Of Aztecs And Conquistadors

---

Book excerpt

AMIGOS PARA SIEMPRE (Friends for Life)

We swim in perfect synchronicity against the rising tide of lesser relationships,

Rising through the swamp of failed marriages, and incompatible liaisons, and we hold fast together.

Years may not diminish the steel that bonds our ties, nor anger blind the roots that bind us tight.

For we share the incomparable delight of that most rare and precious gift, true friendship.

No judgement placed upon the other, no critical lament on failures, we give and take,

We encourage, strengthen, commiserate, but always, as individuals, are nothing more than ourselves.

And though we may be blown upon life’s storm-tossed sea, we are each other’s sanctuary,

A place to run, a bolt-hole from humanity’s inhumanities.

And when the day is over, when the wind howls at the door,

What is there more than the warmth we share to soothe and calm the mind?

How many years have you been here, how many more will we share?

And when one is no more, so shall the other remember, Amigos para siempre, friends for life!

MEXICO

(Cancion de las Aztecas, los ninos del Sol)

We are the children of the Sun, we are forever young.

For all time, in perpetuum our song of life is sung.

We live beneath the soothing mantle of the canopy of the sky,

And high above we watch the swirling condors fly.

Rich green forests, golden shores, washed by the crystal sea.

All these things and more, we owe it all to thee.

You govern wind and tide, and rain, then retire to sleep each night,

Your Queen, the moon stands sentinel, bathed in the wash of your light.

You drive the rain that washes earth, constantly refreshing,

Bringing life to all we plant, our corn is ripe for threshing.

The crystal waters of the oceans kiss our golden shores,

And high above us stand the mountains, where the mighty eagle soars.

All these things stand here beneath the mighty Sun above,

Here we live, we dream, we dwell, basking in the warmth we love.

From Chetumal to Ensenada, Matamoros to Volcan,

Dwell the children of the Sun God, here in the land of Man.

Our rivers run their twisting courses, slowly to the sea,

We harvest from them fish to eat, then sing our prayers to thee.

The lush and verdant hillsides of our green and sun-kissed land,

Are home to trees of fruit, and vines tended with loving hand.

Always we remember how these bounties came to be,

Always will we live here in the land of tranquility.

We are the children of the Sun, we are forever young,

For all time, in perpetuum, our song of life is sung...