Three Miles High

Heart longs for escape,

Silver wings plow azure skies:

Joy dwells on cloud nine.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Creative Smudges

In mind’s eye life endeavors clarity

And bold paths taken motivate success.

Yet, peace of mind remains a rarity,

Till life’s creative smudges coalesce.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Creative Smudges

Prairie Harmonies

Discover the music

In windswept prairie straw,

Hear echoes of solitude

In hawk’s call on high,

Let these age-old melodies

Reach into your heart

And connect your spirit

To songs of the universe.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Arrowfeather Trail
(Cooper on Llano Estacado in Eastern New Mexico USA)

Perilous Course

Judgment adrift in polluted cloud realm

Finds eager purveyors of varnished truth;

Lets fuss about the trivial grab wit’s helm

Disguised and sold as hip volumes of sooth.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

True to its latin epithet the Foxglove Tree flower (paulownia tomentosa) aka Princess Tree is “covered in hairs.”

Varnished Truth

Spiritual Evolution

Soul thrives on pure heart

Encouraged by God’s embrace:

Said grace enlightens heart.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Early morning light streaming across the landing newel for a handrail on a flight of park steps adds an aura of mystery to the aluminum motif. In rendering my feelings of the experience in word and artful imagery, I cannot resist an excursion into cosmic awareness along the proverbial spiral of life

Spiritual Evolution

Élan Vital

Life force marks time well:

Man seeks primordial mind,

As breath of life soars.

 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Élan Vital
(Insect eggs on house siding, photo impressionism)

What Color Is The Universe?

Out of the blue, a short-lived salvo of pea-sized hail stones shreds foliage and dances across roadways, until pleasing swaths of fine shingle come together to form artful arrays. The icy pellets bear semblance to small pebbles along river banks arranged into sweeping patterns by moving water. In mind’s eye an infinite microcosm of primordial star dust and galaxies takes flight. Old stars paint the heavenly canvas red, while young stars probe infinity with cool, blue light.

I ponder whether I should treasure imagination or knowledge. While I hold knowledge in high regard, it is finite. It depends on what we know and have come to understand through learned quests. Imagination on the other hand embraces the infinite scope, scale and mysteries of the Universe. So, what is mankind’s most cherished treasure? I venture it is our visions and dreams, for they are the realm where imagination and knowledge intersect—where we define our humanity and come to understand our place on the spiral of life.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Cosmic Interlude
(Photo Impressionism)

Cooper - In Our Hearts Forever

This morning Cooper passed peacefully, at home, in my and Melanie’s arms.

From the arid, windblown plains of New Mexico to the sunlit woodlands and lush meadows across the Piedmont Plateau in North Carolina, Cooper was in his element when he roamed God’s creation. He equally enjoyed a laidback life at home. He especially loved our grandkids and backyard playtime with them. Melanie and I are blessed to have been his sidekicks on countless road adventures and in the wilds of America. Cooper touched the hearts of all who have known him. His love, rambunctious spirit and zest for life are forever etched onto our hearts and into our memories. Rest in peace.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Breath Of Life Set Free
(Cooper - Oct 2008 to May 2021)

Path Less Traveled

Dawn paints rosy fate

Heart picks life off beaten path

Ah, breath of life set free

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Path Less Traveled
(Cooper)

The Green Serene

Cool daybreak breeze flirts with the green serene, 

Wherein treed hills resound with tuneful birdsong

And heron stops her hunt, takes time to preen,

While stream continues seaward surge, headlong.

Ere long rose mists of dawn take leave of night

And drift among dark pines like thistledown,

While flowered meadow longs for noontide sunlight,

When chartreuse dale is sight of great renown.

Cloaked in said mist a doe and fawn take shape

And graze amid gold flowers wet with dew.

Then, without breaking free of gossamer drape

Take flight across bright swathe of Meadow Rue.

Green mansions temper mortal coil palpably,

Thus, nurture heart and soul of humanity.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Rose Mists Of Dawn
(Mr Cooper)

Heaven's Gate

Trees bridge psychic realms

Earthling halts at Heaven’s gate

Peace takes breath away

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Heaven's Gate

Springtide Overture

Blooms dance in spring breeze

Gold dust powders hill and dale

Turtles bask on log

 

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Springtide Overture
(Yellow Poplar aka liriodendron tulipifera; photo impressionism)

Life In Clover

The tempo of his romps may have slowed a bit with age, but all manner of woodland creatures are still fair game for a lighthearted chase and a sun-drenched spring meadow remains a favorite for a respite.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Life In Clover
(Cooper in Mary Holmes Park, Pittsboro NC USA)

Timelessness

In stillness frayed by butterflies on the wing,

Old-growth woodland accepts time without end

And begs ancient rains that flow from cool spring

To spout timeless insight man can comprehend.

With heart of faith seek peace in endless time,

That kingdom of the soul where time began.

Let divine grace guide quests of the sublime

Through storm-tossed seas of life and fall of man.

Search out quintessence of love, be tireless,

For perseverance bears fruit named forevermore.

Soothe ecstasy with prudent mindfulness,

Then, pure in heart frolic on life’s dance floor.

Hope enables love and faith most fervently

In heart and soul bent on eternity.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Spring Blessing
(Old Rock Spring Church in Pittsboro North Carolina USA)

Heaven On Earth

Imagine the world is a patch of clover.

Its leaflets betray life’s turbulent expanse,

Yet, mankind thrives akin its bold flower

When cradled in God’s grace by earthbound manse.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Heaven On Earth
(Common Yellow Woodsorrel aka oxalis stricta)

Rhapsodies Of Joy

After overnight thunderstorms, mid-morning sunlight filtering through bud time oak canopies brightens woodland aura and splashes springtide warmth across Allée Boisée—a favorite hiking trail. Staccato rhythms of a woodpecker and my footfalls pleasingly complement whispers of wind caressing tree tops. Countless dapples of sun-kissed, silky-smooth spring foliage dance to exquisite solos of birdcalls. Wrapped in stillness between rhapsodies of joy, the living world exhales in a sigh of relief that a quietly heartless and cold winter has called it a day.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Allée Boisée
(Woodland trail near Pittsboro, North Carolina USA)

Dogwood Dawning

Overnight lows in the high forties cede dominion to pinking skies with first blush of daylight. Flowering Dogwood Trees abound below budding canopies of oak in nearby woodlands. Our state flower adds just the right touch of magnificence to the wee hours of morning.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Dogwood Dawning
(Flowering Dogwood aka cornus florida)

Eastertide

Surely the divinely ordained spring awakening of the living world from winter slumber not only rejuvenates picturesque lake environs, but also breathes new life into the spiritual nature of humanity.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Cooper's Cove At Eastertide
(Jordan Lake, North Carolina USA)

Vernal Interlude

While frosty nights liberate last gasps of winter across eastern expanses of the Carolinas, the advent of an imminent spring renascence borne on ethereal wings of butterflies fills hearts and souls with joy.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Easter Swallowtail
(Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on flowering Carolina Jasmine vines)

Springtide Cure-All

As floodwaters on Jordan Lake in North Carolina recede, pinking daybreak skies and gentle southerly breezes usher in first flushes of spring foliage along white sand shorelines.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Springtide Cure-All
(Cooper's Cove at Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC USA)