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)

Winds Of Change

When wanton winds

Harass our lives,

Should we bend knee

And kowtow to their rule

Or hold dear in our heart of hearts

God-given, inalienable truths

That strike sonorous note

In bold defiance of upheaval—

Lest we forget...

Who we Americans innately are?

© Ilija Lukić 2023

In defiance of drought and receding water levels, shoreline aquatic reeds and grasses at Jordan Lake dance joyously on exposed sand banks to merciless tunes of brisk autumn winds.

Winds Of Change

(photo impressionism)

Divine Rhapsodies

Meandering walks along lake shorelines encourage the soul to indulge in blessings of the natural world. Said clearly mellow escapades, given half a chance, go far towards absolving one’s troubled heart and mind of meaningless anxiety that unwittingly slows indispensable spiritual endeavors.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Divine Rhapsody

(Seaforth Peninsula Spit on Jordan Lake NC)

Mystical Brume

Lake rests silently

Winter’s breath sets lake mists free

Treed shore welcomes brume

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Mystical Brume

(Cooper's Cove at Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC)