A tattoo
Of a name I used to know
Of hot summers
And dancing in the snow
A tattoo of what I long to remember
Lines on my hands
That remind me of December
And July
Reasons why
I wrote it once
A life time ago
Secrets I long to know
All articles filed in poem
Home
There’s a corner so small
That fit me perfectly
In my childhood home
Where I loved to be
There’s a smell
Of what?
I can no longer tell
But it comforted me
There are places that I know
I’ll never again see
Circumstances
That I wished have gone differently
There are pieces scattered
Along the Mediterranean sea
Pieces of me
Still stuck in a small corner
Of a childhood home
Where life played out
Perfectly
Aphotic World
She was a light that glowed
In a dark aphotic world
Beam piercing with light
Disturbing the inhabitants
Pushing away the night
Making the creatures too uneasy to stay
Banishing the darkness away
She was named
Love
Surreal
I thought it magical
Surreal
That the night sky
Be filled with steal
And change to day
Flash after flash
Of the bombs falling my way
I thought it a beautiful end
To an uneventful beginning
The 13 year old is no longer begging
To stay alive
Fig Tree
The fig tree by the house with no backyard
Always welcomed me
It was comforting and warm
Teaching me
A child I was
Not knowing death nor life
It taught me eternity
The fig tree in my grandmother’s house
Will always live within me
Heaven
Some days I crave a sun so bright
Instead of Memphis rain
And people that can say my real name
Some days I feel my skin turning back
A darker shade close to black
And I hear my roots calling me home
But most days I know I am not alone
In feeling so far away from home
We’re all immigrants after all
Waiting for the call
To return to heaven
Ancient Lullaby
Windows open
Rain is singing me an ancient lullaby
Here I lay
Listening
As mother nature reminds us all
How drops so small
Can cause a flood as they fall
How little things matter
Important Announcement!
Hello friends, reader and fellow writers!
The ebook version of my book Stranger Paths, The Magic in The Madness is FREE on Amazon today and the next 2 days!
I would love to see it in your library and hear your thoughts about my journey from Iraq to America, from war to hope.
I hope you join the child I was, as she stood watching missiles brighten the darkness of her village, smiling as she hopes for a change. I hope you see the positivity leaking through my pages bit by bit as poems continue on. I wish to share the untold story of my people, of the civilians at war, of the children that had no choice but to accept their fate.
Our days are numbered but our numbers mean that we have survived so much, that we’re all the same.
Walking Desert
I never thought it a desert
Nor did I ever judge the sands
I thought it a home
That I could hold in the palm of my hands
Sticking to my curly hair
And the shoes I wear
I became a walking desert
Completely unaware
Of the sands of my people
Clinging to my form
I wore as proudly as a soldier
Wearing his uniform
Stranger Paths, The Book
Stranger Paths, The Magic in The Madness Poetry Collection is now available on Amazon
This book contains three chapters, each starts with a short story about the author.
R.J. Zarkani, was born in Iraq and lived through the Iraq war which influenced her writing in unexpected ways. This book brings a unique perspective of the war from a child’s point of view. You can witness what she had witnessed and stand where she stood. Watching the bombs as she now watches fire works on 4th of July and you can know that you are safe.
