Biding Time

Tail-wagger stalks birds 

Fine feathered flock takes playful flight

Man’s best friend bides time

© Ilija Lukić 2021

When gray skies, chilled airs and daylong rains drive wildlife into shelter, Cooper keeps playful pursuits under pinking skies alive in mind’s eye.

Biding Time
(Cooper in Mary Holmes Park in Pittsboro NC USA)

Shadow In The Rough

When reality no longer dictates the decisions we make and actions we take, then illusion becomes the master of our existence. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Shadow In The Rough
(self-portrait at Lower Haw River Natural Area - photo impressionism)

Life In The Slow Lane

As Cooper and I meander through mist-laden Eastern Piedmont Plateau woodlands near Pittsboro, North Carolina, I catch a glimpse of a benevolent dog muzzle image on a lichen-covered rock face. I cannot resist a closer look and discover a slug feasting on the lichen. It inches across the surface. Tonight when temperatures drop below freezing with light snow in the forecast, it will surely find a cozy retreat in the duff. Life is good.

Mind moves on swift wings

Heart prefers life at snail’s pace

Haste curbs peace of mind

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Life In The Slow Lane
(foliose lichen - photo impressionism)

Peace Of Mind

Life is made of moments. Allow the good to write memories upon your heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Lower Haw River Natural Area
(Bynum NC USA)

Wayward Malevolence

Pained hue and cry pervades beloved homeland.

Displeasure born of widespread malfeasance

Calls for steadfast strength of mind, not glad hand,
To repudiate said malevolence.

When turmoil weighs heavy on the human spirit, nature’s magnificence sheds light upon principled pathway through dark recesses of heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Eminent Magnificence
(Bracket Mushrooms)

Philosophers' Stone

In wordless discourse nature makes known elusive verses of her flawed perfection—cornerstones, that ease mortal coil, enlighten soul and open heart to heavenly bliss.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Philosphers' Stone

Voiceless Pandemonium

Cooper and I meander down woodland trails. He stays in touch with his wild side, while I calm mind, refresh spirit and get lost in thought. I am especially mindful of frost heave and quagmires recent freeze-thaw cycles continue to squish across our passage. While off the beaten path and under the spell of quietude, I become aware of a surprising number of treeless slopes and hollows. The whys and wherefores strike doleful heartstrings. 

Eventually we happen upon a gnarly oak on secluded Rock Springs Church grounds. The imposing skeleton and leafless canopy strikes an attitude of defiance, yet speaks softly of bittersweet dirges in the churchyard cemetery. I take a moment to understand the whispers of winter winds in its bare branches. In mind’s eye the old oak endures as worthy allegory of voiceless pandemonium—the silent outcry by Mother Nature against indiscriminate deforestation.

Hue and cry raised from public podium 

Laments bare hollows where trees once stood. 

Thus highlights voiceless pandemonium 

Within thunderous quietude of the wood.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Voiceless Pandemonium

Piedmont Kraken

Lend ear, my friends and let mind’s eye open a portal into olden days.

While gathered around crackling fires in mead halls, Viking storytellers (skalds) fill long winter evenings with fearsome tales of the mighty Kraken. In reverent voice they whisper how this creature of nightmares rises from the depths of storm-tossed seas to loose death and destruction. Even intrepid seafarers tremble in dread of its tentacles sinking ships and crews into treacherous maelstroms of sea waters.

Over the centuries the Kraken and such trials and tribulations fade from human consciousness. However, recent sightings of tentacles in mist-laden Carolina woodlands uphold rumors, that Kraken have abandoned the briny deep in favor of forested realms. They live disguised as mischievous spirits of the wood making their home in aerial roots eager to trip unsuspecting wayfarers. A new legend is born. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Piedmont Kraken

Woodland Terpsichorean

From time immemorial humans have found enchantment in the embrace of woodlands. Shadowed echoes of lighthearted bird singsong and chilling bobcat screams summon to mind age-old tales of both the light and dark side of human nature. A walk in the wild lets us get in touch with our primal self. Sunlit moss and lichen-covered aerial roots lighten apprehensive moods in whimsical dances across leaf litter. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Woodland Terpsichorean
(Aerial roots)

Alpha And Omega

Daylong drizzle dampens moods on the eastern reaches of the Piedmont Plateau. In defiance of the raw weather, first Jonquils of this winter season encourage optimism and inspire reflection. It’s a good time to peruse the pages of our lives, shed baggage weighing on our hearts and resolve to a life well-lived.

My lifetime dawned on amber-strewn seashore.

Born to globe-trot, with time to catch my breath 

And gain enlightenment on life’s dance floor. 

Lend heart to life well-lived, not dance of death. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Indomitable Realists
(Narcissus jonquil aka Jonquil or Brush Daffodil)