Christmas Eve Afternoon - 2016

’Tis afternoon ere Christmas Eve

And nary a snowflake to be found.

Undeterred, St Nick will spread joy

This very night on appointed round.

Lend ear to yuletide stories of olde,

Let festive chorus your heart delight,

Allow peace to reign, lo and behold,

Tidings of hope abound, o holy night.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Eternal Truths

Vivid hallelujahs echo in crisp airs

Eternal truths dance in fields of light

Reverie endures on wooded trails

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Autumn Hallelujah
(Old Rock Spring Baptist Church in Pittsboro NC USA)

Autumn Rush

A brief mid-afternoon respite from rain showers finds me on the banks of the Haw. Two days of downpours fill the river channel. The tawny waters strain banks and threaten breaches. The calm between storms is short-lived. Soon thunder echoes across the riparian ecosystem and ominous clouds move in. First rain drops splatter on autumn foliage in complementary rhythms to the rush of river waters. I retreat to shelter in my horseless carriage minutes before the skies unleash a deluge. 

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Autumn Rush

September Farewell

Autumn Song

While spring abides faint remembrance

And summer greenery fades cheerfully,

Autumn song bears cornucopia of hope

In furtherance of spirit for winter slumber.

 © Ilija Lukić 2016

Autumn Song
(Haw River near Bynum, North Carolina)

Haw River Lullaby

Awesome Wonder

Rapt, I cast eyes upon celestial sphere,

Fine cricket song fills late-summer night,

Half Moon hangs akin bright chandelier

Even as city lights pale canopy of starlight.

My heart celebrates in awesome wonder

And my soul soars in reverent adoration.

The universe resounds with starlit praise

Oh, my Lord God, how great Thou art!

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Celestial Sphere

Wild At Heart

A modest blush adorns her weary face

Her timid mood belies once youthful vigor

Her essence longs for life of faster pace

Her heart craves dances worthy of wild river

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Wild At Heart
(Haw River in late summer north of Pittsboro, North Carolina)

Butterfly Kisses

Oh, renown aerialist alight in peace

Near the end of your summer journey,

Your carefree days of delightful dance

And butterfly kisses on wild rose briar,

Where amid wood and flowered meadow

You give time without end new meaning,

Find seventh heaven in ambrosia flows

And abide your destiny on the circle of life

As enduring paladin of flowers far and wide

Devoted to beauty under celestial sphere.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Butterfly Kisses
(Eastern Tiger Swallowtail)

Sons Of Perseus

One hour past midnight I'm out and about woodland environs on a steamy Carolina night. I pursue the sons of Perseus who rivet mortal attention to their annual August escapades across starlit skies above the Piedmont Plateau. Lend ear and let your imagination soar.

Tree frogs chirp love songs

Sultry airs envelop witching hours

Perseids shower the Milky Way

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Roads Of Old To Santa Fe

When sun-drenched prairie

denies moments of respite

And cactus candelabras

Bode grim trails ahead,

Find repose in scant shade

Which loiters under chollas,

Those paragons of solitude

And winsome mile markers,

On roads of old to Santa Fe.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Llano Shade Trees
(Rockin' R Ranch near Broadview NM)

River Dance

A train of thunderstorms barreled across Chatham County last night. The torrential rains are a good start to drought relief. Today sultry Carolina summer days continue. More rain is in the forecast. Just before sundown I stop at the Old Bynum Bridge just north of our neighborhood. Muddy waters dance joyously below the aging concrete span. The lively mood of the rain-swollen Haw River belies the stifling humidity which typifies dog days of summer. I long to shake summer lethargy on purposeful strolls in cool autumn evenings.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

River Dance

Sissipawhaw Memories

Prior to settlement of the Carolinas by Europeans, native cultures fished, hunted and farmed in this area for more than 10,000 years. A man-made lake now fills some of their realm in the lower New Hope Valley. On this cloudy winter afternoon elegant reflections of clouds across lake waters lift my winter-weary spirits and conjure mindful deference to their story. The memory of one such tribe lost to history lingers on the winds moving across the rolling hills, tawny rivers and dense woodlands of their ancient homeland. I lend ear to their hushed whispers—Sissipawhaw.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Sissipawhaw Memories

Gild The Lily

Summertide sizzles

Sultry affections hold sway

Butterfly gilds the lily

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Gild The Lily

Midsummer Daydreams

God's Whispers

Hear God’s whispers
Borne on primordial
Songs of the universe
Until spilled as rain
Into parched tablelands
And sky lake reflections
Of His sublime grace.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Sky Lake
(Cooper on the Llano Estacado east of Clovis, New Mexico USA)

