Molto Cantabile Poem by Ahmad Shiddiqi

(dedicated to Mr. Joshua Bell, a talented violinist)

from the yellow hills
winds are blowing
among the reeds
the birds reserve

the pleasure boats
cruise the lake gently
obelisk to commemorate
along bend of silken river

ancient festivals
flowers of season
a cherished source
an artistic inspiration

singable
songlike
flexible
legato

slower
free-form
musical line
human voice

spontaneous
polyphonic
structured
the motifs

emotional
intellectual
stimulation
ambiguities

richly
visual
spatial
beauty

(inspired by Wassily Kandinsky's Composition VII)