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Oct 2020 · 355
It's the End of An Error
Atoosa Oct 2020
Mistakes are the path
Flagstones of experience
Moving forward NOW
Never regret, but squeeze all the learning you can out of the happenings of life. You made the best decision you could. I came, I saw, I may not have conquered but I learned.
Sep 2019 · 887
We’re just Friends
Atoosa Sep 2019
Is it obvious?
Trying NOT to fall for you...
It isn’t working
Aug 2019 · 679
Thrill of Your Heartbeat
Atoosa Aug 2019
Where my softness meets your hard body
Curve and angle merge to one uneven line of truth
Your arms entwine and protect me -even from myself
Melodies pulse in the open window... echoes of our reawakened youth
Savor the thrill of your heartbeat thrumming against my breast
Passion flows and overwhelms me but I come tumbling as you fall
"I'm yours only" you breathe, your eyes blazing with candle flame
Earnest gifts of respect and loyalty in every whisper of my name
How can a heart be unmoved by such open offerings?
Jun 2019 · 1.5k
Turquoise Dreams
Atoosa Jun 2019
Have you imagined in your turquoise dreams majestic mountains and seaside scenes?

Then go West my friend and come to me in endless summer, savoring fruits of joy in sun warmed shimmer....
https://www.instagram.com/doctoratoosa/p/ByoOlyllTDZ/?igshid=121mo8uwa05ob
Apr 2019 · 613
Keep In Touch
Atoosa Apr 2019
Keeper of Secrets
     I’m an open book
With Heart Untamed
Eyes that see into you with just a look
Connections made, emotions unnamed
Turn my face to the sun with a new outlook
Remember the joy with no regrets
Keep in touch with your true self and with those who recognize and honor you
Apr 2019 · 2.1k
Haiku for Japan
Atoosa Apr 2019
cherry blossoms fall
trees weeping for their homeland
tears of pink and white
I wrote this on the night I found out about the tsunami in Japan in 2011.

Now every spring season when cherry blossoms bloom I remember And I know that nation is still recovering
Apr 2019 · 1.8k
I just called to say Haiku
Atoosa Apr 2019
Optimistic voice
Cheerful greeting from a friend
Connect and support
A friendly voice can make all the difference in your day
Jun 2018 · 3.2k
Expectations
Atoosa Jun 2018
Even before our first date
You make sure we have The Conversation  
Heaven forbid I should mistake you for a man of honor
That I should have any expectation....
That you know how to treat me
As a friend .....or a lover
As a woman of substance
A lady not a *****


Your immaturity doesn’t surprise me
But until that moment that you showed your hand
I was willing to suspend my disbelief
To give you the benefit of the doubt
To let you set the bar higher
But you succeeded in lowering my expectations
Even further
Seeking a REAL MAN. Open heart, available future, ready for something true and awesome. Players and half-hearted daters need not apply. Bring the fire or go elsewhere looking for your fun cuddle bunny.....not to sound jaded. I'm not bitter. I'm just NOT wasting my time on manboys because I believe REAL MEN are out there and I want to find mine.
Apr 2018 · 368
Writer’s Block
Atoosa Apr 2018
The pen is poised in hand engaged
Awaiting rhyme or sage
Thoughts to give it motion
Absent the flow of love or rage
Unmoved but exhausted it lays down
Crisp blue striped sheets turn brown
After what seems an age
Dust completes the task of covering the page
Ideas unexplored, untold emotion
An eternity passes by
And possibilities unborn die
Sometimes, wouldn’t you rather wield a sword than a pen?
Jan 2018 · 549
Winning the Greatest Game
Atoosa Jan 2018
Thinking 10 moves ahead
Life still throws off our best laid plans
I watch his quiet concentration
Courageous exploration
Earnest deliberation
Beyond the black&white
Indomitable spirit showing through
Skill and joy and Community growing all around him
Through loving effort and sacrifice
Mind and heart open
Finding the FLOW even in flood
Axé!
Well played, my friend
For IO
We are all very glad you were born. Happy Birthday!
Atoosa Dec 2017
It ended sadly
He married some other girl
Good girls finish last
Oct 2017 · 459
EnTANGOment
Atoosa Oct 2017
Passionate negotiations
Twirling truce in the battle of the sexes
Drama dancing in every dynamic phrase and flourish
Questions posed in angles answered in curves
Skill balanced on a razor's edge
Try to turn away - magnetic forces will pull you back
Returning with fierce vengeance to hard earned harmony
Drawn to this dance since I first saw it as a child.......mystery and tension, passion and grace....and all the tapestry of the Tango
Sep 2017 · 472
Dreaming of Oxford
Atoosa Sep 2017
Ancient stone vibrating with life sighs deeply in my memory
In my mind my feet still explore
The hidden paths of that fair city
Peace permeates my spirit as I lay dreaming
Of broad greens and cloistered gardens
Shaded courtyards of quiet blooms
Of wood-worked halls and book lined rooms
Her subtle charm, her poised beauty
Warm heart beating even beneath the snow
To inspire , to teach and to sow
In the hearts of all who know her
The seeds of joy, of love, of loyalty
Reaped in measure from us all
We who have walked her cobblestone streets
And awakened to her tolling bells
Even across the miles and years
My soul resonating in time with hers
And I am there again, walking out of mist and woods through slanting sunbeams
Curving around carved towers
And all around and within there is light
"And that sweet City with her gleaming spires, she needs not June for beauty's heightening."     Matthew Arnold

