CEREMONY

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

                                               Into the Sixth World...