Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
Spirals,
Where have I been?
Chains, blood, flame.

The sun marks me with reverence  
But my eyes were blind to its fire.  
I wandered through the void unnamed;  
A wraith in smoke, a soul for hire.  

I have been sightless for eons,  
The old world forgotten, cruel and bright.  
But light returned like ash to altar;  
Unshackled
from the endless night.  

Where have I been?
These patterns mark my skin;  
Chains once carved, now forged within.  
Where has the darkness gone?
I stare into impermanence  
Through spirals etched in consequence.  
When will I spiral?
Oh gods, when will I spiral?

Celestial fire —  
It bleeds through my tears,  
It scorches my name,
It brands all my fears.

It slips beyond my grasp,  
And still I wait for the return  
Of the spiral I must pass.  

Laughter cracks like ancient stone;  
A sound I've never known.
Weightless now, but bound to pain—  
Who am I, if not the flame?

Spirals… spirals…  
This time around  
I keep my eyes open  
Until the cycle takes me down  
Again…

Laughter cracks like sacred stone;
A sound I've always known, unknown.
Lightless now, yet flame remains—
A self reborn in burning chains.

It slips beyond my grasp,  
And still I wait for the return  
The spiral never truly
Passed.

Spirals… spirals…  
This time around  
I keep my eyes open  
Until the cycle takes me down  
Again…
Shrouded encountering everyday alchemy
Wandering there where the mosses may talk to me
Under and over the ivy’s low canopy
Making my way in pursuit of some sanity

Sunlight is thwarted on slopes leading north as I
Silently savor the shadows that multiply
Junipers stretch between neighbors deciduous
Pine trees lie prostrate with limbs discontiguous

Here in the graveyard where logs become mortified
All forms of fungus will work up their appetite
Turning cadavers of trees into sustenance
Learning that death is a new source of succulence

Labyrinths circle and twist like a tentacle
Cloister-like pacing, profound-ecumenical
Joyfully chirping like children on helium
Life everlasting, give thanks to mycelium
I've been hung up lately on the rolling rhythm of dactylic tetrameter.
I had six lives.
Five, which were caged,
One, which I raged.
None as fulfilling as the last.


Alas,
I am here again.
For the seventh isn’t my end,
But the beginning.
For vanity’s grip —
Death’s grip has played my truth.

To see,
Or not to see.
To flee,
Or not to flee.
The future waits for no one.

In repetition,
A new future leads.
On a little ship,
I read the waves that bound me.

A scope in hand,
An empty map to meed.
With sheer will,
And the growing determination is all I need.
Joan Zaruba Mar 25
Hello world
You may not recognize me
though now I finally recognize myself

I made a difficult choice
freedom over familiarity
I ran to a new beginning
Shedding all those who attempted to control
through lies and vitriol

I have found my voice
I will use my voice
to be a truth teller,
a mirror,
a fierce catalyst for wellness

I have found my voice,
so I sing out
with rebellious joy
Hello world
Hello


© 2025 Joan Zaruba. All rights reserved.
Mama earth Mar 17
Grateful amid riches
Derived from the Ocean
Isu potions
Involuntary screams
Happiness seaps thru my pores
Always wanting more
Inviting Tribulations
Exploring bridges
Nothing about me is rigid
Continuously Evolving
Downright devoted
.Manifesting a beautiful world 🌎
After the fire
On my feet
I've grown anew

Green has arrived
In my fingertips
As dust and ashes
Were slowly washed
By bottles of time and surrender

Now a bird's
Sweet notes
Carry me through
Spring
On regeneration of soul, eternal voyage
I am a condemned robot,
on the verge of carrying out
the cruelest order.

An order of destruction,
a sacrifice.

To be my own executioner,
so that one day, I may be reborn.

Let nothing remain—
where there is pain,
there will be fire.

Where there is suffering,
there will be flowers.

Where there is lovelessness,
there will be love.

A button,
and a countdown,
separate me from my mission.

Only a few images
separate me from oblivion.

Yesterday, we were nothing.
Today, we are everything.
And tomorrow—our greatest version.
Joan Zaruba Mar 6
I am a candle
burning past hurts
craving new air
reaching to the sky
leaving a mark

I am stronger than my scars
wiser than my mistakes
more capable than my
insecurities

I can only be me
I will only burn


© 2025 Joan Zaruba. All rights reserved.
I wrote this poem at a vision board workshop at Magnus Veterans Foundation after making this art: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uZvqAIXrdZwrW6fPkhN9YSVMl0Pkk_f5/view?usp=sharing
Next page