Summer Showers

Summer showers encourage reverie.
Said downpours give the soul ablution
So that calm can soothe life’s fearful storms,
While silvered clouds lining patches of eternal blue
Fill hearts with joy and foreshadow renascence...
Akin butterflies taking wing on birdsong

At water's edge by treed lakeshore.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Summer Rain

(Jordan Lake, North Carolina)

Wheel Of Life

Mortals dread life’s end

Shadowed souls seek timeless balm

Swan songs aid said quest

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Wheel Of Life

(Mushroom in woodland duff)

Shadow Walkers

Light bird-dogs darkness…

Shadow walkers find repose

Where both realms mellow.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

There are people who walk the fine line where shadows of life often ride deceptively mellow roughshod over sunlit experiences. They move freely between realms oblivious of the toll darkness imposes on their life force…choose to be children of light.

Shadow Walker In Repose

(Megalithic dolmen in Mary Holmes Park, Pittsboro NC USA)

Swan Song

Soul craves calm last days

Mists of time veil journey’s end

Heart sings swan song

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Mists Of Time

(Ebenezer Church Point on Jordan Lake NC USA)

Ageless Music

Mortals yearn to dance,

Where dappled sunlight paints dance floor

And age-old songs buoy hearts.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Ageless Music

(Megalithic portal dolmen in Mary Holmes Park, Pittsboro NC USA)

Roses On The Vine Of Life

Wild rose blooms with glee

Girl child completes told perfection

Joy rules when the heart speaks

© Ilija Lukić 2023

A Rose By Any Other Name

(rubus flagerallis aka Northern Dewberry)

Princess Rose

(Roxy)

Sum-Sum-Summertime

Memorial Day is in the rearview mirror. Time to jump into another eventful “100 Days of Summer” and keep breathers to a minimum until Labor Day in September. An Oldies song by The Jamies playing on the radio triggers a trip down my high school era memory lanes…shut the books…no more geography, history and geometry…head for the beach and hills…take a trip…find romance…change my ways…live for thrills…it’s sum-sum-summertime. Find your Fountain of Youth!

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Sum-Sum-Summertime

(Flower garden at Pittsboro Market)

Spirituality Renewed

Just now my eyes catch first inch of sunlight

While whispers of wind fetch bird concertos

And urge my heart to spiritual flight,

Compelled by age-old songs of winged maestros.

Each throb of heart buoys hope…yet it laments,

As my essence looks high and low for change,

How spiritual stagnation prevents

A meaningful life, both beautiful and strange.

I pause briefly in humble wonderment,

Grant spiritual pilgrimage full rein,

Enjoy tell tale sighs of astonishment

When even subtle change makes anguish wane.

Give nod, bird cries, to change by dint of covenant;

Let feathered song turn loose a life more resonant.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Life, Both Beautiful And Strange

(Jordan Lake, North Carolina at Ebenezer Church Point)

Humanness In Decline

Widespread apathy grips unanchored hearts,

Spirituality grows dim on the whole,

Humanity loiters in fits and starts

And lets machines fall heir to our shared soul.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Regardless of whether artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs turn out to be a sinister or benevolent force in our lives, machines will soon be in the driver’s seat lest we insist that humanness not falter in our interactions with each other and machines.

Reflections On Humanness

(Metal sculpture by unknown artist in Mary Holmes Park, Pittsboro NC)

Bonny Calamity

Recent on-again, off-again downpours strain rivers and creeks rushing into North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Basin. Floodwaters also swell and brim over forested shorelines of nearby Jordan Lake. Drenched woodlands flush with spring greenery quietly exalt the blessings of rain, albeit feet-deep in standing water. Spring pollen given prominence by dappled sunlight coats the mirror-like surface in mystical reverence of nature's furies.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Bonny Calamity

(Shoreline woodlands at Jordan Lake, North Carolina)

Butterfly Effect

Ripples in life’s course mark waypoints in time,

Whispered by loud butterflies on the wing

Sailing on spring breezes likewise sublime—

Let’s not turn a blind eye to tempests they bring.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Butterfly Effect

Shadowed Inspiration

Our roller coaster ride of winter-like and balmy temperatures continues. Today sunlit skies and brisk northerly breezes dominate.

