Walls Of Trust

Artist: Jim Morrison

Soft Wild Promises

Artist: Jim Morrison

A Slave's Freedom

Loghman of Sarrakhs cried: "Dear God, behold
Your faithful servant, poor, bewildered, old--
An old slave is permitted to go free;
I've spent my life in patient loyalty,
I'm bent with grief, my black hair's turned to snow;
Grant manumission, Lord, and let me go."

A voice replied: "When you have gained release
from mind and thought, your slavery will cease;
You will be free when these two disappear."

By Farid ud-Din Attar

English version by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis
Original Language Persian/Farsi

MayFlower

From thy fragrant, beauteous bosom,
I accept and clasp the treasure,
To my breast with grateful pleasure,
Dear the gift, and dear the giver,
Whose loving hand is near me ever,
Memory ever fondly clinging,
To the past, before me bringing,
With deepest sweetest fascination,
Past scenes of love and admiration.

Art by: MainLoop
Model: Rivi Madison
Poem (portion): The May Flower
Poet: Janet Hamilton
Poem Provided by: CZ

Broken

Even the rugged

Surface of a cactus
Is soft enough
To bear flowers.

There is still hope
For broken souls with
Hardened shells.

(Noor Shirazie)

The Hundred-Word Eulogy: Praising Prophet Muhammad & Islam

The Hundred-Word Eulogy (百字讃 bǎizìzàn) is a 100-character praise of Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad written by the Hongwu Emperor of China (r. 1368-1398). Copies of it are on display in several mosques in Nanjing, China.

English: 

Since the creation of the universe
God had already appointed his great faith-preaching man,
From the West he was born,
And received the holy scripture
And book made of 30 parts (Juz)
To guide all creations,
Master of all rulers,
Leader of the holy ones,
With support from the Heavens,
To protect his nation,
With five daily prayers,
Silently hoping for peace,
His heart directed towards Allah,
Giving power to the poor,
Saving them from calamity,
Seeing through the Unseen,
Pulling the souls and the spirits away from all wrongdoings,
Mercy to the world,
Transversing to the ancient,
Majestic path vanquished away all evil,
His religion Pure and True,
Muhammad,
The Noble High One.

Chinese:

至聖百字讃

乾坤初始

天籍注名

傳教大聖

降生西域

授受天經

三十部册

普化衆生

億兆君師

萬聖領袖

協助天運

保庇國民

五時祈祐

默祝太平

存心真主

加志窮民

拯救患難

洞徶幽冥

超拔靈魂

脱離罪業

仁覆天下

道冠古今

降邪歸一

教名清真

穆罕默德

至聖貴人

穆罕默德

清真北寺

Chinese (with punctuation in paragraph form)

《百字讚》寫道：“乾坤初始，天籍注名。傳教大聖，降生西域。授受天經，三十部冊，普化眾生。億兆君師，萬聖領袖。協助天運，保庇國民。五時祈祐，默祝太平。存心真主，加志窮民。拯救患難，洞徹幽冥。超拔靈魂，脱離罪業。仁覆天下，道冠古今。降邪歸一，教名清真。穆罕默德，至貴聖人。”(《百字讚》

Arabic: 

منذ أن خُلق الكون،
قد قرر الرب أن يعيّن،
هذا الرجل العظيم الداعي للإيمان،
من الغرب قد ولد،
ليتلقى الكتاب المقدس (القرآن(
كتابًا يحتوي على ثلاثون جزءا
ليهدي جميع الخلائق،
ملك كل الملوك،
زعيم كل القديسين،
بدعم إلهي،
ليحمي أمته،
بخمسة صلوات يومية،
بصمت يأمل حصول السلام،
قلبه متجه نحو الله،
يقوي الضعفاء،
ينقذهم من الكارثة،
يرى من خلال الظلمة،
يسحب النفوس والأرواح،
بعيدًا عن جميع الذنوب/الاخطاء،
رحمة للعالمين،
سائرًا على طريق العظماء القديم،
طاردًا لكل الشرور،
دينه نقي وصادق،
محمد،
الشريف والعظيم.

Today You Soar

Like the grand eagle, you spread your wings
And put forth the effort to do great things.
Looking skyward you dared to challenge the wind,
Harnessing power to help you ascend.

With an eye on the goal, fixed in flight,
You climbed to an impressive height.
Undaunted by gusts and unkind gails,
You never gave up and would not fail.

