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Open Poetry #22
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Mistletoe Angel
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Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

0 posted 2002-09-15 11:11 PM


(This is in honor of Mexico's Independence Day, who 180 years ago sought freedom and independence from the Spaniards who ruled Mexico for over 300 years! ¡Olé Mexico! )



¡Olé!
By: Noah Eaton
9/15/02

Sound the mariachi band
Roar those trumpets
¡Viva Mexico!
¡Olé!


Hence a time of sheep-eyed days and quiet nights
Huitzilopochtli showed you a sacred place
Where the eagle landed on a prickly-pear cactus
Devouring the feisty snake


Deep in the heart of Lake Texococo
You built a majestic home upon the island
Raising a golden arm to a land of color
Which you called Tenochtitlan


Through the wind I still hear the cries
Of Aztec warriors fighting in the ruins
I can still hear Montezuma II trilling
Fearing the Spaniards as gods in gauntlets


Laying anchor on this Mexico, which they called Veracruz
Montezuma offering them gifts but for their freedom
Your city of Tenochtitlan taken with disbelief
Taken as a hostage in your own kingdom


Hernando Cortes re-decorated your walls
Your people bled wounds and relics shattered
But what lives on still lives today
Which the last Aztec emperor Cuauhtemoc bravely suffered


Your people learned new ways and religion
Peninsulares and creoles making their claims
While you and all the mestizos struggled to survive
Dragging chains, performing as slaves


Of silver mines and haciendas
The whole world changed before your very sight
At first and the creoles seemed so secure
But King Charles III made all your freedom subside


French forces came and confused your government
I can hear Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's speech echo
The day your hearts of freedom cries
"Grito de Doleres" we call this earth-shattering fortissimo


You sent your followers on to rule what is truly your home
I watch as more priests follow your footsteps in rebellion
And even as many fell and faltered in the crossfire
You have brought to this whole land your lasting impression


So King Ferdinand VII, tell me, did you know who your true friends were?
Your creoles looking up to you but you stared away
Taxing your friends and taking away the trust they had in your purples and golds
Bringing many liberals to see this peaceful day...


Your creoles came with the heart of Iturbide
Bringing the colors of freedom of the flag with you
Bringing independence to this special land after 300 red years
These colors shared between me and you...


Green for hope
White for unity, purity, and honesty
Red for parenthood and the blood of national heroes
A trinity of authentic cordiality...


As Cuauhtemoc as your witness
May your freedom and courage always prevail
So light those candles and grab some molé
And spread the fiesta around, let's hail:


So sound the mariachi band
Roar those trumpets
¡Viva Mexico!
¡Olé!



"Underneath your clothes there's an endless story..."

Shakira

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-15-2002 11:29 PM).]

© Copyright 2002 Nadia Lockheart - All Rights Reserved
the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
1 posted 2002-09-15 11:14 PM


This is so cool. I just had to read one of your poems before I headed to bed.

Cold hands means a warm heart

VAS
Member Rara Avis
since 2000-11-16
Posts 7450
Oregon
2 posted 2002-09-15 11:18 PM


¡Olé!

¿Well done, but what happened to Quetzalcoatl, is that a different spelling than the "H" name at the entrance to this piece?

You have a lot of history here that I didn't know but I recognized some of the place names.

¡Viva la indepencia!



Whether on the shoal or on the shore,
I'll seek the lighthouse evermore.

[This message has been edited by VAS (09-15-2002 11:19 PM).]

Bill Charles
Member Patricius
since 2000-07-11
Posts 10619
highways, & byways, for now
3 posted 2002-09-15 11:33 PM


Noah -

sound the mariachi band
Roar those trumpets
¡Viva Mexico!
¡Olé!

BC

Singing Sparrow
Member
since 2002-05-12
Posts 94

4 posted 2002-09-16 05:38 PM


y arriba y arriba!

SS

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