Old Man Winter defies vernal rebirth,
With frosted breath sends hush ‘cross hill and vale,
Refuses sweet goodbyes for what it’s worth
And looses raw cohorts, springtide to derail.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
The stretch of days preceding spring tend to be a rollercoaster ride of weather extremes stirring a wide range of sentiment in mortal hearts inclined to reverie.
A few days ago with camera in hand, I meander down Jordan Lake shorelines and discover broad bands of Loblolly pine cones, straw and bark nuggets along with deciduous leaf litter swept onto beaches by late-January storms. I pause in my visual treasure hunt to ponder the beauty and drama. To make a long story short, I realize a connection to this storm-tossed trove of meaningful balderdash—it's life in a nutshell.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Gelid airs loose grip
Springtide stands by in the wings
Motley moods take hold
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Our January thaw continues under somber skies and temperature in the mid-seventies. At Jordan Lake a widespread, thin sheet of shoreline ice has vanished. However, mood-lifting blue skies and sunshine are not in the cards.
Now and again take time to cogitate,
Chew over best laid plans and ruminate,
But, have soul's sacred shadow mediate
Ere spilling gut instincts worth pieces of eight.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Pine straw flotsam, battered driftwood and sand piled high by storm surge overwash speak of nature’s furies yet tenderly embrace the weathered bench at a favorite hiking waypoint and meditation site at Jordan Lake.
Slow-rise flood speaks of memorable drama
And aftermath flaunts captive audience,
Who out of the blue welcome showy trauma—
Water drowns winter blues with eloquence.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Chaos grips world spheres
Secrets come to light darkly
Awareness drives change
© Ilija Lukić 2024
The next Blood Moon will illuminate night skies darkly in mid-March next year. To some, a disturbing sight that portends doom. To others, the celestial drama provides moments of awesome spiritual as well as science-driven wonder. And then, there are those who will engage in age-old conventions of self-examination—mindful illumination of dark recesses in our hearts to drive meaningful change in our lives.
Times of chaos one must embrace,
To calm throes of uncertainty
And help keep heart and soul’s focus
On velvet waters of eternity.
© Ilija Lukić 2023
At daybreak in fourteen degree temperatures, Old Man Winter’s minion revels in single digit windchills at the shores of gelid Jordan Lake waters. With the forecast high just above thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, water and shoreline denizens settle in for several more days of raw weather conditions. Snowfall has yet to make an appearance on these eastern reaches of the Piedmont in North Carolina.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Repeated rain runoff strains the capacity of Jordan Lake and nowadays spills into shoreline woodlands. The ephemeral wetlands range from soggy footing to ankle and hip deep pools. Reflecting pools add drama to shadowplay by backlit tree skeletons during daybreak hours. Said dreamscape rouses easily understood yet age-old infatuation with Mother Nature’s mysteries.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Successive rain storms leave in their wake more than a barrelful of Adam’s Ale. Without doubt guided by divine touch, the liquid spills across midwinter landscapes with the intention of providing solace for the human soul and quenching ravages of drought.
Just a few weeks ago I meandered on sandy Jordan Lake beaches and playfully traversed exposed shoals. The Seaforth Peninsula Spit in the near background—a favorite waypoint in day hikes—is now fully submerged and chest waders are must to walk wooded shorelines.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
See how dawn’s first blush resembles
A coy young woman’s countenance,
As she with amorous mind's eye
Relives first youthful dalliance.
Which, later set ablaze and sweetened,
By fiery sunset ambiance,
Led to desirous kiss goodnight
That sealed said rosy dawn of love
With passion born of famed first glance.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Mortal hearts suffer away from the wonders of the natural world. When humans are in harmony with nature and embrace the peace that flows by the grace of God, our Earth—a microcosm of the universe—becomes a place that fulfills dreams and delights hearts. The calmness of body, mind and spirit that grows through said relationship transcends understanding. Learn to trust the power of God’s peace.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
With time childhood innocence turned streetwise,
Life in clover stroked psyche in my prime,
In the twilight of life I realize
I’m just one wrinkle in the sands of time.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Lake rests in silence
Gelid ecstasy sways heart
Cold breeze steels prudence
© Ilija Lukić 2024
In Icelandic Old Norse poetry and prose—collectively known as Eddas—the god of frost giants named Aurgelmir lived in realms like Iceland where to this day fire meets ice. The more or less yearly eruptions, in the island’s Fagradasfjall Volcano System about 20 miles from the capital, inspire reverie about frost giants traversing lava flows in their icy Niflheim realm.
Video of a fissure eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula two weeks ago stirred daydreams wrapped in Norse mythology—and volilà, here’s a photo-impressionist rendering of mind’s eye rendezvous between reality and Norse lore.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Hope draws breath
With each beat of mortal heart
And by design rousts upbeat embers
From life’s ashes of despair.
Gently at first,
Then with resolute kick start,
Delivers final blow to gloom
And wakes lion-hearted soul
With bold trumpet blare.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
During the bleakest days of midwinter, the annual flowering of our Christmas Cactus serves as gentle yet lionhearted reminder of the indomitable human spirit in search of brighter tomorrows.
Visual arts—such as paintings and photographs—allow the artist to capture the primordial energy that illuminates ripples in the fabric of time and space at the moment said folds gather aesthetically in one place to bring into being a meaningful moment. Ever so briefly, the click of camera shutter or stroke of artist's brush across canvas defies the laws of nature and tames the ever-rolling river of time.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
