Ethereal Tiger

Winged tiger alights, beauty to unveil;

Exquisite wings kissed by the morning sun

And feelers to elegant swallowtail

Betoken strikingly summer-long fun.

© Ilija Lukić 2019

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
(Pittsboro, North Carolina)

Beacon Of Spiritual Enlightenment

Erected inside the once fortified village plaza by humble farmers some 260 years ago, the Santuario San José de Gracia on the High Road to Taos in Las Trampas, New Mexico stands as silent symbol of quiet dignity and hope. It endures as a beacon of enlightenment in the face of what some devout scholars admonish are twilight years of Christian spirituality.

I pause at the portal of an adobe-walled courtyard and reflect on my own journey of spiritual awakening. The sunlit church facade reaches into menacing skies. Not less than ten weathered crosses atop modest adobe spires catch the eye. They boldly challenge the Cimmerian shade of an approaching mountain storm. The scene bespeaks metaphors of forces at play...the eternal conflict between good and evil.

© Ilija Lukić 2019

Santuario San José De Gracia
(1780s Spanish Colonial Church in Las Trampas NM USA)