The Human Beast of Chalco

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

Ah! There above
I heard the holy hymn¹
in the home of the noble
Coacuechtli —²
Mountain trogons with paper flowers
that spread like myriad golden plumes.
Adorn yourselves with these on Earth!

Just yonder, beyond,³
poetry is spreading
in the home of the lord
Chief Chalchiuhtlatonac —⁴
Mountain trogons with paper flowers
that spread like myriad golden plumes.
Adorn yourselves with these on Earth!

Now you believe,
High Priest Cuateotl,
that your soul returns!⁵
A flood of eagles⁶ will spread
across the face of the Earth.
Transformed into an ocean,
it surges as he is released —
The Human Beast!⁷
The Chichimec!⁸

I sip my chocolate:
my soul savors it,
so I give the drink
to the very soul
of the Giver of Life.
O High Priest of Tlalmanalco,⁹
if only your rage would fly
once more into the fray!