Autumn Song

While spring abides faint remembrance

And summer greenery fades cheerfully,

Autumn song bears cornucopia of hope

In furtherance of spirit for winter slumber.

 © Ilija Lukić 2016

Autumn Song
(Haw River near Bynum, North Carolina)

Haw River Lullaby

Awesome Wonder

Rapt, I cast eyes upon celestial sphere,

Fine cricket song fills late-summer night,

Half Moon hangs akin bright chandelier

Even as city lights pale canopy of starlight.

My heart celebrates in awesome wonder

And my soul soars in reverent adoration.

The universe resounds with starlit praise

Oh, my Lord God, how great Thou art!

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Celestial Sphere

Wild At Heart

A modest blush adorns her weary face

Her timid mood belies once youthful vigor

Her essence longs for life of faster pace

Her heart craves dances worthy of wild river

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Wild At Heart
(Haw River in late summer north of Pittsboro, North Carolina)

Butterfly Kisses

Oh, renown aerialist alight in peace

Near the end of your summer journey,

Your carefree days of delightful dance

And butterfly kisses on wild rose briar,

Where amid wood and flowered meadow

You give time without end new meaning,

Find seventh heaven in ambrosia flows

And abide your destiny on the circle of life

As enduring paladin of flowers far and wide

Devoted to beauty under celestial sphere.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Butterfly Kisses
(Eastern Tiger Swallowtail)

Sons Of Perseus

One hour past midnight I'm out and about woodland environs on a steamy Carolina night. I pursue the sons of Perseus who rivet mortal attention to their annual August escapades across starlit skies above the Piedmont Plateau. Lend ear and let your imagination soar.

Tree frogs chirp love songs

Sultry airs envelop witching hours

Perseids shower the Milky Way

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Roads Of Old To Santa Fe

When sun-drenched prairie

denies moments of respite

And cactus candelabras

Bode grim trails ahead,

Find repose in scant shade

Which loiters under chollas,

Those paragons of solitude

And winsome mile markers,

On roads of old to Santa Fe.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Llano Shade Trees
(Rockin' R Ranch near Broadview NM)

River Dance

A train of thunderstorms barreled across Chatham County last night. The torrential rains are a good start to drought relief. Today sultry Carolina summer days continue. More rain is in the forecast. Just before sundown I stop at the Old Bynum Bridge just north of our neighborhood. Muddy waters dance joyously below the aging concrete span. The lively mood of the rain-swollen Haw River belies the stifling humidity which typifies dog days of summer. I long to shake summer lethargy on purposeful strolls in cool autumn evenings.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

River Dance

Sissipawhaw Memories

Prior to settlement of the Carolinas by Europeans, native cultures fished, hunted and farmed in this area for more than 10,000 years. A man-made lake now fills some of their realm in the lower New Hope Valley. On this cloudy winter afternoon elegant reflections of clouds across lake waters lift my winter-weary spirits and conjure mindful deference to their story. The memory of one such tribe lost to history lingers on the winds moving across the rolling hills, tawny rivers and dense woodlands of their ancient homeland. I lend ear to their hushed whispers—Sissipawhaw.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Sissipawhaw Memories

Gild The Lily

Summertide sizzles

Sultry affections hold sway

Butterfly gilds the lily

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Gild The Lily

Midsummer Daydreams

God's Whispers

Hear God’s whispers
Borne on primordial
Songs of the universe
Until spilled as rain
Into parched tablelands
And sky lake reflections
Of His sublime grace.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Sky Lake
(Cooper on the Llano Estacado east of Clovis, New Mexico USA)

Shout For Joy

Shout For Joy
(Day Lilies)

Divine Intervention

As sunset skies spill Water of Life

My soul thirsts for the Divine River

An encounter with the Most High

And discovers quite unexpectedly

That fireflies carry in their lanterns

Bits of the Light meant for my heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Water Of Life

Acts Of God

Firebolts dance among argent vapors

Primeval glow sets timberlands ablaze

Ethereal clouds come to be liquid silver

As ancient mysteries visit vernal woods.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Touching Eternity

Wax Poetic

Poetry lays bare the poet's deepest endeavors of self-discovery; yet, once penned remains incomplete until written upon another naked heart and soul.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Less Is More

Life Unchained

Sunset lingers unhurried

By human rush of emotion,

While eventide ushers in

Dulcet harmonies of night.

Reason dismisses reprieve

Through awesome wonder,

While spirit takes meaning

From wisdom writ on high.

Cherished blaze mellows

Fearful torrents of confusion

And inspires keen yearning

For the rare life unchained.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Chocolate Rush

Life Unchained

Tranquility

Day fades in quietude

Hushed wings ensure tranquility

Mist settles across holler

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Misty Holler

One Heart

Let us reach across rocky rivers

And climb fearlessly into the sun

Leave shores ripe with naysayers

Charge our hearts to beat as one.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

One Heart
(Haw River in springtime near Bynum, North Carolina USA)

Purposeful Passage

Always meander like a tenacious river
Down your rock-strewn course of life
With your heart urged by bold rhythms
To purposeful passage into the Light.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Purposeful Passage
(Haw River south of Bynum, North Carolina)

Eventide Soliloquy

Abide the river wild—

It speaks age-old truths— 
Where starlight essence
Achieves liquid incarnation
And as elixir of life eternal
Reveals the face of God.

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Green Mansion

Vernal Homily

Daylight spills last whispers

River sweeps o'er rocks by design

Clarity buoys heart and mind

© Ilija Lukić 2016

Haw River Homily