Poem for Mexico

What says Quetzalcoatl,
scales of monstrous feather,
turquoise, green, and gaudy gold,
whip of a body, tongue of purple flame?

He saw Huitzilopochtli when the winters came,
the closing night, the sun-dimmed altar,
tearing the heart of Copil,
all to no avail.

He sees the rabbit with the jaguar’s wound,
the serpent tooth that carries the salve,
a strange pyramid of human waste,
and yet a pyramid.

“Scatter the ashes,” says
Quetzalcoatl, scales of monstrous
feather, turquoise, green, and gaudy
gold, whip of a body, tongue of purple flame.

“The fire burns fierce in the heart of man.
And woman too. Lick the flame
and wish for the best,”
says the dios.

“Expect nothing,” says Quetzalcoatl,
scales of monstrous feather
to the wind.

(Gary Gautier)

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Two Saws by Leary and a Very Small Poem

I’ll be disappearing into the black forest villages of southwest Germany for two weeks. To mark the time, here are two choice quotes, familiar I’m sure to those in the inner circle, from cultural visionary and philosophy-of-life guru, Timothy Leary.

“Myth is a report from the cellular memory bank. Myths humanize the recurrent themes of evolution.”                                                                                                                                 —

“Consciousness is energy received and decoded by a structure. There are as many   levels of consciousness in the human body as there are anatomical structures to receive and decode energy.”

And a very small poem of my own…

        Adam and eve on delacroix island

Biting fleas, picking pecans, their voices
touched and words hung like crystals
glistening through the horizon line
dreaming the smell of wet earth