Thursday, November 1, 2007

Feast of All Saints (to make an ofrenda)

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El corazón de la muerte ~ The Heart of Death

-------ofrenda a los difuntos --------------- offering to the dead

---------al modo nahua------- / --------------in the Nahua mode



---Le hacemos, formamos
---el corazón a la muerte —

---We make, we form
---the heart for death —


de flores
de flores amarillas,
del cempoalxochitl —


of flowers
of yellow flowers
of marigolds —





de agua
de agua clara,
consuelo de la sed —


of water
of clear water
comfort of thirst —





de pan
de maíz, de trigo
nuestro sustento —


of bread
of corn, of wheat
our sustenance —




de comida y bebida
de nuestro alimento
que da deleite al paladar —

of food & drink
of our nutrition
that gives the palate delight —




de luz
de luz que alumbra el camino
anhelo de mariposas
-------------------nocturnas —
of light
of light that shows the way
desire of night moths —



de calaveras de azúcar
de calaveras dulces
como la vida fugaz —

of sugar skulls
of candy skulls
sweet as fleeting life —




de copal, artemisa,
incienso, humo perfumado
que invoca a los dioses —

of copal, sage,
incense, perfumed smoke
that invokes the gods —






de flor y canto
de flor y canto le hacemos
el corazón a la muerte.


of flower & song
of flower & song we make
the heart of death.




-------------------------------------© Rafael Jesús González 2007
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1 comment:

Amy at Woza Books said...

Thank you for these beautiful images. I won't ever look at a marigold the same way again.