When You Walk Among the Flowers

My Love, you are nearer than the breath
That Heaven entrusted to my soul.
Before I knew your sacred name,
The stars had whispered it to me.

You are the quiet dawn
Resting upon the eyelids of the earth;
The first white rose that teaches spring
How beauty learns to bloom.

Walk once into the garden, Beloved,
And every blossom shall bow its fragrant head.
The proud cedar will soften its ancient pride,
The lily will forget its thousand songs.

The moon has borrowed all her silver
From the light that sleeps within your eyes;
The rivers learned their gentle music
From the kindness of your voice.

When you smile,
Even the lonely clouds
Lay down their grief
Upon the hills in peace.

The wind that wanders through the valleys
Returns perfumed by your passing;
And every bird, astonished into silence,
Listens for your footsteps among the leaves.

If beauty were a kingdom,
You would be its unseen Queen;
Not crowned by jewels,
But by the quiet grace that humbles Heaven.

I do not love you as men gather roses,
Fearing tomorrow's fading bloom.
I love you as the sun loves morning—
Without command, without end.

Should all the stars abandon night,
Should oceans forget the moon,
Still my heart would know its way to you,
As rivers remember the sea.

For you are not merely the flower I admire,
You are the garden where my soul has always lived.

And if Paradise should ask me
What miracle I carried from the earth,

I would whisper only your name.

~ Andy Lal 

I want to love with a capital L......

My greatest desire in all the world is to hold and be held,
to Connect with a capital C.

To heal and be healed.
To see and be seen. 
To love and be loved----fully. Completely.

Here I am....shouting it out to the world,
to all who read or don't read my words.
To all who take the time to connect. Or not.

I want to love with a capital L.
I want to crack wide open all that stands
in the way of true Truth and true
Love and True Colors.

I want to to hold your heart in mine
like it is my own. Because, really, it is.

Will you let me hold your heart in mine
just for a minute
just for one beautiful breath
or two?

I so want you to know how deeply
how very deeply
I Love
every single bit
of colorful you..!

My heart is the throne of the Beloved......by Yunus Emre

My heart is the throne of the Beloved,
the Beloved the heart’s destiny:

Whoever breaks another’s heart will find no homecoming
in this world or any other.

The ones who know say very little
while the beasts are always speaking volumes;

One word is enough for one who knows.

If there is any meaning in the holy books, it is this:
Whatever is good for you, grant it to others too

Whoever comes to this earth migrates back;
Whoever drinks the wine of love
understands what I say

Yunus, don’t look down at the world in scorn

Keep your eyes fixed on your Beloved’s face,
then you will not see the bridge
on Judgment Day.

~ Yunus Emre

Oh Beloved, take me. Liberate my soul.....by Rumi

Oh Beloved,
take me.
Liberate my soul.
Fill me with your love and
release me from the two worlds. 
If I set my heart on anything but you
let fire burn me from inside.

Oh Beloved,
take away what I want.
Take away what I do.
Take away what I need.
Take away everything
that takes me from you.

In the early dawn of happiness
you gave me three kisses
so that I would wake up
to this moment of love...

I tried to remember in my heart
what I’d dreamt about
during the night
before I became aware
of this moving
of life...!

I found my dreams
but the moon took me away
It lifted me up to the firmament
and suspended me there
I saw how my heart had fallen
on your path
singing a song

Between my love and my heart
things were happening which
slowly slowly
made me recall everything

You amuse me with your touch
although I can’t see your hands.
You have kissed me with tenderness
although I haven’t seen your lips
You are hidden from me.
But it is you who keeps me alive..!

Perhaps the time will come
when you will tire of kisses
I shall be happy
even for insults from you
I only ask that you
keep some attention on me.

~ Rumi

I was the doorkeeper at the gate of my Beloved....by Rumi

All friends have vanished. 
Like fleeting thoughts they scattered 
and left me only with the thought 
of my Beloved. 

Now alone with every breath 
I call the only Friend of the forsaken.

I was taken by the stream of love
I tasted the fruit of love's tree,

surrounded with
such tenderness, such sweetness
I even had to chase the wasps away!

I was the doorkeeper
at the gate of my Beloved.

She left, and now, bewildered
I don't know which way to turn.

~ Rumi
(The Only Friend )
Ghazal 1596
Translation by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
"Rumi: Hidden Music"
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001
Art by  Laura Majcan

I've seen no joy without You in both worlds....by Rumi

I've seen no joy without You 
in both worlds,
I've seen their wonders 
nothing was like You.