Shout For Joy

Shout For Joy
(Day Lilies)

Divine Intervention

As sunset skies spill Water of Life

My soul thirsts for the Divine River

An encounter with the Most High

And discovers quite unexpectedly

That fireflies carry in their lanterns

Bits of the Light meant for my heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Water Of Life

Acts Of God

Firebolts dance among argent vapors

Primeval glow sets timberlands ablaze

Ethereal clouds come to be liquid silver

As ancient mysteries visit vernal woods.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Touching Eternity

Wax Poetic

Poetry lays bare the poet's deepest endeavors of self-discovery; yet, once penned remains incomplete until written upon another naked heart and soul.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Less Is More

Life Unchained

Sunset lingers unhurried

By human rush of emotion,

While eventide ushers in

Dulcet harmonies of night.

Reason dismisses reprieve

Through awesome wonder,

While spirit takes meaning

From wisdom writ on high.

Cherished blaze mellows

Fearful torrents of confusion

And inspires keen yearning

For the rare life unchained.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Chocolate Rush

Life Unchained

Tranquility

Day fades in quietude

Hushed wings ensure tranquility

Mist settles across holler

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Misty Holler

One Heart

Let us reach across rocky rivers

And climb fearlessly into the sun

Leave shores ripe with naysayers

Charge our hearts to beat as one.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

One Heart
(Haw River in springtime near Bynum, North Carolina USA)

Purposeful Passage

Always meander like a tenacious river
Down your rock-strewn course of life
With your heart urged by bold rhythms
To purposeful passage into the Light.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Purposeful Passage
(Haw River south of Bynum, North Carolina)

Eventide Soliloquy

Abide the river wild—

It speaks age-old truths— 
Where starlight essence
Achieves liquid incarnation
And as elixir of life eternal
Reveals the face of God.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Green Mansion

Vernal Homily

Daylight spills last whispers

River sweeps o'er rocks by design

Clarity buoys heart and mind

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Haw River Homily

Seven Sisters

At nightfall a squall line ushers thunderstorms into our neck of the woods. City illumination casts a warm glow across tree tops and low cloud ceiling adding soft contrast to the dazzle of lightning strikes. The tempest subsides with a whimper and passes just north of our neighborhood. In a patch of clear starlit skies the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) star cluster adds just the right touch of inspiration to drift into tales of Greek mythology.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Seven Sisters

Touching Eternity

Restless souls crave bliss without end

And spiritual passages beyond mortal toil.

Woodland canopies frame these portals

While twilight stillness comforts the heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Primordial Dust

River Wild

As daylight wanes and arctic cold settles across the rain-swollen Haw River a Bald Eagle glides resolutely towards its eyrie a few hundred yards downstream. Above the tree tops last rays of the setting sun add a touch of majesty to the magnificent raptor. At river level gathering darkness encourages a Great Blue Heron to launch upriver and disappear in the eventide on slow, deep wing-strokes.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Eventide

Twilight

River Wild

Serenity Unchained

Hearts covet serenity
River bestows venerable counsel
Heron wades carefree

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Calliope's Chair
(Haw River east of Bynum North Carolina near Pokeberry Creek)

River Drifter

Ivy League Education

Serenity Unchained

Shadow Dancers

January Reverie

First snows of the season leave a dusting across Haw River environs. Winter slumber tightens its grip on the rocky river channel and sandy banks which a month ago suffered the onslaught of flood water.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

First Snow

Light Passages

Winter Soliloquy

Winter Reverie

First Love

She comes to me in silence.

Her caress comforts and excites.

Fantasy and reality become one

And first love wraps two hearts

Deep into tender hues of affection.

©  Ilija Lukić 2016

First Love
(photo-impressionism)

Spirit World

Our unusually mild winter persists. Late in the day calls of the wild prove irresistible. I strike out in search of sensory and spiritual learning. Afternoon temperatures hover in the fifties. A brief burst of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day lights up leaf and moss-covered woodland slopes along my trail. Bare Mockernut Hickory canopies and clusters of Long-leaf Pine capture whispers of wind and spirits of yesteryear.

Trees are conduits between the temporal and spirit world. They link cast away threads of time through mystical forces of nature to present-day human experience. This is why we humans have held trees in high regard since memories began. It's only recently these ancient memories of their power have faded. I take a breathing spell, listen to their wisdom and allow my heart to ponder their poetry of spirit.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Spirit World

Silent Vigil

Mockernut Cache

Winter Lights

Poésie De La Lumière - Poetry Of Light