By dint of angel wings, light of day takes hold.
Pinking skies lend credence to said divine host
And rouse assurance more than hundredfold,
That all’s right with the world, first and foremost.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
The title and subject of my short poem call to mind the passage “God’s in His heaven—All’s right with the world!” from the verse drama Pippa Passes by Robert Browning, c. 1841.
Just as the joyous hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving fades, so does Mother Nature’s kaleidoscope of foliage and days of autumn reverie. Hearts and minds of young and old turn to real and imaginary winter moods. Christmas draws nigh and brings hope of both renewed earthly joys and spiritual rebirth.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
People from every walk of life, nationality and spiritual persuasion join city residents in kicking off America’s time-honored Thanksgiving and Christmas season, during Holly Days 2021 festivities in the streets of historic Pittsboro, North Carolina USA.
Crisp late-autumn airs carry aromas of food and sweet fare, while restive children enjoy train rides and various bounce houses. Local school concert bands and dance studio groups provide entertainment on an outdoor stage. The town youth theater ensemble dazzles revelers with one act of a musical production.
The annual town gathering culminates with Santa’s arrival on a dusting of snow flurries. Minutes later he kicks off the season of joy and light from the late-Victorian portico of the historic Chatham County Courthouse by illuminating our town Christmas Tree at the city center traffic roundabout.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Life shadows mark time
Sorrow fades from memories
Swan song rules the heart
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Earlier today I have an illuminating session with my therapist, Mother Nature. She insists on a Rorschach Test. I willingly submit to a deep-dive into my personality, emotional functioning and thinking patterns, while on a meander down the Pond Trail at Seaforth Point on Jordan Lake. We make ten stops designed to reveal the innermost recesses of my humanity by way of verbalized, off-the-cuff perceptions of creation. Most meaningful is my perception of two hearts beating as one I chance upon at a secluded, woodland pond. “Voilà earthling bosomed in my autumn splendor,” confides Mother Nature in a whisper, “this is a telling confirmation of your attraction to and love of the natural world.”
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Many are familiar with Aesop’s fable of “The Tortoise And The Hare.” Here in Chatham County, North Carolina we have the fabled Chatham Rabbit, a cousin to Aesop’s hare of yore. But these days, the only races that give our critter notoriety involve evasive maneuvers to pursuits from hunters.
However, widespread reports of our rabbit challenging Rainbow Trout to speed contests in and along the Sissipahaw River exist in the annals of our county. Of course said contests pitted two speedsters against one another, albeit in vastly different environments. The official proclamation of the winner in “The Rainbow Trout And Chatham Rabbit Race” remains hidden in some dusty corner of historical archives.
Notwithstanding the lessons brought by Aesop’s tortoise, modern life insists on pitting human speedster against human speedster in mind numbing evolutions of time.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Graybeard walks with a stoop;
Cherished nestlings flew the coop,
Now soul needs chicken soup
© Ilija Lukić 2021
When the natural world opens portals to music of the universe, that which lies in wait behind your joys and sorrows gives you reason to ponder your existence.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Treed slopes catch their breath
Autumn’s light warms heart and soul
Hued breath keeps frost at bay
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Named after a small, native tribe of North Carolina the Sissipahaw River is the chief head stream of the Cape Fear River watershed. Now lost in the folds of time, in the early 1700s the tribe hunted and farmed a large fertile area just upstream near today’s village of Saxapahaw. Close your eyes and echoes of Sissipahaw traders moving downstream on watercraft with goods precious to coastal tribes top off the autumnal ambience. God’s in his Heaven, all’s right with the world.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Winds of change push misgivings through hometown.
Be not content friend and compatriot
With illusions of a world turned upside down,
Where ships of fools ride herd on freedom’s chariot.
The chariot dubbed free will, it's not too late,
Give it full rein and right our ship of state.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Though time hangs heavy on gossamer strings,
As autumn mists becloud summer reverie
And winter’s teeth coax doldrums into things,
Let spirit soar with joy, live fearlessly.
Living fearlessly means accepting your abilities and limitations, then befriending fear.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Autumn lies in wait
Summer bids fond fare-thee-well
Crisp air dispels blues
© Ilija Lukić 2021
I walk through autumn wood with restless heart
And without plan to gain balance of mind,
Till sunlit arbor looms like work of art
Where I can reflect and leave unrest behind.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Profound music of silence and echoes of the divine within solitude, but above all stillness of soul shape mankind’s triumvirate of serenity and bond to the eternal.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
One key responsibility of a free people is to question authority. This obligation includes realization and acceptance of our own ignorance as the first step towards truly understanding and ultimately resolving differences. As we deliberate an issue, we have to stay mindful that any surrender of basic human rights is a most insidious form of subjugation.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
When fathomless misery holds dark sway,
People with sunshine in their hearts declare
Come what may, let light bring to knees dismay,
For then souls transcend foul pits of despair.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
The substance of reflections on water is akin flights of imagination, which often seem fanciful, yet when viewed through the prism of life experiences bring into being each person’s unique understanding of the real world. Each person’s perception is as distinctive as their essence, even though the substance of the reality they profess is one and the same.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Heart longs for escape,
Silver wings plow azure skies:
Joy dwells on cloud nine.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
In mind’s eye life endeavors clarity
And bold paths taken motivate success.
