Long ago,
where these ruins of a house
vexed by the looking glass
stand today,
a potter’s wheel
worked day in and day out;
a band of children
mimicking the cuckoo call
played in the dying sunlight
and got scolded by their mothers
when they broke a fresh pot
while attempting to find
the most suitable place
for hiding.
On this widow land
that today seems barren
some longing eyes
at the sight of the swaying crop
twinkled in the morning light,
and heavenwards sent thanks
to the corn goddess.2
On this mighty altar
an animal lost its head
in a bid to persuade
the displeased gods
to onto the brown heated land
sprinkle the silver drops . . .
and when rain did happen
here in the public fair
a few voices in Nahuatl3
bargained for a plough, some oxen
and returned home happy
having saved a sack of grain.
In this mighty edifice
sat the emperor
and here fought the warriors
to crush more people
to collect taxes from.
In these milky buildings –
these hanging gardens –
lay the spirit of the city
that today lies inert:
beneath the Mexican land
waiting to be uncovered again . . .
mummified in the layers of sand . . .
Tenochtitlan.
Notes :
1. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the mighty Aztec empire, which stretched across a part of what is now Mexico. Tenochtitlan was one of the world’s most impressive old cities, adorned with white buildings and hanging gardens. The principal source of revenue for their empire was the taxes collected from the tribes subjugated by them. With the Spanish invasion of the 16th century, the Aztec empire fell.
2. The Aztec worshipped corn, their principal crop, as a goddess. It was considered the mother of all other gods and goddesses.
3. Nahuatl, still a living language. was the language spoken by the Aztec people.
From the poet’s first book of poems, Anhadnad (2000).