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01252/oxford-skyline_1252209b.jpg
Jul 2017 · 562
Sunset Rise
Atoosa Jul 2017
Painted gold and set afire
Sky embraces earth, eternal
Conversation of light & darkness, serenaded by melodies of awakened life......  do not sleep yet

Arise....walk out to greet the Night

And Even if we miss the SUNset, the afterglow still rewards us for heading out to walk water's edge lit by glowing embers of dusk
https://instagram.com/p/BWzUJnJHc2b/
Jul 2017 · 419
Choose Fire
Atoosa Jul 2017
You say women choose
Men can only inquire
But if you stand to lose
That which you desire
Beware the ardent ruse
And show her truest fire
She could be your muse
Do not spark her ire!
"He who wants the rose must respect the thorn"
Persian Proverb
Jul 2017 · 377
What you lost
Atoosa Jul 2017
Could've Been
Almost was...
Lost your chance
To write the story of Us

You don't have what it takes to write a living masterpiece:  
courage, open heart, empathy and trust

I'm the most amazing woman that ever could've been yours...... if you were not so afraid to be mine.

We were to belong to each other and to God together.
But now you will have to settle for less because you could not bring yourself to be more.
Or perhaps it never could've been at all. Hard to know sometimes even in retrospect what was real and what was illusion .

"
Apr 2017 · 2.4k
Fleeting Promises
Atoosa Apr 2017
I kissed you goodbye that rainy night
Under the Tree in the Sacred Garden
Not realizing as I left for my flight
I would never see my lover again

The man who swore undying love
Would soon be gone and in his place
A cruel cold coward I never dreamed of
To cancel promises and plans erase

Was Iceman inside you ready to strike
If ever anyone got too close?
Tearing down trust and faith alike
Punishing me  for loving you most
Still awaken to the reality of  shattered dreams.....small comfort to know the Sacred Tree still stands witness

" God will not have his work made manifest by cowards. "
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Apr 2017 · 4.1k
Mother Love
Atoosa Apr 2017
Mother Earth quakes
Absorbing heavens' tears
Like crystals on her greening robes
Her heart aches
She knows our fears
Within her are endless globes
I marched with thousands of concerned fellow lovers of the Earth today who showed up despite the rain, trying to defend our planet, the voice of science and the human right to seek and speak truth.  It was inspiring.
Apr 2017 · 878
your Last power
Atoosa Apr 2017
your words
CANNOT melt me
but
CAN make me angry
Not for much longer.....you will soon lose any power you once had over me.......your reign of pain has ended.
Apr 2017 · 1.1k
broken
Atoosa Apr 2017
I am broken
               heart and will

the world is broken
               festering and ill

its systems broken
                pillage and ****

careening out of control
                or standing still

from every side the scream
               answers mine, loud and shrill

I choke on tears that stream
               trying to swallow each bitter pill
when prayers can't even comfort.....when my heart reaches out to children I cannot save.....poetry and prayer.....offerings from my soul....please God help them!


