THIS bouquet of scented blossoms

I have plucked from that garden,

And have called it " The Secret Rose Garden."

In it are blooming

Roses of the mysteries of the heart

Untold before ;

In it the tongues of the lilies are all singing,

And the eyes of the narcissus behold all, far and

near.

Gaze on each one of these with your heart's eyes
Till your doubts melt away.
You will see tradition, earthly and mystical

truths,

All arranged clearly in knowledge of detail.
Do not seek with cold eyes to find blemishes,
Or the roses will turn to thorns as you gaze.
Ingratitude is a sign of ignorance,
For those who know the truth are thankful.
When you remember me, breathe " Mercy be

upon him."

I am ending with my own name,
" Allah, grant me a ' Lauded ' end." *


SA'D UD DIN MAHMUD SHABISTARl

As the Brown Soil bears Fruit,
by the Warm Grace of the Sun...
The Flowers
Leaves
Her Beauty
Lying in the Dirt,
for the Brown Soil...
to Breathe.

The Majesty of perfection
is rooted in the ugly mask
of making it Whole.
Heartedly.

Never to Be Known....
is the Pure Beauty,
of Creation
as bestowed
Once.
Upon a Time.

Witness is the Gift.





Nite.

All round his garden Mahmûd has planted these roses of Reason, Belief, Knowledge, and Faith;
they are blooming everywhere, beautiful in their vivid colouring of Truth and Purity.
But it is in the centre that we find a Rose-tree of glory unequalled, glowing with the blossoms of love's devotion; this is the tree which Mahmûd planted with all his heart's adoration--the description of the perfect face of the Beloved.


It is at this spot we wait entranced, and through the mystic stillness we seem to hear the voice of him who, long ago for love's sake, planted this Rose-tree, echoing his sublime utterance:


"See but One, say but One, know but One."

the Secret Garden

Behind dark, twining ivy,
On an old, Victorian wall,
Where moths and small flies flutter,
And spiders weave and crawl,
There's a rusty lock that's hidden
In a peeling, old oak door –
They who find the key are bidden
To unlock a treasure store,
For behind those creaky hinges
Lies a garden of delights,
Only known to special people
Who appreciate such sights.
Once an ailing, sickly schoolboy
To whom life was only pain
Found the garden and its pleasures,
Helped him grow and thrive again.
A young woman walked unaided
Midst the sunshine and the flowers,
And a man, betrayed by heartache
Found true comfort in those bowers.
Seek the door, unlock its treasures,
For it's there for everyone
In that special, secret garden
Where the love goes on and on.
M. NASH

The Secret Garden


There is a light that shows me the way,

To a secret garden, with a fragrant bouquet,

And as I enter through its welcoming gates,

To savor all that for me awaits -

I can't help but wonder why the light chose me

Why fate gave me the Garden's key.

For whatever the reason, this much I know,

It is a lovely place where I love to go -

A garden full of life's delights -

Of tenderness and wondrous nights.



A garden in which to nourish my soul;

A place to go to make me whole

Where the warming light becons me stay

Where always it is Valentine's Day.


Time has shown me this simple truth,

That the light that shines from high above -

That leads me to this garden each day

Is the nurturing light of your infinite love.



Poem Recited by Ara John Movsesian

Lovely poem Solane. Thank you

THE MARRIAGE OF THE SOUL


DESCENDING to the earth,
That strange intoxicating beauty of the unseen world
Lurks in the elements of Nature.

And the soul of man,
Who has attained the rightful balance,
Becoming aware of this hidden joy,
Straightway is enamoured and bewitched.

And from this mystic marriage are born
The poets' songs, inner knowledge,
The language of the heart, virtuous living,
And the fair child Beauty.

And the Great Soul gives to man as dowry
The hidden glory of the world.


Sa'd ud Din Mahmud Shabistari

"If I had a flower for everytime I thought of you I could walk through my garden forever." ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

And don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ( Rumi)

Can you find another market like this? Where, with your one rose, you can buy hundreds of rose gardens?
Rumi


And if you are a rose, I am rose-shadow.
Rumi

The Rose

A ROSE, as fair as ever saw the North,

Grew in a little garden all alone;

A sweeter flower did Nature ne'er put forth,

Nor fairer garden yet was never known:


The maidens danced about it morn and noon,

And learned bards of it their ditties made;

The nimble fairies by the pale-faced moon

Water'd the root and kiss'd her pretty shade.

