Stillness Of Soul

River strums heartstrings

Life draws breath mid soft cascade

Stillness sustains soul

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Peace Of Mind
(Lower Haw River Natural Area near Bynum NC USA)

Biding Time

Tail-wagger stalks birds 

Fine feathered flock takes playful flight

Man’s best friend bides time

© Ilija Lukić 2021

When gray skies, chilled airs and daylong rains drive wildlife into shelter, Cooper keeps playful pursuits under pinking skies alive in mind’s eye.

Biding Time
(Cooper in Mary Holmes Park in Pittsboro NC USA)

Shadow In The Rough

When reality no longer dictates the decisions we make and actions we take, then illusion becomes the master of our existence. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Shadow In The Rough
(self-portrait at Lower Haw River Natural Area - photo impressionism)

Life In The Slow Lane

As Cooper and I meander through mist-laden Eastern Piedmont Plateau woodlands near Pittsboro, North Carolina, I catch a glimpse of a benevolent dog muzzle image on a lichen-covered rock face. I cannot resist a closer look and discover a slug feasting on the lichen. It inches across the surface. Tonight when temperatures drop below freezing with light snow in the forecast, it will surely find a cozy retreat in the duff. Life is good.

Mind moves on swift wings

Heart prefers life at snail’s pace

Haste curbs peace of mind

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Life In The Slow Lane
(foliose lichen - photo impressionism)

Peace Of Mind

Life is made of moments. Allow the good to write memories upon your heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Lower Haw River Natural Area
(Bynum NC USA)

Wayward Malevolence

Pained hue and cry pervades beloved homeland.

Displeasure born of widespread malfeasance

Calls for steadfast strength of mind, not glad hand,
To repudiate said malevolence.

When turmoil weighs heavy on the human spirit, nature’s magnificence sheds light upon principled pathway through dark recesses of heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Eminent Magnificence
(Bracket Mushrooms)

Philosophers' Stone

In wordless discourse nature makes known elusive verses of her flawed perfection—cornerstones, that ease mortal coil, enlighten soul and open heart to heavenly bliss.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Philosphers' Stone

Voiceless Pandemonium

Cooper and I meander down woodland trails. He stays in touch with his wild side, while I calm mind, refresh spirit and get lost in thought. I am especially mindful of frost heave and quagmires recent freeze-thaw cycles continue to squish across our passage. While off the beaten path and under the spell of quietude, I become aware of a surprising number of treeless slopes and hollows. The whys and wherefores strike doleful heartstrings. 

Eventually we happen upon a gnarly oak on secluded Rock Springs Church grounds. The imposing skeleton and leafless canopy strikes an attitude of defiance, yet speaks softly of bittersweet dirges in the churchyard cemetery. I take a moment to understand the whispers of winter winds in its bare branches. In mind’s eye the old oak endures as worthy allegory of voiceless pandemonium—the silent outcry by Mother Nature against indiscriminate deforestation.

Hue and cry raised from public podium 

Laments bare hollows where trees once stood. 

Thus highlights voiceless pandemonium 

Within thunderous quietude of the wood.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Voiceless Pandemonium

Piedmont Kraken

Lend ear, my friends and let mind’s eye open a portal into olden days.

While gathered around crackling fires in mead halls, Viking storytellers (skalds) fill long winter evenings with fearsome tales of the mighty Kraken. In reverent voice they whisper how this creature of nightmares rises from the depths of storm-tossed seas to loose death and destruction. Even intrepid seafarers tremble in dread of its tentacles sinking ships and crews into treacherous maelstroms of sea waters.

Over the centuries the Kraken and such trials and tribulations fade from human consciousness. However, recent sightings of tentacles in mist-laden Carolina woodlands uphold rumors, that Kraken have abandoned the briny deep in favor of forested realms. They live disguised as mischievous spirits of the wood making their home in aerial roots eager to trip unsuspecting wayfarers. A new legend is born. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Piedmont Kraken

Woodland Terpsichorean

From time immemorial humans have found enchantment in the embrace of woodlands. Shadowed echoes of lighthearted bird singsong and chilling bobcat screams summon to mind age-old tales of both the light and dark side of human nature. A walk in the wild lets us get in touch with our primal self. Sunlit moss and lichen-covered aerial roots lighten apprehensive moods in whimsical dances across leaf litter. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Woodland Terpsichorean
(Aerial roots)

Alpha And Omega

Daylong drizzle dampens moods on the eastern reaches of the Piedmont Plateau. In defiance of the raw weather, first Jonquils of this winter season encourage optimism and inspire reflection. It’s a good time to peruse the pages of our lives, shed baggage weighing on our hearts and resolve to a life well-lived.

My lifetime dawned on amber-strewn seashore.

Born to globe-trot, with time to catch my breath 

And gain enlightenment on life’s dance floor. 

