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
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
Light wanes pleasingly,
Hush invites nightfall refrains—
Heartstring lullabies.
© Ilija Lukić 202
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
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
My soul soars as sight
Of snowy peak buoys glum heart—
Hushed lake paves the way.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
'Cause life plays for keeps,
Fear not, storm-tossed roots run deep—
Keep the faith, baby!
© Ilija Lukić 2024
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
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.
