Four Poems by Ramzi Albert Rihani

 

Under a Sky of Compassion 

 

 

Under a sky of compassion 

she wandered the streets  

to erase her anger 

stumbling at every corner 

hoping that a miracle descends  

and erases her frenzy. 

 

There was a scent of stubbornness  

in the air that kept her trying. 

As she roamed through the darkness of the night 

where the backstreets smelled  

of forgotten love stories, 

she saw the dawn’s first ray 

pointing to her heart. 

 

No corner was clear of fury 

until she reached the shore  

laid on the warm sand,  

and watched the tide  

wash away all the ocean’s rage.

 

 

2035 

 

The storms will get stronger 

in the peaceful valleys and the rumbling cities.  

The threats from the few will get louder  

than the loudest eruptions. 

The hollow barking will only be heard in  

the back alleys, and the sirens of injured people  

remind of alerting times coming.  

 

Conflicts break out between people,  

clashes explode between countries, 

individual struggle fills the air,  

all serving a few who impose their will 

thinking they are saving the world. 

But their saving the world is a prelude for more turmoil, 

while people are searching for an interlude of tranquility. 

 

Peace remains mightier than disorder  

because you can kill the beast with kindness. 

Seek shelter and a soothing melody  

where the gasping breeze caresses your face,  

your inner and outer self; 

where you can hear the water dripping  

from oak trees after a torrential rain; 

where you can feel the sand tickling your feet on the beach 

away from the rage of the times, 

and see the snails peeking out of the stone rims after the first rain, 

and sing a lullaby despite the threats of an all-out war.  

Then, you can overcome all the fears and terrors  

of the outside world, and live once more.

 

 

Roll of a Dice 

 

He climbs the stairs seeking heaven. 

He does it again and again, 

not knowing what awaits him. 

Repetition is a sign of perseverance.  

Expectation a sign of limitation 

An encounter of a different kind is coming. 

Is it wonder or revelation that drives him? 

Is it confidence or uncertainty that pushes him? 

Faith or doubt?  

 

Questioning advances the doubt, 

but he is not sure.  

His insurance is his blind faith 

that gives him confidence. 

The lack of it opens his mind  

but makes him vulnerable.  

Conviction and hesitation  

battle in his head. 

A roll of a dice determines his bliss 

and relieves him from his inner agony.

 

 

A Dream 

 

A thought stays with me, 

enduring while I’m asleep. 

A dream kicks it out. 

 

It enters the brain, 

locks the door 

feeling solidly in control  

as it dominates the house 

 

A melody breaks the dream, 

unlocks the door 

and transforms the inside 

refusing to leave  

 

It’s invited to reign 

in joy and in sadness. 

It reigns and reigns,  

again and again, until 

it becomes the dream.

  

Ramzi Albert Rihani - Born to a literary family of poets, writers, novelists, and critics, Ramzi Albert Rihani is a Lebanese American writer who has been writing and publishing poetry, novels, travel, and plays for several years. He received the 2024 Polk Street Review first-place poetry award. His work has appeared in several publications in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Romania, South Africa, China and India, including Chronogram magazine, Cacti Fur Journal, Fine Lines Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Ariel Chart International Literary Journal, ArLiJo, The Piker Press, Active Muse, Ephemeral Elegies, Impspired, W-Poesis Literary Journal, Valiant Scribe Literary Journal, Flora Fiction Quarterly, The Literary Yard, Backchannels Journal, The Galway Review, and The Silent Journey Anthology. He is a published music critic. He wrote and published a travel book, “The Other Color - a Trip Around the World in Six Months” (FMA Press), and three plays, two of which were produced on stage and received great acclaim. Ramzi has lived in the Washington, DC area most of his life.