Ode to Quetzalc?atl
Quetzalc?atl the Great
No one knew his true name, so they
Called him Quetzalc?atl-feather Serpent
He and his crew of nineteen: faces
Strange faces, images of a prince, a lord:
King of the Yucatan in the year 986 AD
He was a tall man; long cloths, sandals;
White as day, with a long beard, black hair.
Some say red: some don't say?
But they called him priest, Lord, king
Amongst many things: god!...
Quetzalc?atl's Life
Quetzalc?atl, warrior of the Maya,
God-king of the Asteca-flanked
By serpents; feared by kings;
The god of the comet-bearer
Possessor of the wooden cross
?
Serpent of the Yucatan, chief of
The Tula; wizard-conquered by
A wizard; fled to Cholulla! Twenty
Years he nurtured his disciples:
"The sons of the sun," then?
Then, those who loved vice and evil,
Followed him?restrained his name,
Planted evil seeds; castrated his
Virtues?; pronounced him warlock:
The drunken-witch of Cholulla!
And so it was?
Quetzalc?atl-Cortes
War, iron, swords, white chalky faces
Yellow hair, beards-long beards
They came to Mexico, these Spaniards
Hern?n Cort?s-for treasures [1519 AD]
Treasures of Motecuhzoma ?
These chalky face-ed-men with beards
Had gunpowder, cannons, crossbows,
Cavalry, steel swords and a lust for gold,
Gold from Motecuhzoma in Tenochtitl?n
The Ancient City of the God's
Off the coast appeared the ship of
Juan de Grijalva; so spoke the commoner
Of this floating mountain in the sea-;
With disbelief, Motecuhzoma sent two
Of his best men: officials to investigate
In dismay, Motecuhzoma of Tenochtitl?n
Had little to say, of the nearing towers-
As he peered from a hill looking down
Down and out into the green naked sea;
Now the gifts were laid at Quetzalc?atl feet
As the fleet of Cort?s appeared-:
'Who were these strangers,' bellowed
Motecuhzoma, thinking it was the great
God Quetzalc?atl returning as predicted
(in the Nahua year ce acatl ((1-Reed)).
Thus came a comet falling from the sky
As Motecuhzoma watched it from his
Palace in Tenochtitl?n, mumbled that
'This is a sign, of Quetzalc?atl the divine.'
This was war, or submission to fate.
Motecuhzoma gave them gifts of food,
Gold, bribes: so the ships would leave,
Go away, never to return to this humid
Mosquito-ridden Aztec coast?;
Thus, out of his gluttony-greed for gold
Cortes burned his ships, his mate's hope
?then marched and reached Jalapa
Pulling cannons all the way-across
The Tlaxcala frontier, a nation-state
Independent of Motecuhzoma-
Hence, Cortes offered them peace.
An ally was secured for Cortes, the
Greedy Spaniards: and the Talxcaltecas;
Thus, soon to follow was destruction of
The great city of Tenochtitl?n?
City of the Gods, City of the Dead!!
'Who are these white cruel gods?'
Asked the stirring Nahuas-
'These corrupted gods from the sea?'
Quetzalc?atl's decedents, perhaps?
More corrupt than Motecuhzoma
Moving to Cholulla, the ancient city
Of Quetzalc?atl, they had a feast
The long-beards and the Nahuas;
Thus, the Nahuas were deceived?
Unarmed, and butchered like rat meat.
And so the journey of Cortes continued
Towards Tenochtitl?n, past the Great
Volcano, to its causeway, to the city-
Down the Street of the Dead---
Decedents of Quetzalc?atl
Cortes' men, "Decedents of Quetzalc?atl"
So the great ruler Motecuhzoma believed:
Allowed him to be captured by the foe,
The Ambassadors of the cruel, for the sake
Of prophecy?and so it was?!
Now a prisoner and a puppet of Cortes
Controlled by Spanish strings?
Quetzalc?atl-Cortes bestowed many
Cruelties on the city Tenochtitl?n-
And on the dying Aztec king
Motecuhzoma died by a grieving stone,
Of his people; some say, by Cortes' knife-;
Expelled by the Aztecs at Tenochtitl?n
Shattered in defeat, the Spaniards left-
But only to return another day? .
Note: #690 5/29/2005
In Spanish
Translated by Nancy Penaloza
Edited by Rosa Penaloza
Oda para Quetzalc?atl
Aqu?, amable lector, es lo que he descubierto gracias a investigaci?n hist?rica.
Quetzalc?atl el Grande
Nadie sab?a su verdadero nombre, as? ellos
lo llamaban Quetzalc?atl-Serpiente Emplumada
?l y su tripulaci?n de diecinueve: caras
Caras extra?as, im?genes de un pr?ncipe, un se?or:
Rey del Yucat?n en el a?o 986 Despu?s de Cristo.
?l era un hombre alto; t?nica, sandalias;
Blanco como el d?a, con una barba larga, pelo negro.
Unos dicen rojo: otros no lo dicen ?
Pero ellos le llamaron Sacerdote, Se?or, Rey
Entre muchas cosas: ?dios!...
La vida de Quetzalc?atl
Quetzalc?atl, guerrero de los Mayas,
Dios-Rey- de los Aztecas-rodeado
Por serpientes; temido por reyes;
El dios del cometa-portador
Poseedor de la cruz de madera ?
