What Matters

Posted on August 15, 2019 by

37 Comments

Hushed whispers of the turning page
Leaden weight of the words in my hands.
As shadows dance on textured walls
The story unfolds in endless waves
And my mind once shackled, now free
Of heavy chains binding me to this life.

Surrounded by books for they’ve become my life
Never tiring of thoughts on the written page
For words are ancient keys to be forever free.
And each time I hold them in my hands
Memories wash over, an ocean of waves
crashing against a mentality built of solid walls.

Here in my peaceful mind, there are no walls
No death to fear for I am eternal, cherishing life
I rewrite my troubled past, ride the restless waves
As I turn yet another yellowing page
Caressing each one with soft wrinkled hands
For the poetry I write sets my anxious soul free.

In this world of words my heart roams free
There are no confining grey stone walls
For I hold so many ideas in these hands
That enrich and fill my precious book of life
As I inscribe page after page after page
Tears spill from my grateful eyes in sea salt waves.

I ride my emotions on the cresting waves
No longer in prison my thoughts are free.
With each dusty sigh of the turning page,
I create open doors where solid walls
Imprisoned me and what I wanted in my life
While I re-write destiny with these two hands.

Sometimes the ache in my weary hands
Floods my mind, comes in painful waves
Yet I would not change anything in this life
For there is always a price for living free
And the tearing down of society’s walls
As each generation writes another page.

Though these hands are now old, I am alive and free
As stormy blue waves erode crumbling walls
I pen the story of my vibrant life, scribing it on the page.

©2021 Linda Lee Lyberg

Author’s Note: This is my first time to write a Sestina, a complicated form.

dVerse Poets Pub: Poetry Forms Sestina

Linda Lee Lyberg is a wife, mother, artist, published poet and author. She resides in Mesa, AZ with her husband Pete (aka The Big Viking) of 23 years, and her dog, Ricky Bobby. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. 
You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com
and her Amazon Author Page

Category: PoetryTags: , ,

37 Comments on “What Matters”

  3. You’ve mastered this tricky form, Linda, and stunned me with your lovely words and use of poetic devices. I particularly love the contrast of ‘‘Hushed whispers of the turning page’ and ‘Leaden weight of the words in my hands’; the juxtaposition of a ‘yellowing page’ with ‘soft wrinkled hands’; and the envoi.

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  6. Pingback: What Matters — Charmed Chaos | Penny Wilson Writes

  7. This is a testament to a life well lived, with courage and thoughts to be free. Writing and reading are great tools for overcoming challenges. Now looking back at our lives, we can see things more clearly the gifts and lessons learned.

    I specially admire this part:

    I rewrite my troubled past, ride the restless waves
    As I turn yet another yellowing page

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  10. /for there is always a price for living free/ snagged me; it kind of resonated with my own about truth. I’m pleased and impressed by the quality of poetics I’m finding out here on the trail. You ain’t afraid of no sestina; kudos. But the low initial turnout is testament to the immensity of the challenge.

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  14. The freedom and power of expression is alive in this! But this line confuses me: “And the tearing down of society’s walls”…seems destructive?

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