I've put the soul's ear 
at the window "Heart"
I've heard some words
but never seen the lips!

You've lavished grace abundant
on Your this lover
I've seen no reason
but Your endless grace.

O My Beloved , dearer than my eyes,
I have Not seen one like You
in Iran, Iraq or whole World .

Pour out such wine
that I may leave myself
I've only seen fatigue in my existence.

You're milk and You are sugar,
sun and moon
I've seen no family like You,
my Beloved !

O endless Love, Divine manifestation
I've seen no name thats worthy of You,
your love ,o beloved helper.

I am like iron scrap
Your love: the magnet.
You, without seeking,
are the source of seeking!

~ Rumi
Ghazal (Ode) N32 (in the Nicholson numbering system; number 1690 in the more commonly used Furuzanfar numbering system)
Translation by Annemarie Schimmel
"Look! This is Love - Poems of Rumi""
Shambhala, 1991

All your talk is worthless When compared to one whisper of the Beloved. ~ Rumi

Lovers share a sacred decree 
to seek the Beloved.
They roll head over heels,
rushing toward the Beautiful One
like a torrent of water.

In truth, everyone is a shadow of the Beloved
Our seeking is His seeking,
Our words are His words.

At times we flow toward the Beloved
like a dancing stream.
At times we are still water
held in His pitcher.
At times we boil in a pot
turning to vapor -
that is the job of the Beloved.

He breathes into my ear
until my soul
takes on His fragrance.
He is the soul of my soul
How can I escape?
But why would any soul in this world
want to escape from the Beloved?

He will melt your pride
making you thin as a strand of hair,
Yet do not trade, even for both worlds,
One strand of His hair.

We search for Him here and there
while looking right at Him.
Sitting by His side we ask,
“O Beloved, where is the Beloved?”

Enough with such questions!
Let silence take you to the core of life.

All your talk is worthless
When compared to one whisper
of the Beloved.

~ Rumi

Surrender to the will of my Beloved....by Rumi

One day I feel confused and down, 
the next I can reach the sky 
without you I am never calm. 

In your absence people ridicule me, 
but when you come 
I don't mind what they think or say. 

I refuse to feast or be merry without my Beloved. 
However he appears I will follow.

If he comes as a cupbearer, I'll become one too;
if he comes as an ascetic, I'll become a pious pilgrim.

If he pretends to be a madman, I'll become a perfect fool;
if he tries to escape, I will become a mighty hunter.

Yet, when I complain about my sleepless nights
He mocks me and says I do not pray enough,
when I ask him for a favor he sends me off.

What am I to do but to surrender
to the will of my Beloved.

~ Rumi Translation by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
"Rumi: Hidden Music"
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001

As long as you are not displeased with me, I do not care what I face...by Rabia Basri

To You, my Beloved,
I complain of my weakness,
and my lack of support
and the humiliation I suffer from my fellowmen.

O the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful!
You are the Lord of the weak,
and you are my Beloved.
To whom do You leave me?
To a distant person who receives me with hostility?
Or to an enemy You have given power over me?

As long as You are not displeased with me,
I do not care what I face.
Your forgiveness is all
that matters to me

I seek refuge in the light of Your Countenance
By which all darkness is dispelled
and dissolve all challenges of the world
and the hereafter,
lest Your wrath descends upon me.

I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction
To You is the supplication
Until it reaches Your Rida

Verily there is no power
and might
other than You.

~ Rabia Basri
(What is Rida ?
It is the Perfect Contentment out of Love of the Beloved.)

Inside this clay jug...by Kabir

Inside this clay jug
there are canyons and
pine mountains,
and the maker of canyons
and pine mountains!

All seven oceans are inside,
and hundreds of millions of stars.

The acid that tests gold is here,
and the one who judges jewels.

And the music
that comes from the strings
that no one touches,
and the source of all water.

If you want the truth, I will tell you the truth:
Friend, listen: the Beloved whom I love is inside.

Why should we two ever want to part?
Just as the leaf of the water rhubarb
lives floating on the water,
we live as the great one and the little one.

As the owl opens his eyes all night to the moon,
we live as the great one and the little one.

This love between us goes back to the first humans:
it cannot be annihilated.

Here is Kabir's idea :
as the river gives itself into the ocean,
what is inside me moves inside you.

~ KABIR
version by Robert Bly
From The Kabir book: forty-four ecstatic poems by Kabir (1977)

But it is a heart, my beloved. Where are its shores and its bottom ?...by Rabindranath Tagore

Your questioning eyes are sad. 
They seek to know my meaning 
as the moon would fathom the sea.

