Promising Tomorrows

Happy New Year 2024

Take time and mindfully peruse the imprints both thorny and untroubled days of the last twelve months have left upon your heart, as you contemplate that first step across the threshold of tomorrows. Resolve to welcome unexpected undertakings and enjoy the good things of life the wondrous unknown bears.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Promising Tomorows

(Seaforth Point on Jordan Lake NC bids farewell to the old year)

Imperfect Perfection

At year’s end

The heart has eye on change,

Even as the mind

Still wallows in old habits.

Will ego prevail—

To solve said age-old quandary—

Or heart realize

That perfection lies forever 

Around the next bend.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Imperfect Perfection

(Self-portrait at Cooper's Cove on Jordan Lake NC)

Dragons Of Elysium

Why ramble through confused doldrums of life,

Defined into existence by debris,

Afeared of dragons both in harmony and strife—

Embrace dauntless heart instead of bent knee.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Sweeping strands of flotsam deposited by wind and water on Jordan Lake shorelines are boundless repositories of artful expression that encourage reverie and create oases of serenity in the fabric of the universe—and most certainly in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives.

Dragons Of Elysium

Joy To The World

Pinking skies at sunrise light up Jordan Lake environs and give rise to rose-hued retrospection of days past and optimism for bright tomorrows. Runoff from last week's coastal storm has raised lake levels six to eight feet to where waters now inundate beaches and shoreline woodlands.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Joy To The World

First Morning Of Winter

Winter’s wraith grips heart,

Till long dark night bids fond farewell

As first light gets the nod.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

First Morning Of Winter

(Jordan Lake NC)

Hope Floats

Blessings make the day

Flush of morning lights the way

Hope floats, don’t dismay

© Ilija Lukić 2023

After twelve hours of lively winds and relentless rainfall, pinking skies in a befitting flush of morning reflect appreciation of both the blessings the storm left in its wake and the hope for brighter morrows where the crush of calamity seeks to prevail.

Flush Of Morning

(Cooper's Cove on Jordan Lake NC)

Unforeseen Solace

On the heels of somber and starless night skies over the eastern reaches of the Piedmont Plateau, the quietude at daybreak suited for thoughtful musing gives way to reality—underscored by temperatures in the low forties. A lingering drizzle spits comforting albeit unforeseen measures of solace from a dismal overcast in furtherance of pensive moods. While people scurry in pursuit of holiday gift novelties, the natural world takes a breather in preparation for winter slumber.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Unforeseen Solace

Fog

Fog can intimidate but also encourage pursuit of truth and inspire artful expression of said veil’s aesthetic nature.

Foreboding tendrils of fog creeping down city streets and even playful wisps in a stand of trees confuse perceptions of reality. Yet, with gentle breath this earthbound cloud communicates an age-old covenant with mortals. This bond remarkably sheds light on the power of foggy days to embolden clarity of thought and understanding of life’s mysteries—once we allow our hearts and minds to meander the galleries of its disguised mazes.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Fog

(On Jordan Lake NC)

Midwinter Quietude

At Jordan Lake beaches in North Carolina, echoes of revelry by summer fun seekers and wind-driven flotsam blown ashore by westerly November gales create mellow dreamscapes of quietude and provide senses a respite before Old Man Winter comes calling.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Midwinter Quietude

(Seaforth Beach on Jordan Lake NC)

Wintry Gallimaufry

Jack Frost...without delay you must desist

From cold dance across realms, you hedonist?

Though farmland and wilds resist chill tryst,

They welcome your caress should you persist.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Ten days hence at winter solstice we reach maximum separation from restorative light of the sun.The human spirit akin the natural world suffers. Yet, if we look closely enough there’s beauty in cold, miserable, dreary and inhospitable places—pulchritude that inspires hope for brighter tomorrows in our hearts.

Wintry Gallimaufry

(On Jordan Lake NC)

Unalloyed Truth Revealed

Winter lays bare our innermost secrets

Mellowed by autumn mist—that’s gospel truth—

After summer daydreams forestalled regrets

Of spring follies as exuberance of youth.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Mist-laden, bone-chilling, hearthside winter days have a way of stripping mortal perspectives on life of woolgathering, revealing unalloyed truths inherent to bare bones of reality.

Truth Revealed

(Midwinter on Jordan Lake NC)

Source Of True Satisfaction

At times life intrudes a winding course through troubled waters into one’s best laid plans; but, great reward lies in not losing sight of day-to-day blessings along the way and then persisting on completing said passage to worthwhile waypoints of life.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Source Of True Satisfaction

(Seaforth Point on Jordan Lake NC)

On Winter's Doorstep

Heydays of summer are a distant memory and last remnants of autumn’s kaleidoscope of colors grow dim. Morning mists—like those above warm lake waters—bear witness to Mother Nature’s amenable embrace of lakeshore environs and denizens with silken respite to soothe transition to raw winter days.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Swimming Hole In Winter

(Seaforth Beach on Jordan Lake NC)

Indomitable Magnificence

Autumn splendor wanes akin whispered protest, as winter’s minions calmly lay claim tp slumbering lakeshore realms wrapped in fantasies of their indomitable magnificence.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Indomitable Magnificence

(Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC)

Road Less Travelled

In defiance of midwinter gloom

Peddled by hateful mobs preaching doom,

Take road less travelled, create headroom

And set your world fraught with doubt abloom.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Winter In Waiting

(Seaforth Peninsula Point on Jordan Lake)

Visual Rhythms

Nature in the raw and successful photographic art thereof stir mindful interest as well as emotions in the human heart. I’ve come to understand that the physical world has inherent visual rhythms. Each in its own right and in concert will affect my image making process and in turn the viewing experience of those who love and appreciate beauty rendered as works of art.