Serpiente de Yucat?n, jefe de
La Tula; mago conquistado por
Un mago; huy? a ?Cholulla! Veinte
a?os ?l nutri? a sus disc?pulos:
"Los hijos del sol," entonces ?
Entonces, aquellos que gustaron vicio y mal,
lo siguieron?conteniendo su nombre,
Plantaron semillas malas; castraron sus
Virtudes ?; declar?ndolo a ?l, brujo:
?El brujo borracho de Cholulla!
Y entonces as? fue ? .
Quetzalc?atl-Cort?s
Guerra, hierro, espadas, caras blancas blanquecinas
Pelo amarillo, barbas-barbas largas.
Ellos vinieron a M?xico, estos espa?oles
Hern?n Cort?s-por tesoros [1519 Despu?s de Cristo]
Los tesoros de Moctezuma ?
Estos hombres con cara blanquecina y barbas
Ten?an p?lvora, ca?ones, ballestas,
Caballer?a, espadas de acero y una lujuria por el oro,
Oro de Moctezuma en Tenochtitl?n
La Ciudad Antigua de Dios
De la costa apareci? el barco de
Juan de Grijalva; entonces habl? el plebeyo
De esta monta?a flotante en el mar-;
Con incredulidad, Moctezuma envi? dos
De sus mejores hombres: funcionarios para investigar
Con consternaci?n, Moctezuma de Tenochtitl?n
Ten?a poco que decir, de las torres cercanas-
Mientras ?l mir? detenidamente hacia abajo de una colina
Abajo y hacia fuera en el mar verde desnudo;
Ahora los regalos fueron puestos a los pies de Quetzalc?atl
Mientras la flota de Cort?s apareci?-:
"Qui?nes son estos forasteros," grit?
Moctezuma, pensando que era el grande
Dios Quetzalc?atl regresando como lo predic?
(en el a?o Nahua ce acatl ((1-Reed)).
As? vino un cometa cayendo del cielo
Mientras Moctezuma mir? desde su
Palacio en Tenochtitl?n, musit?
"Esto es una se?al, de Quetzalc?atl el divino."
Esto era guerra, o sumisi?n al destino.
Moctezuma les dio regalos de alimento,
Oro, soborn?: para que los barcos se marcharan,
M?rchense, nunca vuelvan a esta costa Azteca h?meda, llena de mosquitos?;
As?, fuera de su glotoner?a-avaricia por el oro
Cort?s quem? sus barcos, la esperanza de sus compa?eros
?luego se march? y alcanz? Jalapa
jalando ca?ones todo el camino - a trav?s
de la frontera de Tlaxcala, una naci?n-estado
Independiente de Moctezuma-
Ah?, Cort?s les ofreci? paz.
Un aliado fue asegurado para Cort?s, los
Espa?oles ?vidos: y los Tlaxcaltecas;
As?, pronto sigui? la destrucci?n
de la gran ciudad de Tenochtitl?n ?
??Ciudad de Dioses, Ciudad de los Muertos!!
"?Qui?nes eran estos dioses blancos crueles?"
Preguntaron los conmovedores Nahuas-
'?Estos dioses corrompidos del mar?'
?Descendientes de Quetzalc?atl, quiz?s?
M?s corruptos que Moctezuma
Traslad?ndose a Cholulla, la ciudad antigua
De Quetzalc?atl, ellos tuvieron un banquete
Las barbas largas y los Nahuas;
As?, los Nahuas fueron enga?ados ?
Desarmados, y matados como ratas.
Y entonces el viaje de Cort?s continu?
Hacia Tenochtitl?n, pasando el Gran
Volc?n, a su paso, a la ciudad-
bajo la Calle de la Muerte- el gui?
?A sus barbudos sard?nicos guerreros!
Descendientes de Quetzalc?atl
Los hombres de Cortes, "Descendientes de Quetzalc?atl"
Eso el gran Jefe Moctezuma crey?:
Permitiendo ser capturado por el enemigo,
Los Embajadores de la crueldad, ?por amor a la Profec?a?y entonces as? fue ?!
Ahora un prisionero y una marioneta de Cort?s
Controlado por cuerdas espa?olas ?
Quetzalc?atl-Cort?s leg? muchas
Crueldades sobre la ciudad Tenochtitl?n-
Y sobre el Rey Azteca agonizante.
Moctezuma muri? por la penalidad de piedra,
De su gente; algunos dicen, por el cuchillo de Cort?s-;
Expulsado por los aztecas en Tenochtitl?n
Devastados por la derrota, los espa?oles se marcharon-
Pero s?lo para regresar otro d?a? .
Nota: Dennis Siluk, es un viajero mundial y buscador de los misterios del mundo, quien nos trae a la luz al misterioso personaje de Quetzalc?atl. El estuvo en las grandes ciudades antiguas de M?jico, Am?rica Central y Sudam?rica; ?ste fue para el Sr. Siluk, un poema intenso para escribir, en particular, viendo qui?n era realmente Quetzalc?atl para las personas m?s all? de su siglo. Rosa Pe?aloza.
Nota: #690 29 de mayo del 2005
Dennis Siluk, a world traveler,and seeker of the mysteries of the world, brings to light the mysterious personage of Quetzalcoatl. He has been to the great ancient cities of Mexico, Central and South America; this was a most searching poem for Mr. Siluk to do, in particular, looking for who Quetzalcoatal really was to the people beyond his century of life. Rosa Penaloza