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​​SOMOS EN ESCRITO
The Latino Literary Online Magazine

POETRY
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Día de los Muertos al estilo Nahua/the Nahua way

11/2/2018

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Picture
Ofrenda por/by Rafael Jesús González, Oakland Museum of California 2017
​Por/by Rafael Jesús González

Consejo para el peregrino a Mictlan
(al modo Nahua)

Cruza el campo amarillo de cempoales,
baja al reino de las sombras;
es amplio, es estrecho.
Interroga a los ancianos;
son sabios, son necios:

— Señores míos, Señoras mías,
¿Qué verdad dicen sus flores, sus cantos?
¿Son verdaderamente bellas, ricas sus plumas?
¿No es el oro sólo excremento de los dioses?
Sus jades, ¿son los más finos, los más verdes?
Su legado, ¿es tinta negra, tinta roja? --

Acepta sólo lo preciso:

-----lo que te haga amplio el corazón
--------lo que te ilumine el rostro.
Picture
Ofrenda with/con cempoales (marigolds), at Oakland Museum of California, 2013
​Advice for the Pilgrim to Mictlan
(in the Nahua mode)

Cross the yellow fields of marigolds,
descend to the realm of shadows;
it is wide, it is narrow.
Question the ancients;
they are wise, they are fools:

— My Lords, My Ladies,
What truth do your flowers, your songs tell?
Are your feathers truly lovely, truly rich?
Is not gold only the excrement of the gods?
Your jades, are they the finest, the most green?
Your legacy, is it black ink, red ink? --

Accept only the necessary:

-----what will widen your heart
----what will enlighten your face.

Note: Mictlan is the Nahua people’s name for the land of the dead.

Rafael Jesús González is a poet and essayist, known worldwide for his writings and efforts to promote peace and justice. © Rafael Jesús González 2018.
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