Mind simple pleasures of road less traveled
And glimpses of heaven on hushed lakeshores,
Then life’s troubles won’t leave you unraveled
And peace of mind gained a frayed soul restores.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Yeoman, sharecroppers and tenant farmers were once the backbone of North Carolina's booming tobacco economy. In the 1950s half a million tobacco barns dotted the landscape. Once landmarks in the five tobacco belts across the Piedmont and eastern reaches of our state, these days fewer than ten percent still stand—many re-purposed, yet weathered reminders of heydays for a shrinking industry.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Light wanes pleasingly,
Hush invites nightfall refrains—
Heartstring lullabies.
© Ilija Lukić 202
When famed river of life makes waves,
Enjoy the ride, but don’t forgo
Rocking the boat, now and again.
Give free rein to bold adventures.
Create your own rhythms of life—
Your ebb and flow of existence.
Should your best laid plans go awry,
Freely bear the brunt of life’s tides.
Never say die, domineer them!
© Ilija Lukić 2024
It’s late September near the banks of the Running Water Draw north of Clovis, New Mexico. Sacred beasts reverently referred to as tasiwóo in Comanche tribal lore graze peacefully as in days of yore. Rambunctious reddish brown calves prance playfully through shoulder-high vegetation, chasing grasshoppers and butterflies. The only sounds are tender grunts of their mothers confirming their safety and whereabouts. In their heyday numberless herds roamed vast seas of Great Plains grasslands.
A resurgence of wildflowers adds summer moods to the autumnal tranquility of the vast Llano Estacado plateau. Passing clouds briefly shade the sun-drenched prairie and amplify the spiritual aura of these imposing icons of the American West—they are bison bison aka American bison or American buffalo.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
My soul soars as sight
Of snowy peak buoys glum heart—
Hushed lake paves the way.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
'Cause life plays for keeps,
Fear not, storm-tossed roots run deep—
Keep the faith, baby!
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Stay bound and determined to fulfill goals.
They’re seminal milestones in strands of time,
Even when ventures run aground in shoals
And hope against hope is the paradigm.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Human heart despairs,
When tides of time test patience—
Let soul point the way.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Jordan Lake lies in a Triassic era rift basin and its shoreline shows distinct features of Hyco Formation bedrock. It's of volcanic and sedimentary origins.
Some 600-million years ago much of Central North Carolina, parts of Georgia and a small part of Virginia were an arc of volcanic islands. Now known as the Carolinia Terrane, this island arc was near to or a part of ancestral South America and African Gondwana continents before drifting into the North America tectonic plate. This collision, some 300-million years ago, pushed up and formed the Appalachian Mountains to our west.
When dogged by dark times,
Adapt, bring to knees all gloom—
You know who you are.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Weary souls mark time,
Till hearts open new doorways—
Mind cedes means and time.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Thirty days after the spring equinox, summer-like temperatures and azure skies invite exploration of a few miles along the tortuous 180-mile Jordan Lake shoreline. I affectionately call the ecosystem spanning riparian woodlands, sandy westward beaches and rugged eastern sandstone banks my stomping ground.
Every venture into said wilds, while afoot or later in mind’s eye, takes me through physical as well as perceived and ponderable gateways into the natural world and life itself. With rare exception even brief immersions deliver on promises of adventure, but also gains in knowledge and spiritual enlightenment for this agreeable mortal.
Heed heartfelt ways,
It hasn’t steered you wrong.
Ignore naysayers,
Life’s most wretched throng.
Once twilight looms
Bid earthbound days so long,
With heart and soul
Wrapped in sublime swan song.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
As life runs its course,
Drink wide-eyed from the cup of life—
Like a little child.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Sun first wanes on high
Then slips velvet bonds of Moon
And champions rebirth
Once again the age-old dispute of celestial spheres over dominion in the firmament of Heaven ends amicably after a cordial showdown in the skies above Mexico, across the United States and up to the Canadian Maritimes.
The spectacular event embodies the age-old metaphor for overcoming obstacles by bending like a willow to the tempests of love, loss, wisdom and power that daily life throws our way. As the moment of deepest effect the Moon has on the face of the Sun passes, a palpable sigh of relief and jubilant cry of “let there be light” wings skyward from awestruck individuals, small groups and large gatherings of people.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
The foundation and major portions of this historic landmark date back to 1785. It's located just one-half mile north of today's North Carolina State Capitol building.
As it has through the centuries, the oldest residence in Raleigh weathered last night's onslaught of spring thunderstorms well. Flowers sheared from the lofty canopy of a stately sweet gum tree carpet the grounds. The clusters compete for attention with the golden hues of the house siding and spring greenery. Gray skies bathe the setting in a gentle flat light. For a few moments time stands still and gracefully rewinds in mind's eye. Combined with the quietude and effect moisture has on enriching colors, the scene stirs nostalgia for a bygone era.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Fickle spring weather
Flaunts winter’s tether,
Restoring trust in steadfastness,
Sells urge to persist
Gives life a new twist—
Emboldening new beginnings
Birds of a feather
Oft flock together,
Pursuing dreams that lie dormant.
So, make a short list,
Good friends will assist
Emboldening new beginnings.
Be a bellwether,
Stop useless blether,
Navigate life with verve and zest.
Ban cease and desist,
Though heart may resist
Emboldening new beginnings.
When spring rolls together
Bright highs and dark nether,
Reflect on life…take second bite.
Born again, insist,
Get off waiting list
And embolden your new beginning.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
On-again, off-again rains over a fortnight have raised Jordan Lake water levels. Muddy ribbons of river and creek inflow hint at the benign turmoil their waters contribute in restoring ecological health and aesthetic beauty of the waterscape.
Once more windswell laps against eroded banks, where human and feathered fishers pursue prey. Nearshore willow oaks set buds and continue their vigil as keepers of the lake. In defiance of raw early-spring weather, the naked harmony of the ecosystem conveys a significant message of spring renewal.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
My essence, distilled into a mid-afternoon shadow, moves without a sound across the divine perfection of sunlit Jordan Lake shorelines.
In mind's eye the scene brings together time, space and imagination. It shapes poetry of spirit and light. Tree pollen washed onto the lakeshore resembles backlit clouds at sunrise. Leeched hues from clay soils add passion. What would said drama be without a human heart to appreciate the awesome overture to joy and new beginnings daybreak epitomizes.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
Our latest rainmaker leaves in its wake blustery northerlies, windchills in the thirties and a veil-like layer of cirrostratus clouds. Ice crystals within the clouds disperse light from the waxing gibbous Moon to create a large halo.
I venture out to Jordan Lake. The raw night air sends chills through my body. My turned-up coat collar and shelter in a windbreak created by shoreline trees provide a measure of comfort. The reward is an enchanted, moonlit landscape flush with silvered serenity.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
At sundown near my home, the blue celestial sphere dons red and bathes woodlands in empyrean fires. It’s a mystical moment on the wheel of life when the alpha and the omega become one.
The awesome wonder inspires heart and mind to communicate, then spill wisdom into whispers of evening breeze. It’s a cautionary reminder—leave bygone days behind and embrace the idea that sunsets are new beginnings, once and for all. The experience weighs on my heart, until I give it wing with prose and poetry.
At sundown blue celestial sphere dons red.
Said wonder and dulcet nightingale song
Put thoughts of drudgery and grind to bed,
Ask weary heart and soul to come along
On journeys with forward-looking mindset
That master burdens of life large and small,
Which darken bliss and give rise to regret—
Embrace sunset beginnings…once and for all.
© Ilija Lukić 2024
