resurrection,
this crown of purity,
this celebration of life.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "The Promise II" ~ July 2, 2014


Photo Locations:

1, 2, & 3. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County, Michigan

4. & 5. Lilley Lake - Newaygo County, Michigan

6. Fleischman Park - Naples, Florida

White

The intensity
in his yellow eyes
burns like the wick
in a white candle.
Great indeed
is this white egret.

Floating upon dark water,
soft bowls of white
hold purity
in their petals;
embrace
the sanctity of life.

The sun sings
radiant notes
through the fog;
brings the joy
of white light
into your morning.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Great Egret - Kent County, Michigan

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

3. Taggart Lake - Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming 

December's Dream

In the morning,
I may go to photograph
the white water lilies
as they display their purity
upon the calm water
of a peaceful pond.

In the afternoon,
I may read some poetry,
or write some poetry
sitting on the deck,
while watching hummingbirds
hovering at the feeders.

In the evening,
I may watch the clouds
diminish with the light
as the ripples on the lake
carry a liquid reflection
for my admiration.

Tonight, 
I may observe
a splinter of moon,
a splatter of stars,
and fireflies pulsing along
the dark edge of the woods.

This warm night in July
is what we dreamed of
last December.

© 2017 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Wabasis Lake - Michigan

2. Home - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. Home - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Embracing Summer

cumulo-stratus
boats in the sky

windless afternoon
leaves unmoving

cicadas' buzz electric
in mid-August heat

gifts of water lilies
sprawl over lake's edge

this hoped-for day
bathed in white light

embracing the summer
that you longed for

© 2015 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Grattan Township, Kent County, Michigan 

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

3. Sioux Falls, South Dakota 

The Promise II

Imagine January: 

14 inches of snow on top of 14 inches of ice. Below the ice, five feet of 34° water. Below that, 14 inches of black silt. Below that, in the firm bottom of the lake, the dormant root of the White Water Lily.

how long
can it hold
the promise
while buried
under silt?

rising from
the black bottom
of the lake
through cold,
dense water,

surging unseen
through dark water,
a soft green rope
climbing toward
the light

how many weeks
submerged,
how many
cold water days
spent searching?

now, flat, floating flags
of glossy greenness,
rounded to perfection,
precede the purity
of flowers, 

finally emerging;
plump, moist buds
break the surface,

smooth fingers
eager to deliver
the promise,

ready to release
the long-held
promise,

pleased
to display 
His glorious splendor,

to return again
as promised,

to reflect
the beauty
of love and light
to the world,

to rise
from the
murky darkness,

to reproduce,
and recreate
on earth,

soft petals
arching like
new moon crescents,

silently drawn

                                by the pull    

                                of a promise fulfilled.

©  2014  Richard Havenga

You may also like: The Promise - May 19, 2013

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photo Locations:

Pickerel Lake,  Kent County,  Michigan

McCarthy Lake,  Kent County,  Michigan 

Lilley Lake,  Newaygo County,  Michigan

Freedom Park,  Naples,  Florida 

Blackwater Cloth

This warm July morning,
exactly mid-summer,
bright green ovals,
glossy as emeralds,
float on black water,
flat as fabric.

Bluegills and sunfish
pop snails off
the underside.

Dragonflies and damselflies 
snatch gnats
off the surface.

Life                 
        grows on,
                           above,
                                        around,
                                                        within,
                                                                       below.

These glossy
green ovals
floating flat 
as fabric
on the cloth
of black water.

 



© 2013  Richard Havenga

Photo Location:

Pickerel Lake Park,  (Pickerel)  (Fred Meijer Nature Preserve)  Kent County,  Michigan

Click on photo to enlarge.