The Earth Shakes

'Awaken, already the sky is rosy,

already dawn has come,
already sing the flame-coloured guans,
the fire-coloured swallows,
already the butterflies fly.'

Thus the old ones said
that who has died has become a god,
they said: 'He has been made a god there,
meaning 'He has died.'

Even jade is shattered,
Even gold is crushed,
Even quetzal plume are torn . . .
One does not live forever on this earth:
We endure only for an instant!

Will flowers be carried to the Kingdom of Death:
Is it true that we are going, we are going?
Where are we going, ay, where are we going?
Will we be dead there or will we live yet?
Does one exist again?

Perhaps we will live a second time?
Thy heart knows:
Just once do we live!.
Like a quetzal plume, a fragrant flower,
friendship sparkles:
like heron plumes, it weaves itself into finery.

Our song is a bird calling out like a jingle:
how beautiful you make it sound!
Here, among flowers that enclose us,
among flowery boughs you are singing.

Nezahualcoyotl