"The world is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions. He, verily is the All-Possessing, the Most High."     Baha'u'llah  (Baha'i Sacred Writings)
Apr 2017 · 813
Dream In Ruins
Atoosa Apr 2017
Sun Gate by moonlight
The Ruins below glimmering
Dream light  shines bright  
Ancient magic shimmering

To our souls the dreamscape experience is real
Our Consciousness connected -- together we stand
So much unknown except what I feel
The flutter of my heart, the touch of his hand

We take flight through the mist
As the world below gleams
Adventure beckons and I can't resist
So Mountain Man became the Man of My Dreams
A Lucid Dream of Machu Picchu

I posted this on February 20th, but sadly today accidentally deleted it. So I am re-posting.  My gratitude and apologies to the hundreds of you who already read it, the dozens of you that already liked it, and those of you who commented, encouraged me, and honored me when you posted it on your pages or added it to your collections. Keep dreaming, Lucid Dreamers!
Mar 2017 · 674
we are forgiven
Atoosa Mar 2017
I've forgiven you for tearing my heart apart
Pretending to be someone you're not
For swearing eternal love then torturing me with your unique cruelty

I've forgiven myself for believing the performance... the promises
For seeing capacity in you that will never be realized
Wasting my precious life force on someone so undeserving

You never actually asked for my forgiveness
And yet once again, I am giving you something from my heart....
That perhaps you do not deserve....
The weak cannot forgive. Forgiveness is one attribute of the strong.     Mahatma Gandhi

It was much harder to forgive myself....that was the true accomplishment.  Compassion for oneself is SO much harder. Why is that?

We will never be WE again. Maybe WE never were....except in my mind and heart.....and in the poetry of dreams....
Mar 2017 · 680
self Realization
Atoosa Mar 2017
I miss you, of course
And I miss that girl I was....
So in love with you
She was sweet and naive and she's gone too....that softer younger me so ready to merge my life with his....
Mar 2017 · 973
vulnerable
Atoosa Mar 2017
Can't protect your heart
AND LOVE someone deeply too
BE vulnerable
armored hearts cannot truly give or even receive love

“To love at all is to be vulnerable.” CS Lewis
Mar 2017 · 1.2k
On Love -by Gibran
Atoosa Mar 2017
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.


Kahlil Gibran
From The Prophet
Atoosa Mar 2017
"Let us have love and more love, a love that melts all opposition, a love that conquers all foes, a love that sweeps away all barriers, a love that aboundeth in charity, large-heartedness, tolerance, and noble-striving, a love that triumphs over all obstacles, a boundless, resistless, sweeping love. Ah me!

Each one must be a sign of love, a sea of love, a centre of love, a sun of love, a star of love, a haven of love, a pearl of love, a palace of love, a mountain of love, a world of love, a universe of love.

Hast thou love? Then thy power is irresistible.

Hast thou sympathy? Then all the stars will sing thy praise!"

~ 'Abdu'l-Baha, Star of the West, VII:17, 19 January 1917, page 171
From the Baha'i Sacred Writings
Mar 2017 · 2.9k
On Fasting - by Rumi
Atoosa Mar 2017
There's a hidden sweetness in the stomach's
emptiness.
We are lutes. No more, no less.

If the soundbox is stuffed full, there is no room
for music.
If the brain and the belly are burning clean with
fasting,

Every moment a new song comes out of the fire.
The fog clears, and new energy makes you run up the
steps before you.
Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry.
Emptier—write secrets with the reed pen.
When you're full of food and drink, an ugly metal
statue sits where your spirit should.

When you fast, good habits gather like friends who
wish to help.
Fasting is Solomon's ring.
Don't give it to some illusion and lose your power.

But even if you have, if you've lost all will and
control,

They come back when you fast,
Like soldiers appearing out of the ground, pennants
flying above them.
A table descends to your tents, Jesus' table.
Expect to see, when you fast, this table spread with
other food,
better than the broth of cabbages.

