A New Beginning

Countless herring gulls molt heavily in January and February, while they overwinter on Jordan Lake in Central North Carolina. Wrack lines of down accent rocky lakefronts and gossamer whispers of plumage cover adjacent grassy knolls.

As this new year unfolds into spring, it's time to take my feathered friends' annual rejuvenation to heart and reflect on my life's path. Shedding worn out, useless habits and soul-damaging influences in order to mindfully renew spirit-centered beginnings is the first step towards meaningful change—letting my revived, authentic self lead the charge into the last quarter-century of my life journeys.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

A New Beginning

Herring gull molt at Ebenezer Point on Jordan Lake NC

Hard Knocks

Hard knocks color life

Be bold lion not cowed lamb

Learn to love thunder 

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Sublime Thunder

The flood of warm sunset light across the ragged bark edges of an oak tree logging cut contrasts with an encrusted snowcap on said stump to create a visual metaphor of competing life force.

Eventide Harmony

Eventide spills peace

Sunset blaze stays veil of night—

World's in harmony

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Every now and then when I experience a spectacular sunset, my heart connects with the lyrical poem Pippa’s Song by Robert Browning. It encourages optimism, celebrates simplicity, beauty, harmony and our kinship with the natural world. I gratefully acknowledge inspiration for my haiku by his oft quoted line, “God’s in his Heaven—All’s right with the world!” from his broader 1841 verse drama Pippa Passes.

The verse drama takes the reader through the impact of virtues like optimism in helping us persevere through life’s challenges. It’s also a mindful monograph about allowing child-like innocence into our lives. The latter may seem at odds with the complexities of the modern world, where we are taught to guard against naivety and vulnerability. Yet, when we embrace the world openheartedly with the innocence of a child, we come to understand more intimately how simple the deepest secrets of existence really are.

Eventide Harmony

Haw River at Bynum NC

High Plains Roadrunner

Arid lands, short-grass prairies and immense wide-open spaces of New Mexico’s high plains indulge needs for solitude to recharge spiritual growth and recenter life’s journey. The quietude liberates heart and soul. The ambiance inspires poetry, introspection and personal growth.

In countless places the Llano Estacado plateau spills arroyos into dry creek beds, often the only landmarks for intrepid travelers of bygone days across the featureless expanse of grasses and cacti. While eyes lock onto and follow the winding ribbon of sunbaked sandflows artistry in one of the dry watercourses, my heart soars and spirit wings towards the avowed boundless horizon.

By nightfall my more earthbound nature feels at ease and in rapport with a lone roadrunner’s effortless passage through rough-hewn silhouettes of thorny tree cholla that reach into a fiery sunset. Such connections with the natural world nourish my essence. When all is said and done, they are sustenance my heart and soul crave.

© Ilija Lukic 2025

Roadrunner Sunset

Rockin' J Ranch west of Broadview NM

Llano Estacado Reverie

With bated breath from my armchair

I watched a snowflake dance on air,

From here to there, without a care—

Sublime, yet bold like trumpet blare.

Ere long mind’s eye scans a sea of grass, 

Flat-topped mesas, playas en masse,

Where hawks soar high above bear grass

And the Spirit of truth comes to pass.

Does breath of life teem with stardust?

Why am I here…what’s my life’s thrust?

How should I live…as not to rust?

Should I succumb to wanderlust?

Like swift fox stalking on the sly,

While lark exalts timeless blue sky.

Where boundless plain endures bone dry,

Till monsoon rain halts hue and cry.

There sandhill cranes roost in salt lakes,

Mid bison grunts chase ducks and drakes.

While pronghorn graze mid thorns and snakes,

Coyotes prowl in Caprock Breaks.

Be still my soul, enjoy said flight

Especially on starlit night,

When crescent Moon bathed in earthlight

Slows wheel of time—oh, sheer delight.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Circle Of Life

American bison on Llano Estacado north of Clovis NM

Eternal Truths

When fogged-in minds clear

Hearts can know eternal truths—

God’s in the details.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Befogged Perfection

Ebenezer Point shoreline at Jordan Lake NC

Wind In The Pines

Brisk river of wind tussles winter pines,

Which welcome said new dance to age-old tune—

Born of cosmic wind on celestial shorelines

Mid turmoil where time and the Divine commune.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Celestial Shore

Jordan Lake shoreline at Ebenezer Point

Divine Sleeping Place

Ethereal beauty of wintry down

Favors God’s acre at Heaven’s doorway,

Where dearly departed, plain folk and renown,

In peaceful repose await judgement day.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Divine Sleeping Place

Old Rock Springs Cemetery in Pittsboro NC

Rock Of Ages

Twenty-degree temperatures at daybreak assail senses and give rise to contemplation of human weaknesses.

At Ebenezer Point on Jordan Lake, the steadfast aura of a sandstone rib rising mystically from the rock-strewn, wave and wind-battered shore adds perspective about timeless beauty and perseverance. I pause and give mind's core free rein. 

Lost in thought I come to appreciate that yesterday may have been a challenge, but tomorrow brims with opportunities. I take a deep breath and embrace today's lakeshore meander as a gift from God—my rock of ages.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Rock Of Ages

Ebenezer Point on Jordan Lake NC

The Cold Moon

Winter grips Earth realms

On moonlit night feast eyes on high

Cold Moon warms malaise

© Ilija Lukić 2025

(Among Native American cultures, Cree tribes call the first full Moon of the year the Cold Moon) 

The Cold Moon 

Cooper’s Cove on Jordan Lake NC 

Lakeside Cathedral

A mid-afternoon, early-January meander in 38ºF air along Jordan Lake encourages an intentionally brisk pace. Physical comfort in the raw weather instead of making time for mindful spiritual seasoning is a priority, until a shoreline glade of towering loblolly pines quietly grabs my attention.

