Only for the Here and Now

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

Drum cadence: tototi tototi¹

Your soul and flesh
have turquoise leaves,
you barbaric
Chichimec Chieftain² —
Your heart is a jade,
a popcorn flower,
a cacao bloom.³
Let us take delight!

From the Place of the Flower Tree,⁴
from the Place of the Flower Mat,⁵
from Tamoanchan⁶ I come
twirling laughing blooms.
Buds are swelling,
thick-rooted flowers.
From within such noble beauty⁷
you sing, O Judge,⁸
You are twirling.
Let us take delight!

I parade from Tamoanchan
with myriad flowers,
yellow blooms.
You are twirling.
Our drums and rattles
are only for the here and now,⁹
dear friends of ours!

We just come to earth
to borrow them,
then we simply go away
to where the flesh is shorn.¹⁰
Let me live in abundance,
bedeck myself with blooms
if only for the here and now,
dear friends of…