  ~Jalal ad-Din Rumi
As Baha'is around the world begin the month of Fasting..... preparing the hollow reed to channel divine love
Feb 2017 · 963
#DestinyFAIL
Atoosa Feb 2017
You don't even know you failed your spiritual test?
Treated me like one of your side projects –  left unfinished
You were surprised to find my self worth undiminished
You only devalued yourself and now your charade is finished
So take off on some other vision quest

You'll never even see how much you were blessed
Given so much more than you deserve
You could've had it all if you'd found the nerve
To keep the true course instead of swerve
Break promises and pretend you've done your best

Tore open my eyes and showed me you're no better than the rest
Just another coward claiming to be strong
And you proved to me that my heart was wrong
For my fire in your cold world cannot belong
You're not the hero I deserve and I won't settle for less!
#IntuitionFAIL (I should have heard some alarms, right? Maybe love is deaf as well as blind....)

Free Will overrides destiny
Feb 2017 · 1.2k
DisConnect
Atoosa Feb 2017
I remember when your words were a caress
But now that's gone and you're all business

It's not just warm touch I miss but how you were so present even when virtual
Now you're short circuiting the connection that was physical and emotional,  allowing only intellectual or spiritual.

Affection requires all those elements.....
But you seem to have no patience for sentiment

You say I'm just nostalgic for the romance,
And these are the realities of a relationship at Long Distance.

So I wonder if I've committed to a love that won't last....
Because I do want the romance and won't settle for something half assed.

Where's the open hearted warrior who arose to love's divine quest?
Remember when you promised to treat me like I'm precious?

How quickly you forgot that vow
Or maybe you don't remember how

Because for months despite the miles we were so close
And I did feel cherished....but where is that man my heart chose?
I'm no good at head games and I just need a man who can stay constant  and treat me with love and affection every day.....
Feb 2017 · 5.1k
Cold Hard Diamond Heart
Atoosa Feb 2017
Drove through snowstorms over icy roads
Warmed by the fire of my love for you
Following a lifeline of energy
Thought it led to your heart, warm and true
But there was only burning pain as you pushed me back
Erasing all the joy I ever knew
Signs were there that it was a trap
But the mine exploding in my face was my first clue
Open hearts are always more vulnerable..... But to truly love, and receive love, we must be vulnerable
https://open.spotify.com/track/4J4zx8xGJpuGndrVc06KaT?si=XdQ5CYdGRUSaSCFjM4jedw
Feb 2017 · 1.9k
Together in Solitude
Atoosa Feb 2017
Riding the Sunrise to its zenith
Our destination the Northstar
Gazing at the crescent moon above us
Thinking of friends who are far

Whispered prayers carry on the wind
Telepathic connections magnify emotion
Waiting to ride and make art out of ice
Carving the helix is meditation in motion
Missing my snowboard buddies and the sweet ride on powder on a perfect winter weekend in Utah.....
Feb 2017 · 979
This is a Lamp Lighted
Atoosa Feb 2017
Ignite!
But tame
Your flame
Within the lamp
Shedding its light
Invite, and arrange
The room, the hearth,
Lace the food with love
Cage your tears with calm
And center yourself on Him
Trust that the words will come
The hearts will open and fear
Will be displaced by truth
Careless of self offer
Effort and intent
Confirmations
Will come in time with patience
Transformation time is near
Inspired by this beautiful prayer :

O my Lord!  O my Lord!  This is a lamp lighted by the fire of Thy love and ablaze with the flame which is ignited in the tree of Thy mercy.  O my Lord!  Increase his enkindlement, heat and flame, with the fire which is kindled in the Sinai of Thy Manifestation.  Verily, Thou art the Confirmer, the Assister, the Powerful, the Generous, the Loving.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Baha'i Sacred Writings
Feb 2017 · 718
Mind Meld
Atoosa Feb 2017
Energized

Your voice raising me to the next quantum level

Of one mind with flow of thought surging

Our dual awareness merging

No need for the touch of fingers to connect

It should be too much as brain waves intersect

Catalyzed

Without a drop of green blood

No training to restrain the flood

Connections this deep can be dangerous

Explore the uncharted no matter how treacherous

Shields down, sensors active

Galvanized
Don't have to be a Star Trek fan to know the feeling of connection that comes from truly being in sync with another to the point where otherness fades.
Feb 2017 · 796
Homecoming
Atoosa Feb 2017
Intertwined
Can't get close enough
Wrapped around me and I around you
Breathe you in... your warmth and scent surround me
Through the hypnotic pleasure of your hands in my hair
A rejoicing voice within sings:
"I'm home!"
My internal senses are certain
Even if the future is not
For this night I am where I have always belonged
Have you ever felt like you were in one of your favorite paintings?