These rhythms include such things as repetition of the same feature, similar albeit alternate attention grabbers which guide the viewers interest, subtle progression of a detail from large to small when viewed with perspective in mind, and notable sights or components of subject matter that undulate up and down or weave left to right.

In the split second it takes to capture the image below, my subconscious heart-mind connection—years in the making—takes over. Camera exposure settings freeze the wake waves created by the energy of a fast-moving boat several hundred yards offshore, as the swells lap gently onto the secluded beach. Whether viewed as a first hand real world or deferred pictorial experience, the rhythmic pattern focuses attention as it progresses along the undulating shoreline. Not to be outdone in visual interest, leaf litter flotsam deposited in days past gives the eye an alternate route to the serenity created and enhanced by the repetition of strong vertical and horizontal lines that define the background strip of beach and tree stand.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Rhythms

(Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC)

Hibernal Auguries

Midwinter gloom lurks in hearts henceforward—

Aye, autumn glee grudgingly whispered farewells—

Shrouded in mists, alluring yet awkward 

For hearts desirous of light-filled bombshells.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

With the winter solstice just over two weeks away, daylight is in short supply. It’s a time when the Ides of December come calling—made plain by the anvil chorus of chilled air, brume and early nightfall. Simple gratitude for the indomitable force of nature called light has a way of funneling a silver lining into the darkest of hours.

Hibernal Auguries

(Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC)

Divine Providence

Mother Nature does her best to usher out autumn kaleidoscopes of color with long-awaited, wind-borne rains followed by crisp night airs and sunlit days. In child-like defiance, sheltered tree stands flaunt vestiges of autumn garb.

Noticeably denizens of fields and forests slow hectic autumn preparations for winter. It’s the perfect time of year for members of human communities to contemplate our spiritual nature through meditation and prayer in order to rediscover, then affirm and share forgotten, as well as newfound gifts of hope, peace, love and joy—surely inspired by divine providence.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Divine Providence

Ambivalent Phantoms

Jordan Lake...boon when built, yet caused woes—

Swamped homesteads, woods and lush meadows

Once home to New Hope River flows.

Give ear to said muddled echoes. 

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Shoreline tree skeletons with exposed roots, normally awash in wind-driven waves and boat wakes, keep silent vigil over ambivalent secrets concealed in innocent masquerade by placid lake waters.

Ambivalent Phantoms

(Seaforth Peninsula Spit on Jordan Lake NC)

Taurus Moon

The magnificent constellation Taurus dominates late-November night skies in northern latitudes. Oral traditions and recorded mythologies of various religions and cultures continue to visualize the arrangement of constellation stars as a bull.

During my late-evening excursion, I easily identify its brightest star Aldebaran as the beast’s eye and shortly spot a twinkle in plain as day approval of other heavenly bodies moving across its domain. In my mind’s eye I join and feel kinship with people, who since time immemorial stood in awe of said starlit firmament and loosed imaginations in camp fire tales and more formal explanations of their cosmos.

Tonight the planet Venus and waxing gibbous Moon move in tandem across Taurus’ starlit realm. The Taurus Moon sets wisps of clouds aglow and kindles whispered tales of mystery and intrigue among pines, tree skeletons and die-hard autumn foliage.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Taurus Moon

Alternate Reality

Mortal hearts disregard reason

When mind transcends reality,

‘Cause lying eyes shun naked truth

And feed lost sheep duplicity.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Alternate Reality

(Parallel worlds on Millbrook Pond, photo-impressionism)

Spiral Of Life

Every time I make a breakthrough in physical, mental or spiritual development, my ride on the allegorical yet ever-present wave known as the spiral of life returns my inquisitive self to significant waypoints in my life story. Said stopover permits my heart to reexamine long-held convictions and walk away with fresh takes on universal truths as well as beliefs ingrained on the first go-round.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Spiral Of Life

Autumnal Peace Of Mind

Brisk autumn winds augur mindful change.

Their fresh breath billows spiritual sails.

Just as vibrant hush warms woods on chill home range,

Said serenity eases life’s travails.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Autumnal Peace Of Mind

Autumn Swan Song

Fast days of summer free of tedium

Lie heaped upon life’s bodacious scrapheap.

Slow and lyrical moods of late autumn

Prepare heart and mind for winter’s long sleep.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Mankind’s finest efforts to control rhythms of life invariably find that our essence inextricably intertwines with and mirrors the seasons of the natural world.

Autumn Swan Song

(Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC)

Amicable Phantoms

On warm autumn days with nary a breeze disturbing the stillness of picturesque Jordan Lake environs, late afternoon strolls down sandy shorelines encourage willing hearts to commune with amicable phantoms of the lake.

Persistent lack of rain favors liberating large swathes of land—along with tangible and ethereal echoes of the past—from the benevolent comforts of said watery realm. In many places exposed sand banks lure fishers as well as water fowl and shape new shorelines with secluded coves and treed spits of land. The shore now extends as much as one hundred yards into former lake boundaries. Relics and remembrances of farms, homesteads and lives uprooted by flooding the New Hope Valley to fill the reservoir four decades ago lie exposed to wind and sun once more. Their revenant whispers carried by autumn breezes haunt adventurers on quests for relics and casual passersby alike.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Revenant Whispers

(Self-portrait, Ilija)

Magnum Opus

Autumn days seem gone in a heartbeat and increasingly yield to frigid temperatures by nightfall. Fallen leaves litter landscapes and tree skeletons take center stage in tree lines. In the final days of Indian Summer, scores of diehard tree canopies resist leaf fall and strut their defiance in warm and glowing feasts for the senses.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Magnum Opus

(Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC)