Friendship Will Forever Depart

The fifteenth cuicatl in Songs of the Lords of Anahuac, my English translation of the codex Romances de los señores de la Nueva España.

May we in truth begin,
you friends of ours,
within the House of Spring,¹
where the words of the lord
our god are awaited.
How will he want them?
How will he arrange
the flowers and the songs?²

All his compassion
flows from him.
We frequent him there
within the House of Spring,
where the words of the lord
our god are awaited.
How will he want them?
How will he arrange
the flowers and the songs?

Yellow buds,
popcorn flowers,³
those blossoms
of the funeral tree,⁴
and frangipanis
whirl as they spread —
These are your blooms,
our lord and god!

We just borrow these —
your flower drums,
your rattles,⁵
your songs.
These are your blooms,
our lord and god!