http://www.klimt.com/documents/pictures/en/women/klimt-der-kuss-1908.jpg
Feb 2017 · 507
Shine Through
Atoosa Feb 2017
Speak to me of light and shadow
Of Strength built on love, tested in countless invisible battles
Tell me of immeasurable pressure forging a diamond out of what had once been simply organic matter....words will not be enough

But my inner eye will see
My soul recognizing a connection that transcends syllables and sounds
Moonlight turns tears into gems shining at the corner of my eye

Unlock the heart and let the light shine through
The Divine Source channeled and refracted
Almost too brilliant to behold
Atoosa Feb 2017
There are different wells in your heart.
Some fill with each good rain,
Others are far too deep for that.

In one well
You have just a few precious cups of water,

That ‘love’ is literally something of yourself,
It can grow as slow as a diamond
If it is lost.

Your love
Should never be offered to the mouth of a stranger,

Only to someone
Who has the valor and daring
To cut pieces of their soul off with a knife

Then weave them in a blanket to protect you.

There are different wells within us.
Some fill with each good rain,

Others are far, far too deep
for that.
Hafez was among the greatest poets of ancient Persia and wrote truly inspired poetry about love and mystical reunion with God. 
 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/hafez
Feb 2017 · 472
Binary
Atoosa Feb 2017
Splitting my brain in two
Wisdom born from the chasm
Deepening my knowledge of all things made new
Relishing the mental muscle spasm
Learning anew the things I once knew

A natural rhythm to the revolving dance
Heightened awareness charged but serene
Exchanging energized particles of significance
Rendering meaningless the distance between
Fission in fusion refines the solution enabling both to advance
Binary Stars find their complementary orbit
Jan 2017 · 532
Trial by FIRE
Atoosa Jan 2017
engulfed by the flames
the outer shell burns away
the true self remains
You cannot know who you really are until you have endured suffering and tested your true strength
Jan 2017 · 688
eyes of pain
Atoosa Jan 2017
Pain nearly killed me.
Through new eyes I see your pain
My heart reaches out
through our experience of suffering we can understand and touch others....sometimes what doesn't **** you makes you softer, not only stronger
Dec 2016 · 255
What Dreams May Come
Atoosa Dec 2016
I say I can't sleep
But the truth is more complex
I'm afraid to dream
shuffle off this mortal coil
Dec 2016 · 1.1k
Lucid Dreams
Atoosa Dec 2016
Cryptic dreams awaken the mind
Telling more than I want to know
Hinting at emotions undefined
The glint of rough gems to be mined

Possible rapture threatens contentment
Disturbing the balance and the flow
Turbulence enters the calm of the present
Subconscious susurrations could prove prescient

The painstakingly built façade stays intact
But the lingering dream won’t go
No use denying its deep impact
As it cajoles me to think and act
Do you dare to let your dreams guide you?
Nov 2016 · 688
Goodnight, My Love
Atoosa Nov 2016
Say Goodnight, My love
Come to my shimmering dreams
Dance with me till dawn
I am trampling over every wisdom
              just to kiss the face of love.
                                      ~ Eric Ashford
Oct 2016 · 444
Paradise or Purgatory
Atoosa Oct 2016
Lost in Paradise
Purgatory without you
Come to my rescue
Oct 2016 · 505
quiet in CHAOS
Atoosa Oct 2016
tangled emotions struggle to unwind
unconscious desires surface unrefined
going into the future blind
not knowing what kind of trouble I'll find

feeling the G force at every turn
striving to savor and to learn
praying for calm and contentment to return
hoping from the turbulence will emerge a pattern

new dreams bring the cauldron to a rolling boil
simmering ideas rise and uncoil
fighting fatigue, returning to the toil
planting good intent in the newly turned soil

surrender everything to Him and move on
find forward momentum on the path to be drawn
connect and grow, live life with èlan
face every moment like a new dawn
“You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Oct 2016 · 256
Dancer
Atoosa Oct 2016
She lives in the dance
Music moves body and soul
Worlds swirl around her
“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

— The End —