Life Unchained

Fear dims throbbing heart,
Till facts lighten troubled soul
And still fickle mind.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Autumn Dawning - Life Unchained

Cooper's Cove on Jordan Lake NC

Memory Lanes

Our Christmas cactus set buds and blooms early this year and reflects my upbeat mood about living in the greatest county in the world...America. A son of immigrants, I feel blessed beyond measure to be a citizen—free to pursue dreams and opportunities—one of which was 30 years of service to our Nation in the United States Air Force.

While I reflect about life, a sixty-degree late-autumn day beckons heart and soul to indulge an itch for sunlit adventure down nearby woodland trails. Before leaving, I make time to kick back in a favorite easy chair and reminisce about bygone days and sources of inspiration.

Memorabilia on a chess table, built by a friend and cabinet maker in New Mexico, hints at some of my lifelong interests and affections.

They include: Winterkill, a novel by C.J. Box—an American author introduced to me by my friend Dee Burton; two vintage issues of National Geographic Magazine—August and September of 1949—which still buoy my lifelong love of travel and photography; and an Ansel Adams photo collection in a hardcover book gifted by my daughter Lea on one of my birthdays. Adams' photography of the Yosemite Valley, American Southwest and his philosophy of making pictures continues to inspire my photography.

To help wrap up my trip down memory lanes, pinned by one of my favorite cameras, lie several magazines. Their images and cover lines stir echoes of our days in New Mexico—a land of enchanted vistas and mixing bowl of cultures, with tenacious people, vibrant art and a future laden with optimism and endless possibilities. Their pages spill reminders of adventure and give rise to a yearning…bury my heart in New Mexico!

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Liking Life

Brave souls caught between a rock and hard place,

Held captive by slings and arrows of life,

Leave no stone unturned and with zest embrace

Liking their journey despite throes and strife. 

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Liking Life 

Rock disk lichen in riparian zone along Lower Haw River Trail

The leaf litter caught in a crevice of lichen-covered stone inspired my poem. These lichens like sunshine and tend to find the sunniest spots in a forest. They form a crust-like body that clings to the stone substrate and are usually a shade of gray with raised, black fruiting bodies—the green coloration is purely artistic license.

Deliverance

Clear glum heart and mind

With a walk in autumn woods—

Life off the beaten path.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Mission accomplished whisper leaves and pine straw set free to inspire wayfarers as each write the next chapter of their never-ending saga in the circle of life.

Deliverance

River Of No Return

Yes, life is a river of no return

That yearns for calm folds of eternity,

Where cascades come to be gentle nocturne

And ragged souls gain peace and harmony.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

River Of No Return

Haw River Natural Area near Bynum NC

Heaven's Gate

Autumn songs and colors abound of late,

They gird hearts for a peek through heaven’s gate,

Fresh reverie reigns twenty-four seven—

Like walking on air, in seventh heaven.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

In Seventh Heaven

Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC

Life Force

Shadows prompt fanfare,

When sunbursts unleash forces

That slow their demise

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Life Force

Self-portrait of Shadow Man cast across lakeshore sand ripples

Burdens Shrugged

Mindful communion between heart, mind and soul finds creative outlet in catching sight of and then perpetuating the artistry of light, shadow and ripples of time. Said visual poetry of spirit and light—meant to appeal to both senses and mind, as well as provide solace—engages passions and even heals physical and mental ailments spawned by traumas of life. 

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Burdens Shrugged (photo impressionism)

(Sand waves on Jordan Lake beach left in wake of shoreline flooding)

Autumn Rains

Dark skies weigh on heart, 

Autumn rains refresh the soul

Wind whispers, amen.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Autumn Rains

Haw River at Old Highway 15 bridge in Bynum NC

Autumn-In-Waiting

Autumn meanders into hill and dale

Without fanfare, although with bated breath;

She readies heartstrings, waiting to exhale—

With gaiety paints summer’s dance of death.

Dreams of harmony mid blossoms of spring

And summer’s dazzling skies her heart compel,

To dance ‘cross Earth realms, rejoice in last fling,

With one eye on life come winter’s hushed spell.

She holds dear the season’s waning sunshine,

Gladly bathes in warm hues of morning light,

Lets her soul spill joy unto swamped shoreline

And speak of hope in times of wretched plight.

Autumn’s eye-catching drama—hit-or-miss—

Fills human heart and soul with divine bliss.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Havoc wrought by hurricane Helene continues to plague lands and people here in the Carolinas. Washed out highways and byways slow recovery efforts. The brunt of the tropical storm spared our neighborhoods; although the effects of copious rains, blustery winds and scattered tornados mark her passage northward. As waters in rain-swollen lakes and streams recede, tranquil ephemeral pools in shoreline woodlands whisper encouragement and speak of hope…this too shall pass.

