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k 2d
green
means something else now

i used to call it comfort
the way i reached for
a green that didn’t grow anything
just softened the edges
and blurred the ache

until fullness
felt empty

until the chaos
drowned itself in silence

until even the storm
learnt to whisper

until emptiness
felt full

i didn’t call it
escape
not then
just quiet
just something
to get through the day

but even quiet
can rot the roots

i stayed in that winter
longer than i needed to
numbed the ache
until i forgot
what it was like
to feel anything grow

but now
green
means something else

it means life
pushing through
thin cracks
in dry ground

it means i don’t run
when the light comes in

that i can sit still
without reaching for a way out

that something in me
is waking up
and wants to stay

not a bloom
not yet
but maybe
one day
I need truth & light,
not lies & fights.
Emotional security,
not shame &  anxiety.
I need love that’s true.
Sometimes ‘Hello Me’
is pronounced ‘Goodbye You.’

Not every promise is golden.
Sometimes, vows need to be broken.
Leaving was brave,
given how you behaved.
Not every ending is unhappy.
Sometimes ‘Goodbye You’
means ‘Hello Me.’

I’d rather be single
than a married martyr.
I’d rather laugh & mingle
than keep on trying harder.
I need something new.
Sometimes ‘Hello Me’
is pronounced ‘Goodbye You.’

I choose my mental health
over double-income wealth
Wellness over weakness,
happiness over secrets,
freedom over familiarity.
Sometimes ‘Goodbye You’
means ‘Hello Me.’

© 2025 Joan Zaruba. All rights reserved.
I played around with the order of these stanzas a lot before finally settling on this order.  I also debated the title.  At first I called it "Sometimes" but I worried it weakened the declarations of self-discovery within the poem.  Does the flow work for you as a reader? How about the title?
A single candle
A window open
             An arm cascades
Time appeals to those who wait,
A calendar without a date.
No point of interest here or there,
A nomad life without a care.

Until one day a lone chance fleeting,
Made in haste upon a lazy greeting.
Will you dip your toe within those rivers,
Of contraband? and selfless givers.

Upon the rostrum bear your soul,
As naked as a childs doll.
While new sensations spark the senses,
you seize your mind but body tenses.

So onward! now from past decay,
Yes! homeward bound youll start today.
To feed the mind instead of silence,
You now see beauty in the violence.

Such wild distemper of a troubled mind,
Seek recompense in all you find.
For time is always on the side,
Of new Spring flotsam on the tide.

So grasp that oar with all your might,
Muster all your nerves to fight.
Lifes breaking waves and vicious tide,
For time is always on your side.
hope you like it, think its about someone so hurt they closed them selves off from life until it became so long ago as if a dream until the moment chance offers them a hand to pull them back onto the merry go round of life again.
neth jones Apr 29
soak into death    be a sot to it   you enemy of love
sponge and earth and thaw
breakdown into smaller and smaller particulates
and become involved in the sop
rejoin life
20/01/25
Damocles Apr 28
Petrified like taxidermy
My false eyes fail to see clearly
Is it that the world stopped turning
Or am I lost in torpor?
Cold blooded brumation,
Tipping the scales to see if—
Anubis’s thinks I’ve been a good boy
Send me to the underworld
Where I can find a glimpse of her
Neither acid or alkaline
But she moves me like phosphorus
And I can see the light,
Like a dandy moth—
Dancing to my end.
Not sure
Simon Bridges Apr 21
I'm pupating
Without the privacy of a cocoon
                           Maturing in full view
Shedding skin that thins and softens
                          Throughout the years

      I'll outgrow my body
Due to mortal limitation
       Break free from flesh
Become that which "I Am"
                                  Beyond physical
Ahmed Gamel Apr 18
I live and love as if reborn—
a soul unclenched, no longer torn.
The skies toast me with silver cheers,
a prayer answered through the years.

They come—those laughs, those quiet grins,
in giggles, bursts, and subtle spins.
Joy spills from me, a song unplanned,
like heaven kissed my throat by hand.

Love lives in me, unmasked, awake,
no echo now, no smile that’s fake.
This flight—unreal, yet somehow true—
feels like the stars are shining through.

So bless me once, then bless me more—
this heart has found an open door.
Alive at last, and every time,
my pulse recites a warmer rhyme.

And now—farewell to cries and drains,
the ghosts of sleepless, silent pains.
I’ve stitched my wounds with threads of grace,
and kissed the shadows from my face.

A fresh start waits with arms spread wide—
a softer path, a gentler tide.
Let love come near, with light that stays,
in hugs and hopes and golden days.

Watch me drift, a flame unchained,
laughing where the stars have rained.
The sky broke open just for me—
yes, life still burns—
but now, I burn to be.
This poem reflects the journey of self-renewal and embracing the freedom of life, shedding past struggles and opening up to love, joy, and authenticity. It’s about rebirth, empowerment, and the beauty of transformation. The idea of letting go of old pains and beginning anew runs throughout, celebrating the human spirit's ability to rise above and thrive.
morning dew coating the fresh grass
pitter pattering rain showers
green foliage growing on trees
flowers budding in gardens
sun shining in a cloudy sky
the air chilly and warm
nature rebirth
dancing in the rain
jumping in mud puddles
basking in the rays of light
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…
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