Moment of Fate

by Sidney Darwin Jones

Softly she danced
With beauty and grace
Eyes stare intensely
Veils drifting in space
Delighting my soul
The perfect mate
The Love and the Passion
In the Moment of Fate

About The Poet

Sidney Darwin Jones has been a huge fan of belly dancing since 1964, when he discovered it through the invitation of Josef Koumyoumjian, owner of the Bagdad in San Francisco. When he began to study photography 2 years later, he began photographing belly dancers at classes, clubs, and public events. In 1970, he began observing Bert Balladine's belly dancing lessons in San Francisco.

Sid studied acoustic guitar construction with master luthier Dennis Grace in Berkeley from 1964 through 1968. Later, in 1974, he began building and repairing ouds, guitars, violins, and bouzoukis. In 1977, he toured Greece, Turkey and Egypt to visit master instrument makers, then visited Greece again in 1979.

Beginning in 1974, Sid studied dumbek under Salaladin Tekesh, and oud playing under Andy Nalbandian, Ishmael, and Farid Shuayto. He formed a band, The All American Mid-East Ensemble with Dave Adams on guitar, Tom Maley as drummer, and himself as oud player. He has since played the oud for hundreds of dancers in the San Francisco Bay area--but not recently.

Also in 1974, Sid helped Bob Zalot launch Habibi Publications, which published the original Habibi magazine. Sid was the initial photo editor, made numerous photo contributions, and wrote an article about oud construction which appeared in Volume 4, Number 6, 1978.

Sid became interested in finite element modeling of heat, shock, and vibration, which were needed to understand the stress on ouds for making repair decisions. This skill landed him many interesting consulting positions in the military electronics field. Currently, Sid is a supplier quality engineer in mass storage optics for Quinta in San Jose, California.

As for other interests, Sid paints still life, landscape, and portraits. He loves to eat, studies theology, and is a self-described computer nerd.

If you would like to send e-mail to Sid to tell him you enjoyed his poem, his e-mail address is sidjones@ricochet.net.

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