Rendezvous Poem by Ahmad Shiddiqi

(dedicated to Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black)

Your words cry out
Like a mighty tiger
Fly and explode out
In the Summer sky

It’s trying to search
A way to survive
Bizarre fragments jump out
At the last moment

The power of belief
Waiting for miracles
Hands holding hands
Where there’s empathy, there’s care

The power of understanding
Waiting for absolute spaces
Hearts touching hearts
When there’s love, there’s peace

You sings to me
Che gelida manina
My anger turns to calmness
O Patagonia! O Himalaya!

You sings to me
O mio babbino caro
My pain turns to tenderness
O Greenland! O Kilimanjaro!

You sings to me
Trois beaux oiseaux du paradis
My sorrow turns to smile
O Grand Canyon! O Chichen Itza!

You sings to me
Je tremble en voyant ton visage
My fear turns to courage
O Niagara Falls! O Machu Picchu!

(inspired by Pedro Humberto Allende’s Tonadas)