Darkening overcast skies, dramatic vertical angles of tree trunks, subdued light filtering through evergreen canopies, a soft carpet of pine straw and the palpable silence within said colonnade cause mind’s eye and heart to take flight into a 10th and 11th-century European Romanesque cathedral. 

An awareness of safety and peace takes hold of my inner being. My soul soars longingly into the stillness, brimming with a renewed God-given sense of the Eternal.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Lakeside Cathedral

Seaforth Beach at Cooper's Cove on Jordan Lake

Genesis For Truth

Truth flows when dayspring from on high unfolds
And ushers Light into our world’s dark sooth,
Till grace-filled hearts break vile strangleholds—
Dawn’s beauty is the genesis for truth.

© Ilija Lukić 2025

Genesis For Truth

Seaforth Beach on Jordan Lake NC

Tranquility

On our life’s journey…heart, mind and soul thrive remarkably when destinations like tranquility spring from an equilibrium of sound and broken consequences that flow from choices made in coping with life experiences.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Tranquility

Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC

Yuletide Dawning

Lift eyes and heart…dawn’s glow heralds God’s grace.

Said Light grabs hearts from sea to shining sea

And souls rejoice, made new by His embrace.

Peace and love hold sway—what’s meant to be will be.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Yuletide Dawning

Osprey Point on Seaforth Peninsula at Jordan Lake NC

Spiritual Nourishment

Walking alone…

My heart brings to light

That solitude nourishes,

Oh undying soul,

Not only immortal human essence

But also clears mind

Stuck in crippling hellhole

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Spiritual Nourishment

Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC

My Quiet Place

Every now and then when frayed edges in the tapestry of existence befall the sanctuary of my spiritual essence, I make time for a pick-me-up at a favorite wellspring of inspiration—my quiet place.

A weathered tree trunk washed ashore by storm surge some years ago serves as haven for mindful contemplation. Here the welcome embrace of quietude prevails on mind, heart and soul to give rise to ripples of serenity that fill my inner being with peace and tranquillity.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Ripples Of Serenity

In memory of our dog I’ve named my quiet place Cooper’s Cove, a secluded stretch of shore at Jordan Lake, where our canine friend loved to romp and swim.

Autumn Fare-Thee-Well

Autumn fades boldly

Leaves shout rousing fare-thee-well

Winter bides his time

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Two days hence, the winter solstice will mark the longest night of Old Man Winter;’s heydays. This year paucity of rain, frigid nights and absence of blustery autumn winds have slowed leaf fall, especially in sheltered woodland hollows. Ergo, colorful carpets of leaf litter and pine straw atop forest duff paint rousing fare-thee-wells to autumn and playfully welcome winter slumber. Albeit, snow remains a distant memory.

Felicitous Comfort

Woodland trail west of Mary Holmes Park in Pittsboro NC

Thanksgiving

With bated breath and whispered hurrah, the natural world bids picturesque farewell to the vibrant heydays of autumn in guarded anticipation of the imminent and more stark realities of wintertide. A late-autumn frame of mind has long been a fitting tempo for pause and reflection on life’s blessings and—in the face of fast-paced technological advances and distractions—the necessity for interconnectedness of human hearts with nature, family and friends.

Melanie and I wish all a fulfilling season of appreciating blessings, reconnecting with people in your lives and commemorating meaningful, cherished experiences…Happy Thanksgiving!

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Whispered Hurrah

Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC

Life Unchained

Fear dims throbbing heart,
Till facts lighten troubled soul
And still fickle mind.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Autumn Dawning - Life Unchained

Cooper's Cove on Jordan Lake NC

Memory Lanes

Our Christmas cactus set buds and blooms early this year and reflects my upbeat mood about living in the greatest county in the world...America. A son of immigrants, I feel blessed beyond measure to be a citizen—free to pursue dreams and opportunities—one of which was 30 years of service to our Nation in the United States Air Force.

While I reflect about life, a sixty-degree late-autumn day beckons heart and soul to indulge an itch for sunlit adventure down nearby woodland trails. Before leaving, I make time to kick back in a favorite easy chair and reminisce about bygone days and sources of inspiration.

Memorabilia on a chess table, built by a friend and cabinet maker in New Mexico, hints at some of my lifelong interests and affections.

They include: Winterkill, a novel by C.J. Box—an American author introduced to me by my friend Dee Burton; two vintage issues of National Geographic Magazine—August and September of 1949—which still buoy my lifelong love of travel and photography; and an Ansel Adams photo collection in a hardcover book gifted by my daughter Lea on one of my birthdays. Adams' photography of the Yosemite Valley, American Southwest and his philosophy of making pictures continues to inspire my photography.

To help wrap up my trip down memory lanes, pinned by one of my favorite cameras, lie several magazines. Their images and cover lines stir echoes of our days in New Mexico—a land of enchanted vistas and mixing bowl of cultures, with tenacious people, vibrant art and a future laden with optimism and endless possibilities. Their pages spill reminders of adventure and give rise to a yearning…bury my heart in New Mexico!

© Ilija Lukić 2024