Charmed Chaos
Musings on Life, Love, and Linguine-Poetry & Writing
Aubade to Early Dawn
“Startled by the earth at dawn. It was far too green”- Jim Harrison, Dead Man’s Float
Early dawn-
Fresh leaves on sprawling old mesquite
gleams in pearly sunlight
Chartreuse brilliance against
a cloudless smoke blue sky
Swarms of tiny flies rise, swirling
in soft air as ruby-throated hummingbirds
dart after their tasty prized delicacy
Wildflowers unfurl golden petals
opening their bosoms to greet
this perfect breezy morning, a welcome respite
before the storm of afternoon desert heat
©2022 Linda Lee Lyberg
dVerse Poets Pub: MTB-Morning Has Broken
Author’s Note: Day 7 of NaPowriMo
Share this:
Vivid Shades of Blue
“Goddamn but her mind was so exhausted with trying to hold the world together, tired of being the living glue for herself, as if she let go, great pieces of her life would shatter and fall off in mockery of the apocalypse.” ― Jim Harrison, The Woman Lit by Fireflies
These days I dream of yesterdays in vivid shades of blue
These days I dream of solitude walking in verdant woods
These days I dream of loneliness and how it sometimes feels
These days I dream of hopefulness to take another breath
These days I dream of those long dead, as if to revive
These days I dream of enduring love wrapped in loving arms
These days I dream of spring’s cool breeze tickling my toes
These days, I dream of summer’s warmth browning my skin
These days I dream of misspent youth, to have it back again
These days I dream of yesterdays in vivid shades of blue.
©2022 Linda Lee Lyberg
dVerse Poetics: A Little Repetition
Share this:
Sanctuary for Dreams
“Good food is a benign weapon against the sodden way we live.”- Jim Harrison
This bright room is one she never tires of
Where the tastes of the world are at her fingertips
Happiness packed in square glass jars
Exotic spices from India, Mexico, Indonesia
Her kitchen, a sanctuary for dreams
Where she gets lost in her seasonings.
©2022 Linda Lee Lyberg
dVerse Poets Pub: Quadrille #149– ‘Tis the Season
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
Share this:
Learning to Fly
“You walk through doorways in the mind you can’t walk out then one day discover that you’ve learned to fly.”- Jim Harrison, Bird’s Eye View ;Songs of Unreason
It’s easier when you’re old to take wing on high
For you have nothing to fear but death
Death becomes our companion
In later years, lurking, waiting
For us to mis-step, to trip,
To slip into the abyss of nothingness
Or whatever else may await us.
Is this how the ocean feels
When it moves with moon tides
Merely going along for the ride
To see where it may lead?
When silken gossamer falls over our eyes
Deep sleep becomes our blissful retreat
Under the blue-black cloak of night
When our body slips far from sight
We soar through a star-studded sky
As we travel further away still bound
By a shimmering silver life-cord
A fragile hold to our physical self
Becomes the tether for our every breath
Are we blinded by a magnificent light
Or confused by ebony darkness?
©2022 Linda Lee Lyberg
Author’s Note: Day 4 of NaPoWriMo.
Share this:
Riding the Wave
“You have to hold your old heart lightly as the female river holds the clouds and trees.”- Jim Harrison, Songs of Unreason
Her old heart holds a memory of running on the beach
Young, tanned, without worry, hair flying in the wind
Plunging into the briny water with her board,
Heavy in her slight arms until the ocean
Takes the weight from her, sweet freedom
Paddling out where frothy waves are breaking,
White hot sun shining down, browning her skin
Then…
She’s up, riding the powerful wave
A shower of salt spray, the taste
Of summer on her lips and
Back to shore to begin again
She didn’t realize it then but now in her golden age
She knows…
The ocean was teaching her
The most profound lesson in life-
Beginnings, Endings, Getting back up,
…Beginning again
©2022 Linda Lee Lyberg
Author’s Note: Day 3 of NaPoWriMo. Also, using a word from #skyloverwordlist. The word is memory. Thank you Kerry!
Share this:
#Ghazal: Nightbirds
“Go to sleep. Night is a flower resting from bees.” – Jim Harrison
Grey mockingbird sings alone on a moonlit night
with notes pure and clear as a blue pool at night
A glittering of hummingbirds dart in chilled air
As a cloud hides the stars, obscured in ink night
Noisy murder of crows roost in a gnarled mesquite
cawing in their dreams on a moonless night
Nocturnal owl perches high in fragrant pine
searching for mice scurrying under cloak of night
Sly thrasher sleeping- a nest of twigs in thorny cactus
safe from slithering snakes hunting eggs at night
©2022 Linda Lee Lyberg
Author’s Note: Day 2 of NaPOWriMO. The word I chose from Haggard Hawks is ‘glittering’- meaning a flock of hummingbirds. I was outside about 2:30 this morning letting my dog out and I heard a mockingbird singing, which inspired this Ghazal.
Share this:
My Body and I
I feel my failure intensely as if it were a vital organ the gods grew from the side of my head. – Jim Harrison, Vows from Dead Man’s Float
My body and I have come to an agreement- I’ll do my best to take care of you if you grant me this one thing- do not fail me again. As the spring sky brings rain for flowers, and summer sun browns the skin, so must we two come together again. To breathe cool air into our lungs, skip through leaves when autumn’s done. To wrap our body in softest wool and ease our hunger with broth when winter sets in. To run with the joy of a child, fall without grace and get up again, to calm our mind when day is done and night begins. My body and I have come to an agreement- we want to live every second and minute and hour until each day falls away. Then we sleep, perchance to dream of technicolor days.
©2022 Linda Lee Lyberg
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
Share this:
JUST RELEASED!
JUST RELEASED!
Bartender at
Barista at Go Dog Go Cafe
Awards Top 20 Short Story Blog
POETS CORNER
Charmed Chaos 
Recent Comments