The Commander

***

There are commandments made
by generals and royal decrees by kings.
Harems are ruled by self-appointed sultans,
and the ranks are many of those
who think they have the right
to tell others what to do.

In the world of lovers, there is only
one commander,
who is given the divine right
to speak or to command the heart,
and it is Love,
whose standing truth
and revelation
is to surrender to Love.

When the heart responds
and answers the call,
the sun rises in the heavens,
the moon reveals its glory,
and the stars wink and twinkle
and began to shine and replicate
and create new stars.
The mind is lost in a wine-colored glow,
wondering where it
thought it was going
forgetting what it was
so intent on doing.

The commander comes in beauty
quietly in the night,
charming and disarming,
with violets woven in the ringlets
of flowing curls,
that will not be subdued
nor chained or restrained by braids
or ribbons or jewels,
nor will it follow rules
of propriety.
Love’s laughing hair flies
in the face of society
following only
the freedom of the wind!

O lovers! Be aware of the snare
of disordered orders
from one who wants to control
or meet a goal!
Listen to the sweet song
of the nightingale
who knows the rose
and the sensuous petals
of the heart
that blossom and bare the beauty
of love’s mysteries
to the beloved alone.

poetic expression by Naomi
visual image by Rassouli
www.rassouli.com

Mysterious Encounter

***
Mysterious Encounter

The penetration of seeing eyes
can be a deeper way
of making love
than flesh meeting flesh
could ever be.

We can be seduced by a thought,
or manipulated through fear,
and we can travel from here to there
or go anywhere
clutching an arrow of thought.

A voice can find its way
into a heart
through a song
in a way so subtle,
we are unaware
of how it slips
beyond the barriers we build.

Scents and smells take us back in time,
awakening senses to recall
and enthrall
and set us on a path
of desiring that stimulates
a hunger for more.

Longing opens a door
to places we have never seen,
faces we have never known
and lets us fly
where we have never flown.

Pure love pierces the heart
and opens the light
of the soul
as spirit touches spirit in such
a sacred way
that we are set free
mysteriously
and beautifully
to see with the heart.
If we could only surrender
to love.

***

poetic expression by
Naomi
painting: Mysterious Encounter
by Rassouli
www.rassouli.com

Fountain of Light

***

Fountain of Light

O sweetest love
this beautiful flowing bewilderment
from the embrace
of the beloved
infuses the water of life
with the light of spirit
pouring into
this open vessel conceived
and created to receive
the wine of heaven
to let it flow
through our hearts
brimming over and streaming out
as brooks and rivers
and oceans
of rhythmic waves
of love
making the earth a fountain
where all may come
and drink
the living water
of an eternal spring

Divine Embrace

***

Divine Embrace

A moment when heaven
lowers a veil
to touch the horizon of the sea
and the sea reaches to touch the shore.

The eyes of my heart sweep upward
to the sky reaching to touch thee, O God,

The expanding beauty stirs and moves my soul
to flow in rhythmic waves of love,
to feel your breath in the wind
drawing me into a deep kiss
uniting the sky and sea,
my heart and soul and thee.

Life is filled with the sweet surprise
of the loving gaze
of my beloved’s eyes
caressing me in countless ways
filling my days
with visions of grace,
while my nights conceal the face
of divine embrace
filled with the lingering
mysteries of love.

a moment of indulgence

*****
a moment of indulgence

you are right and we were wrong
text that itune into a song
with your dancing thumb
make merry with your blackberry
find your friends on facebook
and don’t look back

the dance of darkness
takes on so many forms
wearing masks
and hats and changing faces
peering through the flames of our fears
defining the distance in years
and filling the spaces with goals
we forgot we had
that flaunt our failures
and make us sad
and haunt us with passing time
and we resort to rhyme
while all that seemed so dear fades away
and leaves us wondering who we are
and if we ever were
and home seems something we invented
and lamented when it disappeared
becoming someone else’s house
as clouds of colored anger fill the sky
and we wonder if we should even try
to start again
to build something new
seeing a world in which we don’t belong
and we don’t recognize your song
so we hand on the legacy
we call making a life
and wish you young ones well
at taking your turn
to crash and burn and let you think
you know
as you see us as slow
and out of date
while we watch you hesitate
on the brink
of almost having it all
and then you fall
and wonder why each dream
continues to seem
to be one more lesson to learn
and what we gain
becomes what we lose
and each is free to choose
another way
at the end of the day
time to drift and listen to a lullabye
and say goodbye
to proving a point
while you smoke a joint
and declare your success and ask us
to bless your bumbling cleverness
disguised as truth

