Charmed Chaos

Under the Color of Night

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Linda Lee Lyberg

“If you tremble with indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.”
― Ernesto Che Guevara

Under the color of night, a full beaver’s moon shines
with an ethereal red bloom obscured in vagrant clouds
while pristine stars shine through the blood-stained veil
wearing their alluring light like a shroud.

As the last eclipse of a momentous year bleeds
Is this an omen of hope and good things to come
Where justice and simple truth prevail
Or will all the good we’ve done be swept away
By the violence and lies of the uncouth?

Author’s Note: I have faith that truth will prevail!
Written for dVerse Poetics: First Your Assistance and Then a Razzie or two!

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 26 years and their latest rescue, Jackson “Jax” Lyberg. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com and view anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page

The Vote

Posted on November 7, 2022 by Linda Lee Lyberg

41 Comments

Pixabay.com

“She wears strength and darkness equally well,
The girl has always been half goddess, half hell”
― Nikita Gill, Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul

Donning her velvet cloak, Reina slips out the kitchen door and heads for the clearing deep in the woods. In the street of the sky night walks scattering poems. She looks up as words emerge from the darkest points on the ebony canvas. Approaching the glade, murmurs rise from the circle of women. This is the night of reckoning for what happens tomorrow will decide the fate of the world. A murmuration of bats rise into the air as the voices begin to hum. The witches bow before their queen, and wait for her to speak.

“Rise my coven and understand, for we are here tonight to conjure peace. The ballot’s begun and we must be the ones to keep hateful greed from planting more seed. So gather healing words from the sky and sing- we must succeed if this world is to survive.”

Author’s Note: It’s Prosery Monday at dVerse and I am hosting today. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Prosery is a creation of dVerse where we give you one sentence from a poem and you are to write a 144-words (or less) story containing the sentence within. You may alter the sentence in any way, other than punctuation. Today’s sentence prompt is In the street of the sky night walks scattering poems which is taken from an EE Cummings poem. Come join us- the pub opens at 3PM EST. Looking forward to reading your stories.

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 26 years and their latest rescue, Jackson “Jax” Lyberg. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com and view anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page

Saved by Grace

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Linda Lee Lyberg

32 Comments

“The salvation of man is through love and in love”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

There was a moment in my life
when quiet hallowed chambers
of an old church became my sanctuary.

Dusky sunlight fell across a scarred plank floor
through blood-stained windows where-
The body of Christ nailed to the rugged cross stared
at dervish phantoms of dust drifting in dank air
as they danced with paraffin smoke of Paschal candles.

This became my naive soul’s salvation for awhile
Among strangers and friends, a respite from pain-
where tattered hymnals grasped by aging hands
held words to Amazing Grace, sung with lament
As a parade of broken souls walked down the aisle
to become whole and saved once again.

Author’s Note: Written for Shay’s Word Garden List- Jim Morrison and The Sunday Muse #235

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 26 years and their latest rescue, Jackson “Jax” Lyberg. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com and view anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page

Did I

Posted on October 29, 2022 by Linda Lee Lyberg

29 Comments

“How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true;
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.”
― William Butler Yeats, The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats

I carry sorrow in my bones and wear my pain
for life is a masquerade of dancing ghosts that play
in the chasms of my mind with silk ties that bind
me to the silent skeletons of my past.

Black crows keep me company, bring me old coins
each one etched with a memory of my past life
Some shiny and gold, others burnished and old
from the patina of revisiting them over and over again.

Did I do what was right,
Did I do what was true,
Did I do what was good in my youth?

And then I realize I did my best with the wisdom I possessed,
and all the rest is a lesson in futility.

Written for Shay’s Word Garden and for The Sunday Muse #234

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 26 years and their latest rescue, Jackson “Jax” Lyberg. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com and view anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page

The Color of Hope is Light

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Linda Lee Lyberg

41 Comments

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

― Plato

Light bending, shaping, flowing
into nicks and cracks of darkness impugned

Both an unrelenting wave of briny ocean
and a minuscule particle of dust
Drifting on nascent air of prophetic clarity

Stand Up, Stand Tall, Stand, Stand, Stand
I’m Speaking, I’m Speaking~ Can you hear me?

Light is here- NOW- a yearning for radiance
Broadcasting a reverberating shine
into tenebrous shadows of fleeing fear

Author’s Note- Sharing this poem from 2020. I’m hosting today at dVerse Poets Pub for OLN– Come Join us! The pub opens at 3PM EST.

The Sunday Muse: #129

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 24 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 purchase anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page

In Dreams

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Linda Lee Lyberg

13 Comments

I dream each night of a small bungalow
somewhere in the French countryside
A place to rest on the shaded verandah
to watch my simple life go by.

I wrap myself in old cashmere
I bought long ago
in a quaint Paris brocante
never minding tiny moth holes.

I tie a red bandana
’round the neck of my happy dog
so I can always spot him from afar
as we take a stroll down the dusty road
to the boulangerie for a crusty loaf.

I stir from my sleep when the sun rises
yet there is where I want to stay
lost in my dreams where I can feel
the gentle wind as it kisses my face.

dVerse Poets Pub: Poetics: The Indian Connection

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 26 years and their latest rescue, Jackson “Jax” Lyberg. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com and view anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page

Haibun: Autumn Soup

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Linda Lee Lyberg

11 Comments

Image by -Rita-👩‍🍳 und 📷 mit ❤ from Pixabay

This morning I woke to overcast skies and a distinctive coolness in the morning air. After a hot summer and volatile monsoon season, I am ready for fall.

One of my favorite aspects of the weather cooling here in Arizona is the beginning of soup season. I so enjoy the process of making a big pot of soup, and letting it cook until the flavors are perfect.

Soup is mysterious and complex yet so simple in its ingredients.

First I smash a few cloves of garlic to simmer in good quality olive oil. The air smells divine as I cut an array of vegetables into perfect bites, and add them to the sizzling oil and garlic. While they are cooking, I gather together spices and add them to the sautéed mixture. As a last touch, I douse the carmelizing veggies with red wine to deglaze the pan, and add a high quality broth. The vegetables bathe in the richness as their flavors transform and become magical.

autumn soup simmers

golden sun, jade olive oil-

mother earth colors

Dverse Poets Pub: Haibun Monday: Soup’s On!

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 26 years and their latest rescue, Jackson “Jax” Lyberg. Linda writes various forms of poetry, as well as short stories. You can read more of her works at: charmedchaos.com and view anthologies containing her work here: Amazon Author Page