Peace Of Mind

For days on end overcast skies sealed sunlight into its leaden vault. Today its murky grip cedes dominion and the call of wild lands tugs at heart and soul. I venture out to the wooded shores of nearby Jordan Lake. Chilled to the bone by lively northerly winds, biting temperatures in the 30s, not to mention societal turmoil, I look for and find peace of mind in the comforting warmth of the Sun under sunlit azure skies mirrored in gelid lake waters.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Peace Of Mind

(Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake NC USA)

Ephemeral Singularities

Pause, contemplate, take time to comprehend

Fleeting moments worth a lifetime of quests.

Let insight gained give green light to transcend

Shackles of thought that write off heart’s behests.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Ephemeral Singularities

(Rain water and leaf litter in pothole on granite rock face)

Woodwright's Legacy

What the mind pursues as meaningful change,

The heart measures against rewards of old,

When pride in workmanship was not so strange

And woodwright’s craft graced homes, I have been told.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Woodwright's Legacy

(Woodwright's School implements in Pittsboro NC USA)

Wisdom Of Whiskers

Let Jack Frost take my arrogance to task

And send chilled minions after once bare chin.

Why do I invite his raw breath, you ask…

Check out chin whiskers I flaunt, to his chagrin.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Wisdom Of Whiskers

(Ilija, self-portrait)

Epiphany

Sunsets are theater near heaven’s doorway

Where angels hold sway, keep darkness at bay,

Encourage leaps of faith by adrift mortals

Before they dare knock on pearl-hued portals.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Epiphany

(Historic Chatham County Courthouse, Pittsboro NC USA)

Honeyed Resolutions

When new year traditions and resolutions

Drive hearts to look forward to life, not fear it,

Nature helps take the edge off transitions,

With honeyed eventide calms harried spirit.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Honeyed Eventide

(Jordan Lake, North Carolina)

Wheel Of Life

Joy abounds, just look,

‘Cause heart leans on happiness

As time spins wheel of life.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Wheel Of Life

(Christmas Fern, photo impressionism)

Bright Expectations

Rose-colored skies court farewell reveries.

Along with musing about bygone year,

They rid heart of shadows that cloud memories

Of the good that abounds in earthly sphere.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Bright Expectations

(Jordan Lake along Seaforth Peninsula Pond Trail)

Winds Of Change

When life hits doldrums,

Hitch a ride on winds of change.

Kiss tried and true goodbye.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Winds Of Change

A Call To Reflection

What better calls the heart
And mind’s eye to reflection
Than placid lake waters
In peaceful winter slumber.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Fleeting Infinitude

(Seaforth Point on Jordan Lake, North Carolina USA)

Yuletide Sleigh Ride

Warm summer glow dims in mind’s eye.

Jack Frost cheers…all systems are go

For Saint Nick’s sleigh ride across snow

With reindeer predisposed to fly.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Summer's Glow

Envoys Of Divine Perfection

Courtly shadows lengthen across meadow.

Time slows briefly, grants needful introspection,

Helps deal life’s fuss and bother mortal blow

With shadows—envoys of divine perfection.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Envoys Of Divine Perfection

(Self-Portrait)

Yuletide Mousekins

Bar none, mousekins big and small,

With bright natures one and all,

Fear not chill winds, snow and ice

‘Cause Santa’s extra nice to mice.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Yuletide Mousekins

Seam Of The Temporal And Divine

In fifth grade our art teacher takes his protégés into nearby palace gardens and asks us to capture the essence of trees with pencil on paper drawings. Over the years my charcoal, pencil and ink renditions of trees, as well as monochrome photography, invariably make use of the artistic vision given life in those formative moments...through my perceived essence of trees...as mystical conduits between the temporal and divine.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Seam Of The Temporal And Divine

(Seaforth Point on Jordan Lake NC, monochrome)

Seaforth Point

With the winter solstice a fortnight away, autumn foliage at the Seaforth Promontory on Jordan Lake, North Carolina continues to defy rain, wind, fog and overnight lows below the freezing mark.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Seaforth Point

(Photo Impressionism)

Mystic Kingdom

When silent woods whisper insights on life,
Don’t turn deaf ear to their humble wisdom,
Persuade your heart to make an end of strife
And mind to hold dear said mystic kingdom.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Mystic Kingdom

(Woodlands at Seaforth Point on Jordan Lake NC)

Farewell November

Another welcome rainy day comes to a close in the pleasant fullness of late afternoon sunshine. In quiet celebration, waterlogged woodlands roll out vivid leaf litter carpets and defiantly colorful albeit sparse foliage along sodden trails for those adventuresome human hearts in search of serenity...je faire ses adieux à novembre.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Farewell November

Eventide Reverie

While light of day suffers defeat, tugs heartstrings,

Cordial sunbeams invite restful early black

Convinced the orb of night waits in the wings

To make known shadows that hold cockcrow back.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Eventide Reverie

(Woodlands west of Mary Holmes Park, Pittsboro NC USA)

Glad Rags

Just when one comes to believe Mother Nature cannot better her vernal awakenings and sun-kissed summertides, she defies yearlong expectations and a good many days under the spell of mists below milky skies by donning her autumnal glad rags…all the while mindful that winter’s knocking.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Glad Rags

Curtain Call

Heavy overnight rain and wind fill woodland ephemeral pools, liven streams and put final touches on the immersive theater of Autumn in the Carolinas. By mid-afternoon skies clear and I venture down woodland trails appreciative of the curtain call to one of the greatest shows on Earth.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Wax Poetic