Early Autumn Daybreak

Seaforth Peninsula at Jordan Lake NC

Liquid Rendezvous

Mid-afternoon at Jordan Lake NC sizzles in muggy, 97-degree temperatures. A northeasterly breeze ripples lake waters and eases the oppressive heat with lively dances through shoreline woodlands. As drought conditions across our state deepen, stray summer thunder showers take the edge off anguish over parched farmlands and city neighborhoods

The sequestered confluence of the New Hope River and Haw River lies at the southernmost reaches of an idyllic sixteen-mile expanse of lake waters. A flood control dam near this watersmeet tamed the rivers, captured their torrents and eventually shaped Jordan Lake. With an average depth of 14 feet it’s a shallow reservoir, yet it’s quarter-million, acre-feet of water augment numerous municipal waterworks.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Irresistible Enchantment

Vistas from ranger station overlook at Jordan Lake Dam near confluence of Haw and New Hope River

Eternity Laid Bare

Mind simple pleasures of road less traveled

And glimpses of heaven on hushed lakeshores,

Then life’s troubles won’t leave you unraveled

And peace of mind gained a frayed soul restores.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Eternity Laid Bare

Cooper's Cove on Jordan Lake NC

Timeworn Legacy

In the 1950s half a million tobacco barns dotted the North Carolina landscape. Once landmarks in the five tobacco belts across our state, these days fewer than ten percent still stand—many re-purposed, yet weathered reminders of heydays for a shrinking industry.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Timeworn Legacy

Along Rock Spring Church Road near Pittsboro NC

Day's End Reverie

Light wanes pleasingly,

Hush invites nightfall refrains—

Heartstring lullabies.

© Ilija Lukić 202

Day's End Reverie

Sundown on Haw River near Bynum NC (c. 2016)

Elixir Of Life

When famed river of life makes waves,

Enjoy the ride, but don’t forgo

Rocking the boat, now and again.

Give free rein to bold adventures.

Create your own rhythms of life—

Your ebb and flow of existence.

Should your best laid plans go awry,

Freely bear the brunt of life’s tides.

Never say die, domineer them!

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Elixir Of Life

Haw River near Bynum NC

Circle Of Life

It’s late September near the banks of the Running Water Draw north of Clovis, New Mexico. Sacred beasts reverently referred to as tasiwóo in Comanche tribal lore graze peacefully as in days of yore. Rambunctious reddish brown calves prance playfully through shoulder-high vegetation, chasing grasshoppers and butterflies. The only sounds are tender grunts of their mothers confirming their safety and whereabouts. In their heyday numberless herds roamed vast seas of Great Plains grasslands.

A resurgence of wildflowers adds summer moods to the autumnal tranquility of the vast Llano Estacado plateau. Passing clouds briefly shade the sun-drenched prairie and amplify the spiritual aura of these imposing icons of the American West—they are bison bison aka American bison or American buffalo.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Circle Of Life

Two By Two

Stroke Of Serendipity

My soul soars as sight

Of snowy peak buoys glum heart—

Hushed lake paves the way.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Trillium Lake

Mt Hood National Forest OR

Roots

'Cause life plays for keeps,

Fear not, storm-tossed roots run deep—

Keep the faith, baby!

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Ebenezer Church Shores on Jordan Lake NC

Hope Against Hope

Stay bound and determined to fulfill goals.

They’re seminal milestones in strands of time,

Even when ventures run aground in shoals

And hope against hope is the paradigm.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Hope Against Hope

Ebenezer Church Point shoreline on Jordan Lake NC

Despair Foiled

Human heart despairs,

When tides of time test patience—

Let soul point the way.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Jordan Lake lies in a Triassic era rift basin and its shoreline shows distinct features of Hyco Formation bedrock. It's of volcanic and sedimentary origins.

Some 600-million years ago much of Central North Carolina, parts of Georgia and a small part of Virginia were an arc of volcanic islands. Now known as the Carolinia Terrane, this island arc was near to or a part of ancestral South America and African Gondwana continents before drifting into the North America tectonic plate. This collision, some 300-million years ago, pushed up and formed the Appalachian Mountains to our west.

Timeworn Serenity

Ebenezer Church Point on Jordan Lake NC

Me And My Shadows

When dogged by dark times,

Adapt, bring to knees all gloom—

You know who you are.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Me And My Shadows

(Ilija on day of 2024 solar eclipse; photo by Melanie Lukić)

Life's Gateways

Weary souls mark time,

Till hearts open new doorways—

Mind cedes means and time.

© Ilija Lukić 2024

Thirty days after the spring equinox, summer-like temperatures and azure skies invite exploration of a few miles along the tortuous 180-mile Jordan Lake shoreline. I affectionately call the ecosystem spanning riparian woodlands, sandy westward beaches and rugged eastern sandstone banks my stomping ground.

Every venture into said wilds, while afoot or later in mind’s eye, takes me through physical as well as perceived and ponderable gateways into the natural world and life itself. With rare exception even brief immersions deliver on promises of adventure, but also gains in knowledge and spiritual enlightenment for this agreeable mortal.

Life's Gateway

(Ebenezer Point on Jordan Lake NC, monochrome)