Climbing the Sixth Sun,
Sacred Sun Pyramid,
straight up, warm
Sun, cool morning
Wind God pushes me
up, I pause to
breathe deeply,
drink water, a boy
of four behind me
begins to cry, he's
thirsty, forgot to
bring him water, I
offer mine, he smiles
and drinks- work at
the top, not able
to climb to the top, a
great-grandmother in her
eighties is helped to
the almost top, her
family bracing her,
no one's bracing me, it
seems to be my path,
to climb the Sacred
Pyramid of the Sixth
Sun alone, the only
(grown) child I miss
is my youngest, but
la vida calls him,
as it should, his own
family, families in great
need, a daily warrior
in the world, and I
needed to come alone,
all one, to greet
the Sacred Sixth
Sun, and one thirsty
four year old boy.
Unable to climb to the
top, I circled my
rattle singing, next
year I will be a
great grandmother and
no one will brace me,
yes, they will love me,
that's allowed, maybe
in my eighties when I'm
a great great grandmother,
maybe, right now the
waiter's read my mind,
plays native flute, drums,
rattles, my birth
day gift, so
well deserved, bird
song, rattles, all day
sacred white butterflies
followed me, yellow
monarchs, little bees,
brash young men, "Hola
hermosa...I have a
special gift for you...
Take it, it's free," I
don't do my usual come
back, "I'm old enough
to be your grandmother,"
now I'm old enough
to be your great grandmother,
I just laughed- right now
the music is only rattles,
the sound of sweet
bones, the ancestors
winging home, I'm
a baby, I'm an
ancient, I'm not
born, I'm dead/transformed,
I'm newly born, always
to the song of rattles,
sweet bones winging us
home, dancing us home-
I just told the waiter,
my youngest son's age,
"This music, flute, drums,
now only rattles, is
perfect, gracias."
"It suits this place,
your presence (he
doesn't bullshit me
with senorita, I've
been called senorita
all day, I laughed, they
want some thing, my
smile, my money, my
life)- he's an eagle
dancer, a deer
dancer, a wind
dancer, a Sun
dancer, I know
his mother loves him,
he loves his mother,
the women in his
family, sacred, he
knows I need the
sweet bones of the
ancestors, a pure
chocolate cake woven
with fruit, drizzled
with honey, chocolate,
a perfect birth day
cake- I sit by
the pool, too cold to
swim, a clay flower
painted senorita, I
laugh.
* * *
An older man, probably
my age, asked me if
I'd done ceremony on
the Pyramid of the Sun,
without thinking I answered
yes, the two silver bracelets,
symbols of Quetzalcoatl,
Sacred Sixth Sun,
I bought 50 pesos
each, the third a
gift, he smiled, "Fuego,"
fire should always
be a gift, the
entire day a
ceremony, the gift of
water and fire,
I hear the laughter of
my four grown
children, grandchildren,
great grandchild in the
cosmic womb dreaming,
the ancestors singing
the rattle song, all
my friends, some over
thirty/forty years, my
students seeing me whole,
I seeing them whole, we
are the gift, we are the
ceremony.
* * *
White butterflies,
ancestor souls,
guide me/us to
Quetzalcoatl's Temple,
some know it,
some don't,
yet we all
arrive, Quetzalcoatl's
Spirit laughing in the
young grass, the
large rocks tiny
red ants carry to
their mound, bleeding
cactus fruit/flowers,
ancient clouds/air
Quetzalcoatl breathed,
laughing, I hear him
laughing, some times
weeping, for his
children, I sit
facing steps that
he climbed (still climbs
Full Moon Mother
blessing him), flanked
each side Sacred
Snake, Sacred Jaguar,
Sacred Eagle, Sacred
Shell, I hear him
laughing, take out my
bird rattle, Quetzalcoatl's
flute I bought here
thirty-four years ago
at the foot of the Pyramid
of the Sun, lone vendor,
almost sunset, newly
married, we climbed to the
top that day, each
playing it, we became
God/Goddess, today I play
bird rattle, snake/eagle
flute, weaving tears and
laughter, loss and gift,
folly and wisdom, marriage
to the Other, marriage
to the Self, silence
and song, stillness
and such dancing, today
I become fully
human.
* * *
We all
we all circle
we all circle the
we all circle the Sacred
Pyramid of the Sun
rattles in hands
flutes to our lips
laughing weeping silent
singing limping dancing
we all
we all enter
we all enter the
we all enter the Sixth
we all enter the Sixth Sacred Sun
we all enter the Sacred
Sixth Sun
bracing each
other up
together
together
together
Alma Luz Villanueva
Teotihuacan, Mexico
October 4, 2012