I have bared my life before your eyes from end to end, 
with nothing hidden or held back. 

That is why you know me not.

If it were only a gem I could break it into a hundred pieces
and string them into a chain to put on your neck.

If it were only a flower, round and small and sweet,
I could pluck it from its stem to set it in your hair.

But it is a heart, my beloved.
Where are its shores and its bottom ?

You know not the limits of this kingdom,
still you are its queen.

If it were only a moment of pleasure
it would flower in an easy smile,
and you could see it and read it in a moment.

If it were merely a pain it would melt in limpid tears,
reflecting its inmost secret without a word.

But it is love, my beloved.
Its pleasure and pain are boundless,
and endless its wants and wealth.

It is as near to you as your life,
but you can never wholly know it.

~ Rabindranath Tagore
The Gardener
Art by Nik Helbig

You are bursting out of me .....by Belle Heywood

You are bursting out of me 
In all directions
I wake up 
And sing out 
Your praises 
As soon as I know 

I have lips
Again.

You
Are bursting
Out of me
In all directions
All day
I sing a song of love
For You.

You
Are bursting
Out of me
In all directions
I know you are
My Love:
My All Perceiving
Beloved.

You are bursting
Out of me
In all directions
I am immobile
Only You
Move me.

You are bursting
Out of me
In all directions
Nothing but You
Is What I Say.

You are bursting
Out of me
In all directions
Ever present
In Every way.


I am no longer my "self ".

I am only this
Love.

You
Are
Bursting

Out........

~ Belle Heywood

Love has nothing to do with the five senses and the six directions...by Rumi

Love has nothing to do 
with the five senses and the six directions

Its goal is only to experience 
the attraction exerted by the Beloved. 

Afterwards, perhaps,
permission will come from God

The secrets that ought to be told will be told
with an eloquence nearer to the understanding
than these subtle confusing allusions.

The secret is partner with none
but the knower of the secret:
in the skeptic's ear the secret is no secret at all.

~ Rumi
Mathnawi VI:5-8
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996

To become Your Face. by Rabia Basri

"O Beloved

Everyone prays to You from fear of the Fire;
And if You do not put them in the Fire,
This is their reward.

Or they pray to You for the Garden,
Full of fruits and flowers.
And that is their prize.

But I do not pray to You like this,
For I am not afraid of the Fire,
And I do not ask You for the Garden.

But all I want is the Essence of Your Love,
And to return to be One with You,
And to become Your Face."

~ Rabia Basri

If once in this world I win a moment with you...by Rumi

If once in this world 
I win a moment with you, 

both worlds I'd trample 
under a dance of triumph. 

Oh, Beloved,
in this world I'm so drunk

now only stories of drunkenness
and revelry pass my lips.

~ Rumi
From Breathing Truth Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi
Muriel Maufroy, ( 1997)

The journey that leads to the Beloved Is guided by His Love. ~ Sheikha Maryam Kabeer Faye

On the road that leads to the Beloved
Every stone is made of gold.
Every step we take brings knowledge to us.

Even what appears to be a mistake, or an error,
Can bring us closer to purity and truth.
Every good intention, thought and action
Guides the soul toward the Goal.

Every true word that is heard,
Every understanding received,
Every challenge met,

Every station, by his Grace, attained
Leads the traveler
Through the labyrinth
Of steps and tests

Surely, to the One
Who has left, at every turn in the Road,
Signs of His Existence,
Clear signs showing the Way
That lead to Him.

Not only do our successes show us the way,
But even more deeply, our apparent failures

Those moments in our journey
When we are most deeply humbled
And realize our limitations,

Realizing that every step we take
Is not due to our own power and will,
But occurs by the Grace of God.

The journey that leads to the Beloved
Is guided by His Love.

~ Sheikha Maryam Kabeer Faye
From Journey Through Ten Thousand Veils,
by Sheikha Maryam Kabeer Faye
Art by Arlissa Vaughn

All My Youth Returns....by Rumi

You are the comfort of my soul
in the season of sorrow.
You are the wealth of my spirit
in the heartbreak of loss.

The unimaginable,
The unknowable
that is what you give my soul
when it moves in your direction.

By your grace
my eyes have looked upon eternity.
O Beloved, how could this crumbling empire
ever take me from you?

The voice that sings your name
is sweeter than midnight sleep
more graceful than the song of a royal poet.

