Quetzal

I heard the bird-god flew on jewel-bright wings
and sang forth the sun
in the time before

The stuffed quetzal stares
black-glass eyes
glued into a
sewn-up
head

But I heard quetzalcoatl
and bird-serpent-king and
spirit-singer and
god-unconquered
of the time before

The stuffed quetzal stares
faded-feather breast
resplendent red, the very place
where a small heart was
removed

But I heard q’uq’umatz
and
Tecún Umán’s prayers and
warrior blood (the very place
where a king’s heart was
speared-through)

The stuffed quetzal stares
wire-winged with
a glass glare
gutted and
unsinging

But I heard the bird-god flew on jewel-bright wings
and cried in the glass-black night, a call
to wake the dead

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