I wish you joy
dear ones
I hope you have fun
in your day in the sun
for the world will keep on turning
and it won’t be long
your song will be forgotten too
just remember we loved you
in the only way we knew
how to do at the time
and when all else is long gone
you will hear the voice that gave you a choice
and your heart will stir
and suddenly that bright future
will become the fading past
and you will grasp that it doesn’t last
for the young will become old and out of date
and suddenly it’s too late
to do all you wanted to do and prove
how right you were
maybe then you will remember love
that was more precious
than you knew
until then
just wanted to say
that we love you anyway

******
poetic expression
by naomi
painting by rassouli
www.rassouli.com

God of Power, God of Might, God of Love, Burning Bright

******

God of Power, God of Might, God of Love, Burning Bright

O God of all Creation!

Creator of the heart and soul,

the body and mind,

and the Indwelling Spirit

within us!

Creator of all life

and giver of every gift,

eyes of every vision,

ears of all hearing,

breath of every moment

filling the earth

with the fragrance of flowers

and the sweet tastes

of milk and honey

You pour out upon the earth.

***

You create the seas and skies

and set the rivers flowing,

and yet You appear

in a tiny bird that we might

hear your sweet song

in the garden.

You come to us as a baby

sleeping in our arms

next to our hearts.

You listen to our longings

and come dancing

into our dreams.

***

Yet the greatest gift of all

is the generous love you share

and the tender ways you

bless each life

through the miracle

of inviting and exciting

our hearts

to love you too.

***

Your generous spirit

gives us wings

and summons every one

of us to dwell

in the hallowed air

of your watchful care,

to share

and become a part

of creating each new day

through divine play

to discover

the joys of your great love

and the peace of coming

home to your heart.

*****

Naomi

***

***

Painting by Rassouli
www.rassouli.com

The Voyager

*****

The Voyager

I hear you calling my name
in the night to come
to you
to follow a path of light
curving and winding
its way to the sun.
I follow the mist rising
from rivers of tears
to veil the moon
and to touch the stars.

I wander blindly in a dream
never knowing where
I’m going
or how to reach you
in this stretch
of endless wilderness.

You create a trail of beauty
all along the way
to your heart
leaving secret clues
that only love
will know.

I am a voyager of the night
searching for the One
who sings us all
into being
wandering with the friend
who is guiding me
into the kingdom
of love.

******

poetic expression by Naomi
painting by Rassouli
The Voyager
www.rassouli.com

Shores of Heaven

******
Shores of Heaven

Duality dissolves
through the lens of love,
for when we see with the eyes
of the heart,
continents move
to make room for lovers
and the sky kneels
to touch the sea.

Separate shores
sink into shifting sands
of time and place
as lips of lovers blend
in a holy kiss
melting shores of longing
in an act of grace.

The beauty of the beloved
appears in the mirroring moon
of the heart
lighting the way
for lovers
to surrender and leap
into the soul
of love.

poetic expression by Naomi
painting by Rassouli
“Shores of Heaven”
www.rassouli.com

savor the silence of the rose

******

behold the beauty

savor the silence of the rose

melt into the mystery of the beloved

*******

Pouring Love

******
Pouring Love

Love is pouring out upon the earth
filling the seas
reigning over the mountains
and turning
the valleys green

Spread your arms
and turn your face to the sky
and shower in the gift of sunlight
and the blood of the heart
cleansing and healing energy
offered for thee.

Bathe in the brimming beauty
and be baptized
with love from the holy chalice
of our collective longing
Receive the wine
of the heart
and feel the absolution
you crave.

Be anointed and reborn
in the alchemy and compassion
of the sacred oils
of communion
blessing divine union
with love
uniting and melting
all lovers
into the welcoming sea
of the beloved

poetic expression by naomi
painting by rassouli
“Pouring Love”
www.rassouli.com