When deep in prayer
my faith is bound by the thought of you,
not the seven verses of faith.

You greet sinners with mercy,
You melt stone hearts with love.

If I were offered a kingdom,
And the world's riches were placed at my feet,
I would bow with my face low and say,
"This does not compare to His love!"

Union is the pure wine.
My life is the cup.
Without your wine
what use is this cup?

I once had a thousand desires,
But in my one desire to know you
all else melted away.

The pure essence of your being
has taken over my heart and soul.
Now there is no second or third,
only the sound of your sweet cry.

Through your grace I have found
a treasure within myself.
I have found the truth of the Unseen world.

I have come upon the eternal ecstasy.
I have gone beyond the ravages of time.
I have become one with you!

Now my heart sings,
"I am the soul of the world."

From my first breath I have longed for You
This longing has become my life.
This longing has seen me grow old. . . .

But one mention of Beloved
and all my youth comes back to me.

~ Rumi
(All My Youth Returns)
Version by Jonathan Star
"Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved"
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997

Gold shines always brighter from the wounds inflicted by the goldsmith...by Rumi

At every instant 
the heart hears this call from the blazing sun: 
"Renounce the torch of the earth 
and gain the torch of beyond."

Since you are serving the Beloved, why hide?
Gold shines always brighter
from the wounds inflicted by the goldsmith.

Overwhelmed by the eternal Wine,
The heart was reciting joyfully:
"The wine may tear my life away,
it will give me another life."

~ Rumi
Ode (Ghazal) 538
"Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi"
Selected and Translated by Muriel Maufroy
Sanyar Press - London, 1997
PHOTO: By Mezghan Zikria 

For Beloved's sake....by Rumi

Wherever the Eternal Command 
takes its course, 

Living and dying 
are one to Beloved's willing lovers. 

He lives for Beloved's sake,
not for riches;

He dies for Beloved's sake,
not from fear and pain.

His faith exists
for the sake of doing Beloved's will,

Not for the sake of Paradise
and its trees and streams.

His abandonment of infidelity
is also for Beloved's sake,
and not out of fear of the Fire.

~ Rumi
Mathnawi III:1909-1912
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996

Hear, O my beloved...by Ibn Arabi

“Hear, O my beloved!
you are the reason for the being of the world
You are the centre-point of the sphere and its encompassing
You are its complexity and simplicity

You are the order brought [sent] down between heaven and earth
I did not create for you realizations
Except that you realize Me in them
And when you realize Me you realize your self
Do not strive to realize Me in the realization of your self
By my eye you will see Me and your self
You will not see Me, however, by[with] the eye of your self

Beloved
How often have I called you and you do not hear
How often have I [stood before you]presented myself to you and you do not witness [recognize]
How often have I embodied myself in scents and you do not inhale
And in the flavours and you do not savour the taste for My sake

What is the matter with you, that you do not feel me when you touch?
Why do you not recognize Me in the fragrances of musk?
Why do you not see Me? Why do you not hear Me?
What is the matter with you?

I am your most heady rapture beyond any delight
My craving for you is more intense than any born for an object of desire

I am better for you than any good thing
I am the Beautiful
I am the Elegant [witty, comely]
Love Me. Love Me. Love Me alone.
Desire Me, Ardently.

Be consumed in me[distressed, troubled, obsessed]not engrossed in other than Me.
Take Me in , receive Me, you will not find an intimate like me
Everything wants you for itself, but I want you for your sake,
But you, you avoid me.

Beloved!
You cannot meet me half-way in your drawing close to me
My drawing close to you outweighs a hundredfold the means by which you approach me.
I am closer to you than your self.
And your self, which performs these acts, is other than Me , created.

Beloved!
I am jealous of you from you.
I cannot bare to see you with otherness or with yourself.
Be with Me in Me,
with yourself just as you are with Me.
Then, my Beloved, you will not even feel the Union,
The Union.
Had we found a path toward separation,
we would let the separation savour separation.

Beloved!
Come, hand in hand, enter Reality that It may decide between us with the judgment of eternity
Beloved antagonist
Pleasure cannot be found in dispute between lovers,. Pleasure is in the converse.

As the poet said;
I wished her dead because of loving her
So that shed be my adversary on the Last Day
(Say; Do you have an understanding of the High Assembly when they are disputing?
Had the outcome of this severance been only appearance before the Judge, then what about the joy of and gazing upon the face of a beloved?)
O heart! O heart!

Ibn Arabi . XII Century
Translated by Abraham Abadi and Aaron Cass