But well-a-day!--the gardener careless grew;

The maids and fairies both were kept away,

And in a drought the caterpillars threw

Themselves upon the bud and every spray.

God shield the stock! If heaven send no supplies,

The fairest blossom of the garden dies.

William Browne*

“People where you live," the little prince said, "grow five thousand roses in one garden... yet they don't find what they're looking for...
They don't find it," I answered.
And yet what they're looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water..."
Of course," I answered.
And the little prince added, "But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince ~

I really liked that rose poem above that you posted Venus. Says sooo much in so few words.

Thank-You


BE-auti-FULL

Indeed, a lovely reminder of a timeless story and one of Lindas favorite books!!

I did not know that interesting tid-bit about that being Linda's favorite books, Juni. Thanks so much for sharing that.

God's Garden


THE Lord God planted a garden
In the first white days of the world,
And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the wren,
For there in the cool of the even
God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden closes
With their shade and their sun-flecked sod
And their lilies and bowers of roses,
Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth, –
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden
Under the olive-trees
Where the angel of strength was the warden
And the soul of the world found ease.

Dorothy Frances Gurney (1858-1932)

An Armor of Roses


Wood is a symbol for absence;
Fire, for your love of God.
We burn form to warm the soul.
Soul loves winter for that, and accepts
Reluctantly the comfort of spring with its
Elegant proliferation of gifts,
All part of the plan: fire becoming
garden soil becoming mint, willow,
and tulip. Love looks like fire.
Feed yourself into it. Be the fireplace
and the wood. Bravo, for this metallurgy
that makes a needle from an iron ingot.
Calm fire now: for the moth a window;
For you, an armor of roses!

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ( Rumi)

Every time I see this thread, Juni, I am reminded of that song by Robert Burns:

My love is like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June
My love is like a melody
So sweetly played in tune

As fair art thou my bonnie lass
So deep in love am I
And I would love thee still my dear
Though all the seas gone dry

Though all the seas gone dry my dear
And the rocks melt with the sun
I would love thee still my dear
Though the sands of time may run

So fare thee well my bonnie lass
And fare thee well awhile
And I would come to you again
Though we were ten thousand miles

(The Eva Cassidy version)

Venus, that song touchs my soul and stirs some of the fondest memories of my childhood.

My Grandpa was an old Scotchish MI born lumberjack. A hulking man with the softest touch on his fiddle and in singing the old tunes of his home Country.
We would get lost in the music until Granny came banging on her kettle telling this lass to scoot home and help mom with the evening meal.
She called him the Old Gentleman, never by his name

Thanks for sharing your beautiful memories of your wonderful Scotish grandfather with us dear Juni. Now I understand why I kept hearing that song in my head everytime I saw your lovely thread.

And now I'd like to share The Novena Rose Prayer I came across today that made me think of this thread.

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus
Please pick for me a rose
from the heavenly gardens
... and send it to me
as a message of love.

O Little Flower of Jesus,
ask God to grant the favors
I now place with confidence
in your hands

St. Therese, help to always believe
as you did
in God's great love for me,
so that I may imitate
your "Little Way" each day.

Amen

Venus, that is breatakingly beautiful

I will add a Prayer for 2012:

"Father, from Thy Hand we have been given the world as a garden.

Teach us to live day by day that we may at all times

Show our love for thee by the way we cultivate

The Holy Garden of Life."


Friendship:


Life is a garden,

Good friends are the flowers

And time spent together

Life's happiest hours...

And friendship like flowers,

Blooms ever more fair

When carefully tended

By dear friends who care.


Helen Steiner Rice

nice garden

The Garden of Tender Care


The garden is filled

With the love-notes of God.

The patron saints of the bedraggled

Lie low under the bushes

Side by side with those

Of the bent-backed and the displaced.

So many messages are hidden here

About living and dying,

About beauty and care

About growth and resilience.

This garden of earth

Bears but a faint imprest

Of the riches that

Lie ahead for us,

In the Garden of Tender Care.

JUST COMING IN TO WATER THE GARDEN !! !!