October 12 1992 at Yaxchilan[1]
five hundred years after Columbus’ landing on the “New” continent
Swallowed by vine, the labyrinth,
Deep in the forest
Swallowed by vine,
Surrounded by a river
Surrounded by indios
– On market days, the women
Cross the Usumacinta on frail boats
Trading vibrant plumage colors
For tin coins,
Camouflage cloth,
Deep in the forest,
Swallowed by vine
Chameleons against foliage and rock.
Tonight on the temple steps
The moon will draw
A serpent
Offering the red fruit
Of knowledge
To those who live
With the taste of fear.
Tonight the monkeys will scream
From top branches and scorpions
Will hide under rocks.
Tonight Mauro, the Christian
Lacandon, guardian of the Mayan temple
Will erect a small shrine
To a nameless god
And cry for drunken forgiveness
To a wife he’s betrayed.
Then, machete in hand
Brandishing revenge
He will howl with the forest
A curse,
Lingering echo
Of a festering wound.
A grain of time
In the hourglass of history
Runs the gauntlet
Of memory
Today.
(1992)
October 13 1992 at Yaxchilan
the day after the five hundred years of Columbus landing
The Morning After glow
Of the forest
Who survives
The foolishness
Of civilizations,
Regenerates herself
From disturbances
At ground level
Witnesses species
Aglitter and extinguish
Proud organisms shrivel up
In a combustion of arrogance.
Yes, she was affected,
Her tears of mourning
Mistaken for dew,
Her sighs of disapproval
Thought to be wind.
Yet her deep roots
Still gripped the earth,
Temple stones
Corroded by moss
Became sand
Transported by ants.
Even the poisons
Floating on the water
Were purified
Beating
Mile after mile
On rocks
Nature trying to
Wash off a stain.
Forest, now, we pull
Limbs
Off your spreading body,
A demented weather
Dries your wells,
Nasty kids
Playing god,
Tug at your
Apron strings.
No longer waiting
For discoverers or messiahs
You stand attached to the soil
And bend,
Bowing to the wind,
Breathe life
Into an uncertain planet.
(!992)
[1] Yaxchilan was an ancient Mayan city, now an archaeological site, in the Lacandon forest, in the state of Chiapas (Mexico), near the border with Guatemala. The site is known for its well preserved stelae and lintels, some of which depict rituals connected with the seers’ initiation ceremonies.