Geography of Dreams

 

The inner landscapes of my mind

have been shaped by a language

learned and discerned

from connections with nature.

Mountains, meadows, woods and fields.

Rivers, lakes, oceans and streams.

They blend together to become

the geography of my dreams.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Canyon de Chelly - Arizona

2. Wyoming

3. West Elk Wilderness - Colorado

last light

in late November

last leaves collect the last light

brief glow in tree tops

© 2025 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Trespassing II

 

I was walking 

through the piney woods,

absorbing the view

between the trees,

when I suddenly spotted

a Barred Owl,

the color of pine bark.

Perfectly camouflaged

among the branches.

He stared at me so intently

with his shiny black eyes.

I froze in my place,

held my breath,

tried not to blink.

Could not look away.

I felt embarrassed for 

my clumsy invasion,

intruding on his privacy,

trespassing in his domain.

© 2025 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Trespassing" ~ August 27, 2025

Photo Locations:

1. Seidman Park - Kent County - Michigan

2. Juvenile Barred Owl - Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

My Yellow Woods

 

The lower October sun

slants warm rays

onto the golden-leaved ground

in our morning woods.

I can see farther

into the woods

now that half the leaves

have fallen.

Wild Turkeys are

racing then walking

then squawking to each other,

scurrying from my sight.

Now, except for

a White-breasted Nuthatch

making its nasal call,

all is quiet in my yellow woods.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Flowers for Mommy

 

When Aaron was four years old

he walked from our backyard

into the wooded ravine.

He spotted the beautiful trilliums

growing with pure white radiance

in the cool shade of the woods.

He picked some with his soft hands.

He picked some with his kind heart.

He picked some as a precious gift.

A handful of happiness for his Mommy.

Then he carried them back home

with warm love shining in his eyes.

They were more elegant, more dazzling,

than the common dandelions

he gave her yesterday.

These trilliums were the sweetest,

most tender and generous gift

she had received since his birth.

© 2024 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

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

Whispered Words

 

Walking slowly, stopping often,

under the green canopy

of these familiar woods.

I'm listening to the quiet.

Waiting for inspiration.

Absorbing secrets from the land.

Then a subtle breeze

begins to whisper words

I try to understand.

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Bliss

 

It is pure bliss

when I hear the sweet melody

of spring's first Wood Thrush

releasing its silvery song

from a hidden place

in these secret woods. 

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

Branches

 

Dawn birds begin to sing,

awakening the sky.

Eager to join the sun

in birthing this new day. 

A soft breeze stirs the leaves,

splintering the morning light

that falls upon my path

through these familiar woods.

I sit down and lean against

a broad maple trunk,

then close my grateful eyes

and inhale the fragrant earth.

Between my place on the ground

and the airy canopy above,

abundant branches grow,

capable of supporting my prayers;

holding them up to Heaven. 

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Vergennes Township - Kent County - Michigan

2. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

New Purpose

 

Within the chaos

of moving branches,

autumn leaves are 

stirring in the canopy.

Sounding like

dangling conversations

with meaning

slowly waning. 

Some begin to fall.

Others will cling

to their twigs

for a few more days.

Eventually,

all will cooperate

and accumulate

on the floor of the woods

to find a new purpose.

© 2021 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Cannonsburg State Game Area - Kent County - Michigan

2. Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

3. & 5. Townsend Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. Fallasburg Park - Kent County _ Michigan

6. Vergennes Township - Kent County - Michigan

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

Why Do You Drive? II

They ask: 
"Why do you drive, when you could fly?"
I answer: 

To absorb the variety of landscapes.

To feel the ocean waves.

To experience the weather.

To walk the woods and fields.

To hike the trails.

To observe the plants, trees, and birds.

To learn and discover.
To hold it and be held by it.
To seek intimacy with the land.

© 2020 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: "Why Do You Drive?" ~ February 25, 2019

Photo Locations:

1. Canyon de Chelly National Monument ~ Chinle, Arizona

2. Beverly Beach - Oregon Coast

3. Home Fields - Cannonsburg, Michigan

4. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

5. Mesa Verde National Park - Colorado

6. American Avocet ~ Gilbert Riparian Preserve - Gilbert, Arizona

7. Canyonlands National Park - Utah 

Prepare for Departure

There is so much to love
about this world
when you are paying attention:

Following the fencerow
that borders grassy fields.

Walking through the woods at dawn
to a quiet sitting place.

Hiking up the green hills
that shoulder these massive mountains.

Standing still by a stream
that carves the landscape.

Are you willing to be dazzled?
Are you prepared for departure?

Shall we leave now;
for the woods and fields,
for these mountains and streams? 

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Telluride, Colorado

2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. West Elk Wilderness - Colorado

4. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

5. Absaroka Mountain Range - Montana

6. Blackfoot River - Missoula, Montana

The Invitation III

I am out walking again,
exploring the fields and woods,
scanning the lakes,
following the streams.

Cloud shadows
race across the foothills,
pushed by the wind.

Bobolinks appear,
then disappear
in deep grass.

Bulging cumulus
pile into white mounds
in the afternoon sky.

Delicate saucers
of Queen Anne's Lace
nod in the warm sun.

Summer quickens, ripens,
and waits for you
to open your invitation.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy: 

"The Invitation II"   ~ January 16, 2017

"The Invitation" ~ May 6, 2013

Photo Locations:

1. Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

2. Allenspark, Colorado

3. Grattan Township - Kent County, Michigan

4. Pickerel Lake Park - Kent County - Michigan

5. Home Fields - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michigan

6. Home Fields - Grattan Township - Kent County - Michgian

Carrying Hope

Look.

Look at everything
placed along your path,
before your line of sight,
around you, surrounding you.

Escape from your home,
your work, 
your car,
your phone!

Enter the wild woods and fields.
For an hour, leave your touch-screen
and touch green leaves.

Feel the minute hairs on the leaf,
the serrated edge, the slender petiole
connected to the twig of the branch;
branching from the trunk
that broke through the soil --

(50 years before television),
(90 years before internet) --

as a tiny shoot;
carrying hope
through its vessels,
and flowing with faith
for the future.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. & 2. Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan

3. Fallasburg Park - Kent County - Michigan

4. Lowell Township - Kent County - Michigan

Approaching the Altar

From deep within the temple
of this elusive bird's breast,

these liquid notes spill forth
under the canopy of woods.

Shaping a melody memory.
Sounding like a holy hymn.

The song of the Wood Thrush
fills a chalice of praise.

How do I approach
the altar of worship?

With humble gratitude
for His awesome creation.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

You may also enjoy my other Wood Thrush poem: 

"Song of Grace" ~ May 21, 2014

Play the Wood Thrush song here: Cornell Labs of Ornithology 

Photo Location: Home Woods - Cannonsburg, Michigan