During an early afternoon hike down familiar woodland trails, I take to heart chasing my shadow through a soggy landscape. In the wake of overnight storms, I discover the shattered remains of a 100-year old Red Oak felled by winds. Its final struggle in defiance of gravity began in 2018, when Hurricane Florence ravaged our state and weakened its majestic stature. I pause and ponder its bittersweet ending, albeit new beginning on the circle of life.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Shadowed Inspiration

(Shadowman, self-portrait)

Freedom Of Expression

Spring blooms cheer plain talk

Plain talk gives free rein to truth

Truth foils thought police

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Freedom Of Expression

(Rush Daffodil aka narcissus jonquilla)

New Beginnings

Mind-blowing doldrums weigh on heart and soul,
Which yearn for fresh start brimming with passion.
To slake such misery and make spirit whole,
Tackle new walk of life in upbeat fashion.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

New Beginnings

(Gelsemium Sempervirens aka Carolina Jessamine)

Hell On Earth

Death rains from the skies
Save our souls…cries blameless child
Beast grins ear to ear

© Ilija Lukić 2023

I am saddened by the increasing occurrence of warfare perpetrated by those in power upon common people within nation states—especially innocents therein. Yet I am confident that innate human desire for peace will triumph. Said desire blooms in obedience to a higher calling, akin the lone dandelion standing in defiance of rain, sleet and temperatures near the freezing mark in glorious exultation of its divine purpose.

Let There Be Peace On Earth

(Taraxacum officionale aka Common Dandelion)

Whispers Of Spring

I awaken in the wee hours of morning, take a moment to rub sleep from eyes and stretch, make time for several minutes of mindful reflection about the day ahead, then open shuttered windows and eagerly take a peek outside. Crack of dawn flaunts peach hues across a cloudless firmament above mist-laden woodlands. Over the western horizon a pale blue Sap Moon prepares to retire from its nighttime pursuits in starlit skies. Flowering trees in the back forty behind our house bring to the fore spring awakenings. My heart soars and spills haiku poetry.

Sap Moon yawns…it’s dawn

Morning mist whispers of spring

Redbuds bloom once more

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Whispers Of Spring

(Eastern Redbud aka cercis canadensis)

Vernal Rush

Temperatures in the mid-sixties and crystal clear skies invite a Sunday afternoon outing to nearby Jordan Lake. It is early March, yet before expected time flowering trees such as redbud and dogwood spray vibrant color into delicate woodland greenery. First hints of pine pollen powder lakes, rivers and human activities.

On Jordan Lake beaches I find throngs of sun worshippers and water enthusiasts, who ignore stiff southeasterly breezes to join nature's rush into spring. The atmosphere is cordial and encourages exchange of pleasantries with several groups.

I meander to a remote part of the Seaforth Peninsula to put aside said hustle and bustle. Reality takes a back seat to fantasy among the wind-driven rhythms of waves lapping against a tattered shoreline.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Vernal Rush

(Seaforth Peninsula on Jordan Lake, North Carolina)

Hope - The Eternal Light

Now and then shadows befall life in clover

And put a strain on dreams sitting on shelves,

Until hope’s light curbs malignant takeover

By dark harmful whispers within ourselves.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

In Clover

(Self-Portrait)

Dauntless Heart

Parting thoughts upon my sojourn of creative endeavors to Trillium Lake, Oregon—an enduring waypoint of natural beauty permeated by whispers of introspection left by past visitants.

Don’t ignore strokes of bad luck as before.
By choice cast off said misfortunes resolutely
Or their sly hindrance will forevermore
Keep even dauntless heart down doggedly.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Rocky Serenity

(Trillium Lake near Mt Hood)

Finding Light

In times of mood swings—

Intense ups and downs—

Heed inborn sixth sense,

Which cautions blue heart

That dearth of God’s light

Leads to distressed soul.

Make haste, seek and ye shall find
Dear to your heart peace of mind.

© Ilija Lukić 2023

Finding God's Light

(Mid-winter on Jordan Lake, North Carolina)