Unscathed
When
the wind blows in directions, North and South
And the
earth vibrates like echoes in a chorus
When
belief becomes the envy of the skeptic
And
doubt takes center stage on the altar of piety
When
lovers forget to smell the roses
And continue
their march with hope in fewer doses
When
music cannot be heard by those who composed it
While
the masses chant to the sound of their melodies
When
fragile people feel the pain in their bones
Yet
they carry the load without nagging or moan
When
the gods rush to rescue the people
But
feel helpless in the face of a struggling nation
When
you face the threat of solid emotions past
And
keep searching for your inner soul in a blast
Then
you would have gained immunity against the tempests,
The
fires, the raging winds, and the turbulent seas
That
becomes your bathing pool to emerge unscathed.
Land on Higher Tier
On the
eve of agony, the play gets blurry
Body
and soul, the pain is nearer
“Time
heals all wounds,” it is said
But in
reality, wounds define time instead
For
better or worse, the pain persists
Nothing
can heal a bleeding heart
Not
even a rainbow, moonlight, or the best of art
The day
passes slowly but the pain insists
Suddenly
the Improbable appears at the door
Enters
unexpectedly as if in a roar
Breaks
the cycle and the status quo
Preparing
for the Waiting for Godot
As the
wait seems endless, a new dawn is here
Paving
the way for a gasp to come near
A fresh
breath, a new horizon, and a new frontier
Approach
a land on higher tier
The
landscape has changed and everything is in full bloom
As if a
mirage of a garden appears on the desert’s moon
But
this time, the illusion is a reality
That will
draw the roadmap to eternity
Delivery
The
pain and pleasure of delivering a poem
Carry
more than nine months of pregnancy
They
pass in one hour or two years,
Announcing
a new cycle of hesitancy.
Words
drip and create an embryo
In a
womb of a winding road
With
obstacles and prairies
They
grow like trees in a forest
To form
a picture that may be dark but honest.
They
stagger in our heads searching for a home
As if
they’ve been travelling for days, unknown
Sometimes
they dance to the music
And
other times, they observe a passing crowd
Give
them water for their roots can be
As
powerful as the strongest typhoon
Yet as
tender as the sweetest emotion.
Finally,
they reach home and land on its pages
They
are ready to leave their cages.
Between
the ink that has dried
And the
wetness of their desires
They
sit waiting for their liberator
Wondering
how they will transform
To become alive.
All is Fair in Love and War
Under strenuous conditions,
they act recklessly
As if they are given a
license to kill
A smell of incense, a
cool breeze
Make them ponder at the
guru’s knees
They get up and cover
their heads with masks
Trying to hide their
identities and justify their deeds
A moment of courage,
love, and war
Makes them numb at the
bottom of their core
Whether in love at full
speed
Or at war with complete
determination
They dare to tread
untested grounds
Risking it all with
out-of-bounds
They’re about to kiss
the dust
But the time has come
for them to rise
Like the phoenix from
the ashes
They emerge with dignity
and poise in dashes
Now that the story is
unveiled
Don’t ask why when in
love
Don’t ask why when at
war
Cause all is fair in
love and war
Ramzi Albert Rihani is a Lebanese American writer. His poems have appeared in several publications in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Romania, India, and China, including Linnet’s Wings Magazine, Impspired, ArLiJo, Goats Milk Magazine, Poetic Sun, Last Leaves Magazine, Cacti Fur Journal, Ariel Chart International Literary Journal, Poetry Potion, The Piker Press, Active Muse, Ephemeral Elegies, and The Silent Journey Anthology. He is a published music critic. He published a travel book, “The Other Color - a Trip Around the World in Six Months” (FMA Press). He lives in Washington, DC.
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