Thursday, September 25, 2025

Haunted Reverie

Lakeside reverie haunted by flashback

To elemental chaos wrought by storms,

Whose fearsome wake dropped telltale beach wrack—

Ephemeral art beneath insect swarms.


© Ilija Lukić 25


Two months after mid-July flash flooding—when lake waters rushed into shoreline woodlands before settling some ten feet above current levels—Mother Nature tries her best to settle into a laid-back autumn mood. The rust-colored tinge on trees left by muddy water bespeaks the high-water mark.


Haunted Reverie
Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC

Friday, September 12, 2025

Wholeness Of Heart

When goodness and love seem scarce far and wide

And evil boastfully rears its head,

Let the better angels within us guide

Bold wholeness of heart as a nation, instead.


© Ilija Lukić 2025


A nation with a wholeness of heart, built on muddled perfection of shared values rooted in mutual respect and social cohesion, endures the test of time.


Muddled Perfection
Hostas in autumn regalia

Saturday, September 6, 2025

Without Regret

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.


© Ilija Lukić 2025

Without Regret
Along Lower Haw River Trail near Bynum NC

Thursday, September 4, 2025

Autumn In Waiting

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


Autumn In Waiting
Haw River near Bynum NC

Monday, September 1, 2025

Illusory Tranquility

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


Unhurried Tranquility

Elderberry Splash

Rock-Ribbed Serenity
Haw River near Bynum NC