Dog Days Pastime

When dog days bathe body and soul in swelter,

Make time to catnap in central air shelter.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Dog Days Pastime

(Purrl)

Gilded Dragon

Exquisite dragon flashes gilded wings,

Plays touch and go on placid lake waters

And then decides to pull fishers heartstrings,

While it alights to avoid shoreline hunters.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Written at the request of my friend Kelly Riverwalker Thomas to capture his experience of watching a dragon fly.

Cowboy Days In New Mexico

Vivid memories captivate mind’s eye as I muse about my days in jeans, straw hat and spurs, while cowboying with friends on the high plains of the Llano Estacado Plateau across Texas Panhandle and New Mexico borderlands. Every moment of chasing ornery range cattle down draws and over sand hills into boundless horizons before settling down at days end under fiery sunsets is a lifetime of adventure. The horse in the photo is "Crazy Eyes."

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Ilija And Crazy Horse

Love, Peace And Happiness

Unfold life’s journey

Without rush to arrive.

By choice linger

On waypoints of gladness,

Since the requisites

Heart and soul need to thrive

Are without doubt

Love, peace and happiness.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Let Freedom Ring

Arbitrary power flourishes when freedom of speech suffers shackles of intolerance.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Tongue Of The Wise

Allow nature to speak to your heart.

Her soothing tongue gives wisdom a fresh start,

To quell hell fires of destructive speech

Driven by guile and thoughtless overreach.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Sunrise Communion

Thin mist bedims mesmerizing onrush 

Of tawny torrent touched by sunrise blush,

Yet buoys miserable heart and soul averse

To mystical songs called God’s universe.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Walking On Sunshine

When life hands you a slice of Eden, don’t just nibble on the beauty of Heaven on Earth or pass a hesitant eye over the landscape from afar. Take a walk on the wild side and you’ll experience the bliss that flows from walking on sunshine.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Eternity Laid Bare

Spend just one hour in nature and you will renew your grasp of eternity and stoke the immortal fire within your soul.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Great Expectations Set Free

When life plays havoc with best laid plans, a riverside sojourn puts mind at ease by immersing senses in either the soothing temperaments of gentle flows or the harmonious chaos of wild water quietude—unshakable stillness of heart and spirit takes root.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Old West Reverie

Daydreams varnish truth. 

Hence Old West myths captivate,

Yet, doubts roam mind’s eye.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Harbingers Of Spring

Loblolly Pines are prolific pollen producers. For a few weeks in April, landscapes, patios and porches, cars, waterways and lakes sport golden hues. Airborne pollen mingled with humid spring air scatters sunlight to create milky skies for days on end. 

To some said happenings are annoying and serve as conversation fodder, while other embrace them as welcome harbingers of spring. Last night rainstorms give brief reprieve as downpours cleanse woodland habitats and city neighborhoods, leaving in their wake gold-tinged rivulets of runoff—reminders that in time this too shall pass.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Bynum Cotton Mill Race

In the wake of heavy rains, floating river debris and uprooted trees wreak havoc on the historic Bynum Cotton Mill Race.

Excavated around 1872, the mill race runs about 2000 feet parallel to the Haw River. Originally a wooden dam upstream diverted river flows to power mill water wheels. In time turbines and electrical generators made use of the same mill race to provide power for the textile mill, as well as the company town of Bynum. Said boon made the hamlet one of the first areas in Chatham County to enjoy electric lights. Operations ended in 1983. 

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Eye Of The Tiger

When Nature’s minions go all out frightful,

Warm hearth fires make life most delightful;

Tasty morsels of food help allay fear

And make winter’s last dance seem less severe.

Just days ago song birds welcomed spring,

Now fluff up, huddle and seldom take wing,

Spring lambs stop prance to ask why and wherefore

Cold freight trains of north wind like lions roar.

Much as life throws challenges your way,

Tidbits of chaos poised to dismay,

Never say die, akin a roughrider 

And take life head-on with eye of the tiger

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Eye Of The Tiger

(Purrl...unapologetically unafraid)

No Holds Barred Happiness

When cold drizzle drapes quiet neighborhood

And overshadows upbeat springtide mood,

Warm thoughts boost frame of mind without delay,

For no holds barred happiness rules the day.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Let Freedom Ring

Slings and arrows of present day

Cloud hearts and minds, take breath away;

Darken the soul and put on hold

Sacrosanct freedoms, truth be told.

“Let freedom ring” a brave man shouts,

“Darkness doesn’t rule hereabouts.”

He prays the world steps up tenfold

Their aid against vile stranglehold. 

Whether from outside or homegrown,

Yokes of tyranny cannot postpone

Pursuit of inalienable rights,

Innate bar none in human hearts.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Let Freedom Ring

(Crocus vernus aka Spring Crocus)

Paper Wasps

Paper Wasps (vespidae wasps) make nests from fibers of dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva to fashion delicate gray or brown papery cells. They have open combs with individual cells for their brood. The wasps attach the nest to branches or structures with a constricted stalk and spread an ant-repellent secretion around the stem. Wasps are pollinators. They feed on nectar and garden pests such as caterpillars, flies and beetle larvae. Some paper wasps are called umbrella wasps due to the distinctive shape of their nests.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Piedmont Dryad

Wood nymphs are protector spirits with dominion over springs, clouds, trees, caverns, meadows and beaches. Woodland folklore describes them as tree dwellers that reveal themselves to mortals as beautiful women. Here on the eastern reaches of the Piedmont Plateau, warm sunny days make for favorable conditions to catch a glimpse of these bashful keepers of the wild.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Pondering Reflections

Mortal existence languishes while sheltered as untroubled reflections of the world on fathomless waters between reality and illusion, until we take charge of our destiny.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Walking On Air

Joy defines cloud nine

Mind’s eye pictures blissfulness   

Heart loves walks on air

© Ilija Lukić 2022