The King of Tetzcoco Remembers

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

By Cacamatzin, the last king of Tetzcoco, when he found himself in dire straits, remembering the power and great majesty of his country and his grandfather.¹

Friends, listen to them for a moment:
“If only no one went marching off
to war like some ancient lord.
If only anger and quarreling
would be forgotten, erased
from the face of this good earth!”

Indeed, they mean me —
they even criticize a king.
Yesterday at the ball court,
they were babbling gossip:
“How is he even human?
Is he a madman or a clown?”

Who knows what all
they talk about…
But is it not true
that I rule on this earth?

Ohuaya! Ohuaya!²

Smoke curls from the guns —
let the horns sound the call!

Upon my head, upon the ground
the blooms come drifting down,
burgeoning and spiraling,
falling content to the earth.³