Yet, peace of mind remains a rarity,
Till life’s creative smudges coalesce.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Creative Smudges |
Discover the music
In windswept prairie straw,
Hear echoes of solitude
In hawk’s call on high,
Let these age-old melodies
Reach into your heart
And connect your spirit
To songs of the universe.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Arrowfeather Trail (Cooper on Llano Estacado in Eastern New Mexico USA) |
Judgment adrift in polluted cloud realm
Finds eager purveyors of varnished truth;
Lets fuss about the trivial grab wit’s helm
Disguised and sold as hip volumes of sooth.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
True to its latin epithet the Foxglove Tree flower (paulownia tomentosa) aka Princess Tree is “covered in hairs.”
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| Varnished Truth |
Soul thrives on pure heart
Encouraged by God’s embrace:
Said grace enlightens heart.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
Early morning light streaming across the landing newel for a handrail on a flight of park steps adds an aura of mystery to the aluminum motif. In rendering my feelings of the experience in word and artful imagery, I cannot resist an excursion into cosmic awareness along the proverbial spiral of life
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| Spiritual Evolution |
Life force marks time well:
Man seeks primordial mind,
As breath of life soars.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Élan Vital (Insect eggs on house siding, photo impressionism) |
Out of the blue, a short-lived salvo of pea-sized hail stones shreds foliage and dances across roadways, until pleasing swaths of fine shingle come together to form artful arrays. The icy pellets bear semblance to small pebbles along river banks arranged into sweeping patterns by moving water. In mind’s eye an infinite microcosm of primordial star dust and galaxies takes flight. Old stars paint the heavenly canvas red, while young stars probe infinity with cool, blue light.
I ponder whether I should treasure imagination or knowledge. While I hold knowledge in high regard, it is finite. It depends on what we know and have come to understand through learned quests. Imagination on the other hand embraces the infinite scope, scale and mysteries of the Universe. So, what is mankind’s most cherished treasure? I venture it is our visions and dreams, for they are the realm where imagination and knowledge intersect—where we define our humanity and come to understand our place on the spiral of life.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Cosmic Interlude (Photo Impressionism) |
This morning Cooper passed peacefully, at home, in my and Melanie’s arms.
From the arid, windblown plains of New Mexico to the sunlit woodlands and lush meadows across the Piedmont Plateau in North Carolina, Cooper was in his element when he roamed God’s creation. He equally enjoyed a laidback life at home. He especially loved our grandkids and backyard playtime with them. Melanie and I are blessed to have been his sidekicks on countless road adventures and in the wilds of America. Cooper touched the hearts of all who have known him. His love, rambunctious spirit and zest for life are forever etched onto our hearts and into our memories. Rest in peace.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Breath Of Life Set Free (Cooper - Oct 2008 to May 2021) |
Dawn paints rosy fate
Heart picks life off beaten path
Ah, breath of life set free
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Path Less Traveled (Cooper) |
Cool daybreak breeze flirts with the green serene,
Wherein treed hills resound with tuneful birdsong
And heron stops her hunt, takes time to preen,
While stream continues seaward surge, headlong.
Ere long rose mists of dawn take leave of night
And drift among dark pines like thistledown,
While flowered meadow longs for noontide sunlight,
When chartreuse dale is sight of great renown.
Cloaked in said mist a doe and fawn take shape
And graze amid gold flowers wet with dew.
Then, without breaking free of gossamer drape
Take flight across bright swathe of Meadow Rue.
Green mansions temper mortal coil palpably,
Thus, nurture heart and soul of humanity.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Rose Mists Of Dawn (Mr Cooper) |
Trees bridge psychic realms
Earthling halts at Heaven’s gate
Peace takes breath away
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Heaven's Gate |
Blooms dance in spring breeze
Gold dust powders hill and dale
Turtles bask on log
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Springtide Overture (Yellow Poplar aka liriodendron tulipifera; photo impressionism) |
The tempo of his romps may have slowed a bit with age, but all manner of woodland creatures are still fair game for a lighthearted chase and a sun-drenched spring meadow remains a favorite for a respite.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Life In Clover (Cooper in Mary Holmes Park, Pittsboro NC USA) |
In stillness frayed by butterflies on the wing,
Old-growth woodland accepts time without end
And begs ancient rains that flow from cool spring
To spout timeless insight man can comprehend.
With heart of faith seek peace in endless time,
That kingdom of the soul where time began.
Let divine grace guide quests of the sublime
Through storm-tossed seas of life and fall of man.
