Life Between A Rock And Hard Place

When life holds free will in tight embrace

With course of action hardly possible,

Call to mind alpine blooms in sheer rock face

And choose a life well-nigh inconceivable. 

Endeavor nature walks at crack of dawn

Into mind’s eye where reverie holds sway,

Where heart soars, gives time to dwell upon

Gone days, when achieving dreams was child’s play.

By dint of angel wings, light of day takes hold.

Pinking skies lend credence to forenamed host

And rouse assurance more than hundredfold,

That all’s right with the world, first and foremost.

Wisdom instilled by famed rock and hard place

Holds keys to success in life’s steeplechase.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

By Dint Of Angel Wings

Winter's Epilogue

Sun warms frigid realm,

Still, arctic chill reigns supreme.

Spring croons mid sharp winds!

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Elysian Bliss

Sunlit snowfields speak to hearts young and old,

Stir divine music within human souls,

Beget elysian bliss more than eightfold

Compared to life hog-tied to warm bedrolls.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Bright Sides Of Life

Shadows are well known companions of light
Many times misread as troubles and strife.
But, when weighed with small measures of insight
Are must-haves in quests for bright sides of life.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Winter's Heart

Gelid rain paints trees

Moonlight plays up silvered coats

Glacial glaze warms heart

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Alive And Kicking

By the grace of God…blessed to draw breath, to reflect about all that exists, to livel in the moment and to be in love.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

Daydreams

I wander about sleeping wood withdrawn

Into mind’s eye where reverie holds sway,

Where heart soars with time to dwell upon

Bygone days—chasing canine pal at play.

© Ilija Lukić 2022

All's Right With The World

By dint of angel wings, light of day takes hold.

Pinking skies lend credence to said divine host

And rouse assurance more than hundredfold,

That all’s right with the world, first and foremost.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

The title and subject of my short poem call to mind the passage “God’s in His heaven—All’s right with the world!” from the verse drama Pippa Passes by Robert Browning, c. 1841.

Phantasmagoria

Just as the joyous hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving fades, so does Mother Nature’s kaleidoscope of foliage and days of autumn reverie. Hearts and minds of young and old turn to real and imaginary winter moods. Christmas draws nigh and brings hope of both renewed earthly joys and spiritual rebirth.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Season Of Joy And Light - Holly Days 2021

People from every walk of life, nationality and spiritual persuasion join city residents in kicking off America’s time-honored Thanksgiving and Christmas season, during Holly Days 2021 festivities in the streets of historic Pittsboro, North Carolina USA. 

Crisp late-autumn airs carry aromas of food and sweet fare, while restive children enjoy train rides and various bounce houses. Local school concert bands and dance studio groups provide entertainment on an outdoor stage. The town youth theater ensemble dazzles revelers with one act of a musical production. 

The annual town gathering culminates with Santa’s arrival on a dusting of snow flurries. Minutes later he kicks off the season of joy and light from the late-Victorian portico of the historic Chatham County Courthouse by illuminating our town Christmas Tree at the city center traffic roundabout.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Swan Song

Life shadows mark time

Sorrow fades from memories

Swan song rules the heart

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Tell-Tale Heart

Earlier today I have an illuminating session with my therapist, Mother Nature. She insists on a Rorschach Test. I willingly submit to a deep-dive into my personality, emotional functioning and thinking patterns, while on a meander down the Pond Trail  at Seaforth Point on Jordan Lake. We make ten stops designed to reveal the innermost recesses of my humanity by way of verbalized, off-the-cuff perceptions of creation. Most meaningful is my perception of two hearts beating as one I chance upon at a secluded, woodland pond. “Voilà earthling bosomed in my autumn splendor,” confides Mother Nature in a whisper, “this is a telling confirmation of your attraction to and love of the natural world.”

© Ilija Lukić 2021

The Trout And The Rabbit

Many are familiar with Aesop’s fable of “The Tortoise And The Hare.” Here in Chatham County, North Carolina we have the fabled Chatham Rabbit, a cousin to Aesop’s hare of yore. But these days, the only races that give our critter notoriety involve evasive maneuvers to pursuits from hunters.

However, widespread reports of our rabbit challenging Rainbow Trout to speed contests in and along the Sissipahaw River exist in the annals of our county. Of course said contests pitted two speedsters against one another, albeit in vastly different environments. The official proclamation of the winner in “The Rainbow Trout And Chatham Rabbit Race” remains hidden in some dusty corner of historical archives.

Notwithstanding the lessons brought by Aesop’s tortoise, modern life insists on pitting human speedster against human speedster in mind numbing evolutions of time.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Autumn Of One's Life

Graybeard walks with a stoop;

Cherished nestlings flew the coop,

Now soul needs chicken soup

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Essence Of Life

When the natural world opens portals to music of the universe, that which lies in wait behind your joys and sorrows gives you reason to ponder your existence.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Autumns Light

Treed slopes catch their breath

Autumn’s light warms heart and soul

Hued breath keeps frost at bay

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Sissipahaw Frame Of Mind

Named after a small, native tribe of North Carolina the Sissipahaw River is the chief head stream of the Cape Fear River watershed. Now lost in the folds of time, in the early 1700s the tribe hunted and farmed a large fertile area just upstream near today’s village of Saxapahaw. Close your eyes and echoes of Sissipahaw traders moving downstream on watercraft with goods precious to coastal tribes top off the autumnal ambience. God’s in his Heaven, all’s right with the world.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

The World Turned Upside Down

Winds of change push misgivings through hometown.

Be not content friend and compatriot

With illusions of a world turned upside down,

Where ships of fools ride herd on freedom’s chariot.

The chariot dubbed free will, it's not too late,

Give it full rein and right our ship of state.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Living Fearlessly

Though time hangs heavy on gossamer strings,

As autumn mists becloud summer reverie

And winter’s teeth coax doldrums into things,

Let spirit soar with joy, live fearlessly.

Living fearlessly means accepting your abilities and limitations, then befriending fear.

© Ilija Lukić 2021

Autumn Aura

Autumn lies in wait

Summer bids fond fare-thee-well

Crisp air dispels blues

© Ilija Lukić 2021