Neda Najibi was born in Tehran, Iran on December 31, 1966. She moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1969 with her parents and two older sisters and one older brother and began writing at age thirteen. She attended Phillip Rogers Elementary in Chicago and graduated from Evanston Township High School in Evanston. She moved to California shortly thereafter and graduated from California State University Northridge in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She produced and wrote for KCSN Radio where she received the Edward R. Murrow Award for her coverage of Ross Perot’s visit to Los Angeles. She was a contributing writer for the Daily Sundial where she covered the O.J. Simpson verdict and aftermath and was an intern for KCBS-TV. She moved to Hawaii in 1996 where she worked and became a freelance entertainment reporter. After one year she bought a house in Austin, Texas where she holds two jobs. Neda works for Dell Computer Corporation as a Marketing Consultant and holds a part time job as an assistant producer for Consumer News for KEYE-TV.

Within the writing community Neda hosts a monthly poetry venue titled ‘EXPRESSIONS – a night of rhythm and rhyme’ which premiered in January of 1999. ‘EXPRESSIONS’ receives many diverse people who share their poetry with fellow poets in Austin. Among her contributions in the poetry society she wrote a poem in Japanese titled ‘Unity’ and opened for Maya Angelou in February of 1999. She participates in several community volunteer programs and has received numerous awards and acknowledgements for her contributions. She most recently received an acknowledgement from Governor George Bush for keeping Iranian traditions alive in Austin and for her volunteer efforts in the community.

Whisper to me my love

The words I long to hear

Speak words not spoken of

Surely, the feelings must be there.

To feel this way while in your presence

The heart that aches is unaware

Tell me my love, your feelings it’s existence

Surely, the feelings must be there.

Standing before you face to face

A feeling transcends, I must prepare

Beating, pounding, my heart does race

Surely, the feelings must be there.

Your arms – you reach to hold me

To mine eyes you bring a tear

How I longed to be held by thee

Surely, the feelings must be there.

Tempting…yet I turned away

Noticing this a game of bodies with no care

Naked once, I swore the second would be my way

Realizing then, only then,

The feelings just weren’t there.

When I wanted you

You found me

When you needed me

You lost me

I’m waiting for you

Use me, abuse me,

I know you always think of me

Don’t you want to hear me, feel me,

Show me, draw me, read me,

Write me, share me, speak me?

Find me!

Use me, abuse me,

I know you always think of me

Don’t you want me, need me, love me?

You can control me

I can make you powerful, if you let me

I might come hard to you

But I can say how you feel

Speak me, express me

Use me, abuse me,

I know you always think of me

Let me flow from your tongue

Let me heard

Let us be felt and understood!

Beating was the heart

Love answered

and then

Pain entered

Love asked:

"Why have you come?"

Pain replied:

"Love, it is because of me you stand."

Love reluctant to answer, shortly thereafter remarked:

"I don’t want to feel you!"

Pain answered:

"I know, but I can not control that which is."

He embraced love and in return Love accepted him, but only as a visitor.

Dear mother,

Thank the Lord

For he has unlocked the cage

He has released me from this world and

I have flown into the next

This world is open, peaceful, spiritual

It is filled with such love

That I can’t begin to describe

I’ve interrupted your dream

Only to reassure you that I am happy

Don’t be worried

For I am safe

I feel alive, I am alive

I now know the reasons I was in your world

It was a test and we all must take it.

You see, here, now this is for eternity

No words can begin to describe this palace

You will have to experience it for yourself.

When I drowned, I was afraid

You were afraid

All were scared, crying and confused

All questioned, "Why, Why him?"

Dear Mother,

I have drowned but I’ve drowned into a Spiritual Ocean and I’m overwhelmed with the spirits - I am safe.

When your time comes, I’ll be waiting

For then nothing will replace our hearts, our feelings

No words need be spoken

Good night, sweet dreams and I love you!

In the corner of a room

I find myself an empty chair.

My mind is busy, worried

But I don’t know what about

It thinks and thinks.

I stare at no one

Because there’s no one here

So, I begin to cry

Believe me, I don’t know why.

You see, my insides are worried also,

But I don’t know what about.

It turns and a sinking feeling occurs every two seconds or So.

I continue to cry…

Now nervous because I’m afraid someone will come in

And I don’t like to look weak

So, I try to stop the tears

I take a deep breath and you know

Now I want to cry,

It feels good somehow, so I do

But now I’ve added sound

It feels better this way, somehow.

A few minutes pass and I kind of want to know what I look like

So I open my compact and I stare at myself

And I cry so I can see myself crying

I like it somehow

Okay I’ve decided it’s enough

And I notice how red my eyes are and how red my nose is

I feel like I’ve accomplished something and I want to thank myself for a job well done.

Sounds weird, but it feels good, somehow.

No one ever came in,

So no one saw me.

Honestly, I think maybe I wanted someone to…