Search out quintessence of love, be tireless,
For perseverance bears fruit named forevermore.
Soothe ecstasy with prudent mindfulness,
Then, pure in heart frolic on life’s dance floor.
Hope enables love and faith most fervently
In heart and soul bent on eternity.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Spring Blessing (Old Rock Spring Church in Pittsboro North Carolina USA) |
Imagine the world is a patch of clover.
Its leaflets betray life’s turbulent expanse,
Yet, mankind thrives akin its bold flower
When cradled in God’s grace by earthbound manse.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Heaven On Earth (Common Yellow Woodsorrel aka oxalis stricta) |
After overnight thunderstorms, mid-morning sunlight filtering through bud time oak canopies brightens woodland aura and splashes springtide warmth across Allée Boisée—a favorite hiking trail. Staccato rhythms of a woodpecker and my footfalls pleasingly complement whispers of wind caressing tree tops. Countless dapples of sun-kissed, silky-smooth spring foliage dance to exquisite solos of birdcalls. Wrapped in stillness between rhapsodies of joy, the living world exhales in a sigh of relief that a quietly heartless and cold winter has called it a day.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Allée Boisée (Woodland trail near Pittsboro, North Carolina USA) |
Overnight lows in the high forties cede dominion to pinking skies with first blush of daylight. Flowering Dogwood Trees abound below budding canopies of oak in nearby woodlands. Our state flower adds just the right touch of magnificence to the wee hours of morning.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Dogwood Dawning (Flowering Dogwood aka cornus florida) |
Surely the divinely ordained spring awakening of the living world from winter slumber not only rejuvenates picturesque lake environs, but also breathes new life into the spiritual nature of humanity.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Cooper's Cove At Eastertide (Jordan Lake, North Carolina USA) |
While frosty nights liberate last gasps of winter across eastern expanses of the Carolinas, the advent of an imminent spring renascence borne on ethereal wings of butterflies fills hearts and souls with joy.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Easter Swallowtail (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on flowering Carolina Jasmine vines) |
As floodwaters on Jordan Lake in North Carolina recede, pinking daybreak skies and gentle southerly breezes usher in first flushes of spring foliage along white sand shorelines.
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| Springtide Cure-All (Cooper's Cove at Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC USA) |
Consciousness centered on time without end
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| Primordial Light (Dawn at flooded Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake, North Carolina) |
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| Hint Of Spring (Eastern Redbud) |
Cold mists with temperatures at the freezing mark come together with pinking skies to usher in the first day of spring on the Piedmont Plateau in the Carolinas.
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| Nebulous First Light (First day of spring dawning) |
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| Biding Time (White Jonquils) |
With the spring equinox a week away, increasingly longer and sunnier days tease winter-beaten Piedmont countrysides into spring fever with temperatures in the 70s. Overnight lows remain cool and mist-laden daybreaks seem to fill the air with last gasps of winter.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Last Gasp Of Winter |
Eavesdrop on babbling brook in treed hollow
Hear songs of Maytime in cool springtide breeze
Feel warm embrace of sun-drenched meadow
Cherish crunch of ice puddles after last freeze
Take flight on lark song into cloudless skies
Sense silence wrapped in lonesome stand of pines
Join hawk on thermals and break earthbound ties
Amuse heart at sunset dressed to the nines
Smell first splash of rain to quench bone-dry plain
Take pleasure in booming bullfrog chorus
Free daydreams to soulful whistle of freight train
Bethink heartfelt verse of those gone before us
Flower by flower spring makes hearts lighter
And outlook on life better and brighter
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Ripples In The Fabric Of Spring (wave action at sandy lake shore creates submerged ripples) |
Be not that frazzled drifter on timeworn course,
Change how you look at things on beaten path,
Hasten to join said dance without remorse
And play life’s hand anew on pain of wrath.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Frazzled Drifter (Flotsam on Jordan Lake NC shoreline) |
Capturing moments in time through line art lies at the core of humanness. Throughout time people have reached into their essence to give visual expression to what is written on their hearts and souls. Whether on a cave wall, canvas or sketch pad of the “Old Masters" painters, Renaissance copper engravings, expressionist painters, doodling on napkins or even Kindergarten art, the line remains the most basic element of artistic expression. Fear not to let your heart and soul take flight.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Essence Revealed (Embroidery portrait of Ilija by Melanie) |
When people endeavor togetherness
Amid fractious debate that separates,
Then light of understanding shapes oneness
And bonds of hope bridge dire straits.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Togetherness |
Rooted in the human heart and soul is the yearning to set afloat reminders of our humanity on the tides of time.
Set mind’s eye to first drawings on cave walls,
Which portray stories lived on tides of time.
More than flights of whimsy or careless scrawl,
They’re part of something endless and sublime.
© Ilija Lukić 2021
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| Tides Of Time (Old Rock Spring Church cemetery in Pittsboro NC USA) |