So now you’ve reached where few even try
As the eagle high in a glorious sky.
Not superior, but grand.
Not proud, but sure.
Not a cub, wolf, or bear but an eagle pure.
Today you soar.

By: pe_ha45

Taken on: August 7, 2014

Title of photo: It Was A Wonderful Day

Name of poem: Today You Soar

Poem by: Richelle E. Goodrich

Title and poem provided by: CZ

Shades Of Anger

RAFEEF ZIADAH is a Canadian-Palestinian spoken word artist and activist. Her debut CD Hadeel is dedicated to Palestinian youth, who still fly kites in the face of F16 bombers, who still remember the names if their villages in Palestine and still hear the sound of Hadeel (cooing of doves) over Gaza.

القصيدة التي أبكت الأمام احمد بن حنبل بصوت عجزت عن وصفة

إذا ما قال لي ربى أما استحت تعصيني 
وتخفى الذنب عن خلقى وبالعصيان تأتينى 

فكيف اجيب يا ويحي ومن ذا سوف يحميني

اسلي النفس بالآمال من حين الى حين 


وانسى ما وراء الموت ماذا بعد تكفيني

كأني ضمنت العيش ليس الموت يأتيني 


وجاءت سكرة الموت الشديدة من سيحميني 


نظرت الى الوجوه اليس منهم من سيفديني 

سأسأل ما الذي قدمت في دنياي ينجيني 


فكيف اجابتي من بعد ما فرطت في ديني 


ويا ويحي الم اسمع كلام الله يدعوني 


الم اسمع بما قد جاء في قاف ويس

الم اسمع بيوم الحشر يوم الجمع والدين

الم اسمع منادي الموت يدعوني يناديني 


فيا رباه عبد تائب من ذا سيؤيني 

سوى رب غفور واسع الحق يهديني 

اتيت اليك فارحمني وثقل في موازيني 

وخفف في جزائي انت ارجى من يجازيني

Wherever I May Roam

And the road becomes my bride
I have stripped of all but pride
So in her I do confide
And she keeps me satisfied
Gives me all I need!

And the earth becomes my throne
I adapt to the unknown
Under wandering stars I’ve grown
By myself but not alone

And my ties are severed clean
Less I have the more I gain
Off the beaten path I reign

Rover, wanderer
Nomad, vagabond
Call me what you will!

Photo by: Peyman Az
Song title: Wherever I May Roam
Lyrics by: Metallica
Lyrics provided by: CZ

هل أتاك حديث سيسي؟

Another scathing poem that is directed at Field Marshall Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, by Jihad Al-Torbani - جهاد الترباني:

هل أتاك حديث سيسي؟

إذ رأى شعبًا كريمًا لا يبالي للطغاة
ثار للحق الأسير ثار يرنو للحياة
ظن سيسي أنهم يرضون ذلًا كالعبيد
فعلا في مصر صوت : إننا قومٌ أباة

هل أتاك حديث سيسي؟
إذ رأى شعبًا عظيمًا للكرامة ينتصر
مجده مجدٌ تليد ذكره ذكرٌ عطر
ظن سيسي أنه شعب ضعيف ينحني
فعلا في مصر صوت: إننا لا ننكسر

هل أتاك حديث سيسي؟
إذ رأى شعبًا أصيلًا في المعارك لا يهاب
لا يخاف الموت يومًا أو يبالي بالصعاب
ظن سيسي أنه للشعب فرعون جديد
فأجاب الشعب مهلًا نحن أحفاد الصحاب

هل أتاك حديث سيسي هل قرأت الواقعة؟
هل أتاك حديث حسني والسنين الضائعة؟
ظن سيسي أن شعب النيل شعب يستكين 
فعلا في مصر صوت إننا في رابعة

Elect The Pimp (2) - انتخبوا العرص

The scathing attacks against Field Marshall Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, have been relentless and are only gaining steam.

