Make time to pause at life’s rockbound river,
Turn heart and soul to mindful reverie,
Wade into what-ifs and might-have-beens…linger,
But, regret naught, in light of life’s brevity.
As the sun briefly ducks behind loose cloud cover, filtered light helps to accentuate the warm hues of early autumn foliage along rocky banks and drought-weary flows of the Haw River near Bynum NC. A tell-tale russet coloration on vegetation next to the river course is a grim reminder of the muddy torrents of early summer floodwaters. The river surged some 25 feet above current levels, ripped century-old trees from their bouldered river bank perches and shaped new channels.
The river and its environs are a metaphor of life. I close eyes and open my heart to its teachings. Go with the flow it gurgles, persist in the face of inevitable change…for only a bold heart will successfully navigate life’s rapids.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Our "100 Days of Summer" end in unhurried albeit illusory tranquility here in the Carolinas. Long, sweltering Dog Days of Summer have given way to near fall-like sunrise-to-sunset temperatures. Elderberry bushes are in full bloom and fill late summer airs with pleasant aromas. However, deepening drought conditions linger.
Vegetation is in survival mode and early leaf fall bespeaks dire conditions. Where early summer floodwaters on the Haw River wreaked havoc more than a month ago, rock-strewn riverbeds challenge meager flows.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
While hot summer days take pause, hold their breath,
Parched trees survive on memories of rain.
Their thirsty pleas bemoan Earth’s dance of death
And pine for angel tears to end drought’s reign.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
From essence muddled by a life well-lived.
Distilled by resolute human heart
And given wing into eternity
By man’s everlasting soul,
Our triumphs and backwash in pursuit
Of meaning and purpose in daily life
Become etched onto eternal pages
Of collective consciousness and legend.
In said timeless realm, in perpetuity,
Mortals realize immortality.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Dogwood croons uncensored refrain,
Woodland chorus chimes in with zest,
Springtide spellbinds earthly domain—
Enchantment spilled at God’s behest.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
For the time being…Mother Nature throws hearts embarked on flights of fancy rapt in springtide nostalgia off balance, by insisting we take a joyride aboard her latest weather rollercoaster. Arctic airs and sweltering, summer-like embraces take turns in muddling the ebb and flow of our emotions.
It’s time to thrust aside any lingering solace of hiémal dreams—to stop hitting that late winter snooze button—and allow tides of the heart to lift living souls into another season of renewal.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Unjust blame strains heart
Forgiveness lightens burdens—
Bear hug seals friendship
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Keep in mind days of wine and roses,
When life seems darkest at death’s door.
It’s by design life juxtaposes
The good with bad and ugly, once more.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Connect with nature at sunrise,
Let your heart renew strength and soar.
Childlike, hail dead of night’s demise—
Her dark dungeons hold sway no more.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Anguish torments hearts
Solace springs from quietude—
Restores flesh and soul
© Ilija Lukić 2025
When heart brims with joy,
Each beat wakes strong emotions—
Passion fuels courage.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Should I heed past experience and "beware the Ides of March" or allow expectations of imminent springtide beauty to take center stage?
A meander through waning snows in the winter wood helps to shelve memories of the drama and havoc wreaked by winter weather. As it happens, in my heart the good memories about Old Man Winter and his minions invariably prevail.
Revenge consumes hearts
Forgiveness calms hard feelings
Turn the other cheek
© Ilija Lukić
Change adds spice to life
Inner dragons urge self-doubt
Fellowship stills qualms
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Life changes stress mind,
Till soul takes courage to heart—
Upheaval spawns growth.
© Ilija Lukić
Countless herring gulls molt heavily in January and February, while they overwinter on Jordan Lake in Central North Carolina. Wrack lines of down accent rocky lakefronts and gossamer whispers of plumage cover adjacent grassy knolls.
As this new year unfolds into spring, it's time to take my feathered friends' annual rejuvenation to heart and reflect on my life's path. Shedding worn out, useless habits and soul-damaging influences in order to mindfully renew spirit-centered beginnings is the first step towards meaningful change—letting my revived, authentic self lead the charge into the last quarter-century of my life journeys.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Hard knocks color life
Be bold lion not cowed lamb
Learn to love thunder
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Eventide spills peace
Sunset blaze stays veil of night—
World's in harmony
© Ilija Lukić 2025
Every now and then when I experience a spectacular sunset, my heart connects with the lyrical poem Pippa’s Song by Robert Browning. It encourages optimism, celebrates simplicity, beauty, harmony and our kinship with the natural world. I gratefully acknowledge inspiration for my haiku by his oft quoted line, “God’s in his Heaven—All’s right with the world!” from his broader 1841 verse drama Pippa Passes.
The verse drama takes the reader through the impact of virtues like optimism in helping us persevere through life’s challenges. It’s also a mindful monograph about allowing child-like innocence into our lives. The latter may seem at odds with the complexities of the modern world, where we are taught to guard against naivety and vulnerability. Yet, when we embrace the world openheartedly with the innocence of a child, we come to understand more intimately how simple the deepest secrets of existence really are.
Arid lands, short-grass prairies and immense wide-open spaces of New Mexico’s high plains indulge needs for solitude to recharge spiritual growth and recenter life’s journey. The quietude liberates heart and soul. The ambiance inspires poetry, introspection and personal growth.
In countless places the Llano Estacado plateau spills arroyos into dry creek beds, often the only landmarks for intrepid travelers of bygone days across the featureless expanse of grasses and cacti. While eyes lock onto and follow the winding ribbon of sunbaked sandflows artistry in one of the dry watercourses, my heart soars and spirit wings towards the avowed boundless horizon.
By nightfall my more earthbound nature feels at ease and in rapport with a lone roadrunner’s effortless passage through rough-hewn silhouettes of thorny tree cholla that reach into a fiery sunset. Such connections with the natural world nourish my essence. When all is said and done, they are sustenance my heart and soul crave.
© Ilija Lukic 2025
With bated breath from my armchair
I watched a snowflake dance on air,
From here to there, without a care—
Sublime, yet bold like trumpet blare.
Ere long mind’s eye scans a sea of grass,
Flat-topped mesas, playas en masse,
Where hawks soar high above bear grass
And the Spirit of truth comes to pass.
Does breath of life teem with stardust?
Why am I here…what’s my life’s thrust?
How should I live…as not to rust?
Should I succumb to wanderlust?
Like swift fox stalking on the sly,
While lark exalts timeless blue sky.
Where boundless plain endures bone dry,
Till monsoon rain halts hue and cry.
There sandhill cranes roost in salt lakes,
Mid bison grunts chase ducks and drakes.
While pronghorn graze mid thorns and snakes,
Coyotes prowl in Caprock Breaks.
Be still my soul, enjoy said flight
Especially on starlit night,
When crescent Moon bathed in earthlight
Slows wheel of time—oh, sheer delight.
© Ilija Lukić 2025