Lend heart to life well-lived, not dance of death. 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Indomitable Realists
(Narcissus jonquil aka Jonquil or Brush Daffodil)

Ghost Of Bison Past

After days of arctic cold, ambient temperature moderates into the forties. Wished-for snows have not come to pass. Cloudless skies and brisk airs invite an early afternoon ramble through woodland quietude.

Low-hanging sun casts long shadows across leaf litter. The play of light and shadow invites imagination to take flight into days of yore, where American Bison still roam the Piedmont Plateau. Time and again silence of the wood cedes dominion to the thunder of their cloven hooves, rumbling male bellows during mating season and anxious bleating of calves away from their mother.

In mind’s eye I return to their heyday. Millions roam our continent. My heart is heavy as I pay homage to the iconic beasts at a decaying tree stump shaped like a bovine skull—a fitting allegory of their disgraceful near extermination.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Ghost Of Bison Past
(photo impressionism)

Wintertide

With bated breath Old Man Winter spent autumn on boreal throne. As he readies for a full-blown return into the Carolinas, his aloof moans of displeasure with lingering fall colors hitch a ride on southbound winds.

North wind’s ice-cold minions tussle tree tops.

Their raw breath chills man and beast to the bone.

Bar none, life longs for spring among Sundrops,

Yet gives thumbs up to Jack Frost’s wintry tone.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Old Man Winter

Choosing Oblivion

Meandering through nearly leafless woodland, I chance upon a motley scattering of leaves flashing winks of approval for their designated role in the fabric of time. I ponder their place on the wheel of life and consignment to oblivion within leaf litter on the forest floor. Turning deaf ear to downhearted musings my heart proposes about such divine decree, I allow mind's eye to explore upbeat parallels in my life by not dwelling on ghosts of lifetime past.

Weather-beaten, out of mind, left behind

Clinging to bare branch of ancestral tree,

Unremembered, yet warily I bear in mind,

When by design oblivious, I'm free!

With many moments of our lives willfully shared, surreptitiously tracked, needlessly documented and often exploited electronically, choosing oblivion to slow accelerating pandemonium of contemporary society unshackles introspection and gives breathing room to the waning art of eye to eye interaction. Such ventures nurture the best qualities of humanity.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Ghosts Of Lifetime Past

Choosing Oblivion

Swan Song

With tender gestures autumn bids goodbye.

Soft-hued ambiance whispers fond so long
Midst lighthearted quietus and thereby
Brightens spirit with uplifting swan song.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Swan Song

Peace Of Mind

Cooper and I step out for a quick outing into 25-degree airs at the crack of dawn. Touches of frost on grasses and leaf litter bear out the chilled breath of early winter. While Cooper takes a look-see, I surrender senses to the quietude. In short order the nippy conditions call for a retreat to the comforts of home, where before long I wax poetic.

Beaver Moon lights night

Hearth smoke drifts on calm night air

Pause, feel peace of mind

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Peace Of Mind
(Cooper on woodland trail near Pittsboro NC USA)

Different Drummer

Peoples of the Carolinas look forward to autumn. We appreciate foggy mornings and mist-laden lakes, delight in brisk night airs and brilliantly sunny days followed by periods of soaking rains, enjoy romps through kaleidoscopes of leaf litter, love reliving childhood fantasies in corn mazes and pumpkin patches, enjoy the blessings of family Thanksgiving get-togethers inspire and relish anticipation of year end celebrations such as Hannukah, Christmas and the ringing in of the new year—all in out of the ordinary fashion this time around due to health concerns over the viral pandemic sweeping the world.

Autumn allows breathing space to reflect on life and give the dances within your heart free rein, especially if the rhythms of the music betoken homage to that fabled yet elusive different drummer.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Different Drummer

Cardinal Braggadocio

Winds of change in woodland spell relief

From boastful chitter-chatter of songster

Flaunting red plumage in sheer disbelief

That his fine tunes may not postpone winter.

Granted he has eased his boisterous song

Until springtide sets his heart aflutter,

But he’s not ready to surrender headlong

The backwoods to Old Man Winter’s bluster.

Thus he emboldens fine feathered cohort

To escapades of mischief in the wood,

To bring about, nay blatantly exhort

Goodwill to ease bleak wintering solitude.

On reflection, his showboating prevails,

When aligned with uproar by feathered tails.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Quiet Braggadocio
(Cardinalis cardinalis aka Northern Cardinal in woodlands neat Pittsboro NC USA)

Crimson Baldachin

Not to be outdone by bronze or gold baldachins in majestic European cathedrals, ornamental silks and gold brocades above thrones and even extravagant canopies over beds of royalty and the well-to-do, breathtakingly backlit woodland spreads of autumn foliage lift up the soul—amazing grace.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Crimson Baldachin

Last Dance - Foliaceous Folly

Autumn’s last dance wakes primal awe and joy.

Few bare branches now quiver crimson leaves.

Where spider webs catch the light, duck old boy,

For said silk across face much dread achieves.

© Ilija Lukić 2020

Pennies From Heaven

Foliaceous Folly