This is an Arabic poem, by Jihad Al-Torbani - جهاد الترباني:

انتخبوا العرص
انتخبوا العرص سليل العار انتخبوا من حرق الثوار
انتخبوا حبيبًا للأوغاد انتخبوا عدوًا للأخيار 
انتخبوا من سحق الأطفال انتخبوا من سجن الأحرار
عودوا وانتخبوا فرعونًا وارضوا بدمار بعد دمار
فرعون بأرضكم استعلى ... وبشعبه آلهة قد صار
يا مصر شبابك قد ملوا... من حكم العسكر والفجار
لن يرضى شبابك إرهابًا من صنع الشرطة والأشرار
لن يخش رجالك تقتيلًا لن تخشى نساؤك صوت النار
لن يرض العيش بإذلال ... قوم كسروا قيد الأسوار
هي حكمة تاريخ كتبت ... فاسمع ما جاء من الأخبار
في بيت قصيد تحفظه.. وتخلده بين الآشعار
لا خير بأرض يحكمها عرص وبدا من غير وقار
انتخبوا

Sublime

Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,
In which the burden of the mystery
In which the heavy and weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world,
Is lightened

Photo by: DMMDesign
Location: Sunset – College Cove, Trinidad, California, USA
Portion of poem by: William Wordsworth
Poem provided by: CZ

Accursed

I used to write about her. I would write
With eyes shut tight—shut tight that I might see
A world outside myself; a blessed night
When she might come unbidden unto me.

Now, I fear to close my bloodshot eyes.
I fear the dreams of her that I must bear;
The hope that festers there—the wretched lies
I once held dear. My night mind is her lair.

There, she’s still and silent by my side,

Her fingers interlacing with my own—

I touch her cheek and look into her eyes—

We needn’t speak; we live and breathe as one.

There, I’m wrapped in such serenity;
Blessed by a peace such as I’ve never known—
Yet doomed; accursed for all eternity,
For when I wake, I am again alone.

By Stefangrosjean
Photo name: The Balance Of Light
Poem by: AzraelWrites
Poem name: Accursed

Autumn Light

In the depth a light will grow,
A silver shine no shadows know,
Like wings unfolding in the sky,
That circle ’round a gleaming eye,
Turning darkness all away,
Even depths will know their day,
For every shadow has its end,
In light!
Life will return again!

By: Peter From
Quote by: Robert Fanney
Quote provided by: CZ

The Dream

When you are gone, and reason gone with you,
Then fantasy is queen and soul, and all;

So, if I dream I have you, I have you,
For all our joys are but fantastical;

After a such fruition I shall wake, And,
but the waking, nothing shall repent.

An excerpt from the poem: Elegy X: The Dream
Poem by: John Donne
1572 – 1631
Song: Calling
By: Nightmares On Wax
Visual content owned by: Act Zero Films
Directed and edited by: Brian Gonzalez
Sound content owned By: [Merlin] Warp Records

The Cold Earth Slept Below

The cold earth slept below;

         Above the cold sky shone;

                And all around,

                With a chilling sound,

From caves of ice and fields of snow

The breath of night like death did flow

                Beneath the sinking moon.

The wintry hedge was black;

         The green grass was not seen;

                The birds did rest

                On the bare thorn’s breast,

Whose roots, beside the pathway track,

Had bound their folds o’er many a crack

                Which the frost had made between.

Thine eyes glow’d in the glare

         Of the moon’s dying light;

                As a fen-fire’s beam

                On a sluggish stream

Gleams dimly—so the moon shone there,

And it yellow’d the strings of thy tangled hair,

                That shook in the wind of night.

The moon made thy lips pale, beloved;

         The wind made thy bosom chill;

                The night did shed

                On thy dear head

Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie

Where the bitter breath of the naked sky

                Might visit thee at will.

Photo by: FramedByNature

Photo title: Deep Blue Blizzard II

Poem title: The Cold Earth Slept Below

Poem by: PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

Poem provided by: CZ

Location: Spearfish Canyon, Black Hills, South Dakota

Wintery WaterScape

The woods were made for the hunters of dreams,
The brooks for the fishers of song;
To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game
The streams and the woods belong.

Photo by: Alz-Stock
Poem by: Sam Walter Foss
Poem provided by: CZ

RainBow Cloud

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.

Photo by: So Bad SO Good
(and yes, this is real)
Location: The Himalayas
Quote by: Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Cloud”
Quote provided by: CZ

Ghosts Of Fallen Leaves

Are ye the ghosts of fallen leaves,
O flakes of snow,
For which, through naked trees, the winds
A-mourning go?
Or are ye angels, bearing home
The host unseen
Of truant spirits, to be clad
Again in green?

WallPaper
Quote by: John B. Tabb, “Phantoms”
Quote provided by: CZ