Mother Nature pauses in hushed richness
Her autumnal pageantry of seasons.
Lets days immersed in river of life stillness
Cleanse heart and soul of villainous legions.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Are we by nature
A murderous lot,
Hostage to primal urges
That time forgot?
Or do heavenly embers,
Divine sparks of light,
Guide nobler instincts—
Our God-given birthright?
© Ilija Lukić 2025
With crisp breath autumn stirs wind chimes to life.
Their lively chords buoy dance of earthbound leaves,
Encourage mindful peace of mind, not strife,
Which keeps at arm’s length my soul’s den of thieves.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
I’ve long been inspired by the 19th-century impressionism art movement, characterized by paintings that capture the artist’s immediate response to a dynamic moment in time—often “en plein air” everyday, subject matter. Working outdoors artists endeavored to capture the fleeting effects of light on color with texture created by visible brush stokes, to help convey a sense of movement and atmosphere.
In a series of photographic images, I humbly pay homage to artists like Claude Monet—the quintessential landscape impressionist— by editing and processing some of my pictures to emulate his painterly style.
I seek to unfold the tapestry of my afternoon adventure on the Lower Haw River Trail through a filter dipped in impressionist nostalgia. I want to color my heart’s journey through emphasis on light, color, movement, mood and emotions…and, hopefully express what my heart experienced through sensory inputs at the moment I released that camera shutter.
As I meander along becalmed lake waters,
Wrapped in silence and lost in reverie,
An errant breeze asks ripples of water
To break gently across my path…and nudge
The tranquil confines of introspection
That hold captive my imagination,
To release mindful lines of poetry
With each breath and ev’ry beat of my heart.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
When woes beset your heart as fierce rivers of life test your immortal soul, just lean into God’s grace—sacred water of life—and embrace said struggles with renewed vigor and faith.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Spinning world curbs heart
Autumn’s warm hues rouse dreamtime
Heart finds its true north
Often overwhelming, the fast-paced and chaotic nature of living in the digital age curbs emotional well-being and restrains true self-awareness.
Connecting with nature in autumn during her time of transition emboldens letting go of useless habits, worn out ideas and futile relationships. Furthermore, likening autumnal turning of the leaves to embracing inevitable changes and adaptations in the human condition spills mindful self-examination into dreamtime—that soul-searching journey inward to understand your essence—to become who you truly are.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Winds of change bode bliss
Heart discards earthly burdens
Soul soars in rapture
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Joy flows from free will
God’s grace paves timeless journey
Mind the long road home
© Ilija Lukić 2025
The faint-hearted choose sitting on the fence,
While affairs of man crush their divine side.
When said threads of life and time converge, play offense…
Life is short, eternity beckons, decide.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Summer wanes humbly
Autumn crawls in with fanfare
Soul feels nature’s pulse
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Autumn’s vibrant letting go eases hearts
And bespeaks release from shackles of strife
Foolishly revered on vile social ramparts.
Though rubbish, strife hinders good will in life.
© Ilija Lukic 2025
These days humankind breathes a collective sigh
And gives good-natured hearts free rein worldwide,
To dance once more just like a butterfly,
Rapt with joy, on summer’s flowered hillside.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Cast not aside mindful twilight thinkers,
Night owls who ruminate, burn midnight oil,
For life’s journey requires dream weavers
To help alleviate life’s mortal coil.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Turning of leaves wakes memories of spring.
Surge of red hues and gay shades of amber
Encourage wracked hearts to one final fling,
Before Earth realms embrace winter slumber.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Lakeside reverie haunted by flashback
To elemental chaos wrought by storms,
Whose fearsome wake dropped telltale beach wrack—
Ephemeral art beneath insect swarms.
© Ilija Lukić 25
Two months after mid-July flash flooding—when lake waters rushed into shoreline woodlands before settling some ten feet above current levels—Mother Nature tries her best to settle into a laid-back autumn mood. The rust-colored tinge on trees left by muddy water bespeaks the high-water mark.
When goodness and love seem scarce far and wide
And evil boastfully rears its head,
Let the better angels within us guide
Bold wholeness of heart as a nation, instead.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
A nation with a wholeness of heart, built on muddled perfection of shared values rooted in mutual respect and social cohesion, endures the test of time.
Make time to pause at life’s rockbound river,
Turn heart and soul to mindful reverie,
Wade into what-ifs and might-have-beens…linger,
But, regret naught, in light of life’s brevity.
As the sun briefly ducks behind loose cloud cover, filtered light helps to accentuate the warm hues of early autumn foliage along rocky banks and drought-weary flows of the Haw River near Bynum NC. A tell-tale russet coloration on vegetation next to the river course is a grim reminder of the muddy torrents of early summer floodwaters. The river surged some 25 feet above current levels, ripped century-old trees from their bouldered river bank perches and shaped new channels.
The river and its environs are a metaphor of life. I close eyes and open my heart to its teachings. Go with the flow it gurgles, persist in the face of inevitable change…for only a bold heart will successfully navigate life’s rapids.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
