Declared as an UNESCO Heritage Site in 1983, is today a place of tourist attraction, - this ancient city of Inca pride! Please read its absorbing story, you will not regret it ! Thanks, - Raj Nandy

MACHU PICCHU: THE LOST CITY OF THE INCAS!

(I)
At those ethereal heights where only eagles dare,
And where the Condor glides to gently perch;
Above the Urubamba Valley of Peru, -
Stretches the peaks of Machu Picchu and Huayna
Picchu;
Where the sky above is a clear cerulean blue!
And on a cloud-draped ridge connecting both
these Andean peaks, -
Lies the magnificent site of Machu Picchu, –
which many tourists seek!
A city hewed and carved out of rocks and stones,
Which in proud defiance to marauding time,
Stands there for nearly six hundred years, -
A majestic symbol of Inca pride!
(II)
The Inca Kings were the ‘child of the sun’,
Their chief deity was the Sun God - ‘INTI’,
Their ninth king who expanded and consolidated
their Empire,
Was known as the great Emperor Pachucuti!
This king and his architects, at an altitude of
8000 feet built the great Inca City!
To worship their gods and honor their ancestors,
And as a royal family resort and a summer retreat!
Inca religion was based around Nature, and their
architecture blended with the landscape around!
At Machu Picchu they felt closer to their gods,
And could almost hear His sound!
Pachucuti also built the city of Cuzco, the capital
of the Inca Empire,
They never had horses or wheels those days,
Their ‘runners’ covered their kingdom entire!
With posts located at suitable distances, for
relaying messages throughout their Empire!
(III)
The ruins of Machu Picchu covers 13 sq kms,
Lying some 70 kms north-west of Cuzco city,
Nestled amidst the navel of the mountain rocks,
Hidden from the praying eyes of all adversaries!
Surrounded by gushing mountain rivers and
yawning chasms going down deep;
And with secret ropeway bridges, this Inca hideout
was all complete!
It escaped the greedy Pizarro’s eyes, that Spaniard
who came for Inca gold,
Leaving Machu Picchu untouched, for the entire world
to behold!
So the urban sector of Machu Picchu has 140 buildings
still intact;
With steps and terraces cut into steep granite face,
And streams and aqua-ducts to irrigate their lands!
(IV)
The citadel lies on a flat surface, which is a 20 hectares
spread!
With a sacred and a residential area, and houses for
priests, nobility and guests!
‘Amautas’ were men both holy and wise, conducted
ceremonies and read the stars;
But the Incas had no written script, and took help of
the ‘quipu’ by far!
The ‘quipu’ was a numerical system using many
knotted strings, -
With which they kept records and accounts of almost
any and everything!
(V)
A Sacred Area had temples and buildings,
All dedicated to the Gods by Pachucuti;
A Sun Temple, and the sacred Intihuatana Stone,
For ‘binding the sun’ – the great Inti !
During the Equinox on the 21st of March and September,
When the sun was directly above the Intihuatana Stone, <
The priests performed ceremonies and offered prayers, -
To keep the sun caged and in control!
Legend has it that should a sensitive man, keep his
forehead on this sacred Stone, -
His ‘third eye’ would open up, and the ‘spiritual world’
he shall behold!
(VI)
It was Hiram Bingham a professor from Yale University,
Who in July 1911 rediscovered this miniature Inca City!
He took three years to clear the jungles and the wild
vines;
And the artifacts he had found were sent to the US -
as precious finds!
The modern architects who visited Machu Picchu,
all marvelled at the techniques used;
A ‘dry stone technique’* without mortar, had all of
them pretty confused!
Many stones weighed around fifty tones, and others were
cut into various shapes and size;
And were fitted with such precision, leaving no room
even for a blade of knife!
The peaks there often get covered with mist,
And is the abode of white fluffy clouds;
This stairways to where the Inca gods dwell, #
Is where Machu Picchu is to be found!
- Raj Nandy
(- ALL COPYRIGHTS RESERVED -)
Notes: -Huayna Pichu stands behind Machu Picchu -
40mtrs higher! It has a steeper climb and has the ‘Temple of
the Moon’ inside a dark cave! +Declared a Heritage Site
by UNESCO in 1983.< Sun being directly above the sacred stone did not cast any shadow, so the priest said he had caged the Sun! *Dry stone
technique without mortar also used in Egyptian Pyramids! #Many
tribes believed Incas were Gods! Thanks for reading, - Raj Nandy.

............................................. ................................................. .....................

I arrive in Lima
The sweat-sogged poverty
lumped onto concrete
pushes at my heels
The tight black air
swallows the nakedness
of prostitutes and thieves
Pockets empty like a traveler’s stomach
growling beneath the world of Los Incas

In Cusco
My head throbs in the thin air
with the sound of boys
trying to shine my boots, my sandals
my bare feet
no problemo
women sell fresh papaya and guava
sweaters and trinkets
Hawkers surround me
like a tightly stitched T-shirt

Cusco
The Navel of the Earth
A bulging belly
throbbing
digesting
living
 
Sunset
I spread my toes
over the evaporated flood waters
of the Rio Urubamba
where it once flowed
from the fingers of Manco Inca
over the fleeing conquistadors
at the top of Ollantaytambo
Momentary brilliance
before you retreated to the jungle
Spain, always gnawing at your heels

It’s a mouth-full-of-coca-leave’s journey
to Macchu Picchu
I enter the dream
spitting wet leaves
on the silence of a dead kingdom
Gasping for air that once filled lungs
of Inca messengers
carrying news of defeat and conquest
over the great Andes
Los Incas Caminos
The cloud-dripped mountains
spread green across my eyes
I see ghosts
a steady move of feet through the depleted air
Porter, takes my backpack
carries it against his brown crusty skin
ancient, sun-baked descendant
of the Earth’s naval
A toothless, painless smile
It must have been different
before we came
with money the color of unpicked rice
Now I hear your belly-groan
Between the perfectly fitted stones
of Sacsayhuaman
My voice bounces circular
off invisible walls
because your magic has survived you

Macchu Picchu
Unknown and majestic
Hidden from blood
from the stink of vultures
No more
Black raven feather
drops on my skull
floats on the shiny gray stone
under my feet
which are wrapped in dried, brown skin
naked, without a heartbeat

It’s past sunrise
the tourist bus has arrived
and the flat shadow of the crowd
blocks the light of the ascending sun
that tries to penetrate
the perfect holes
of a perfect wall
in an imperfect dream

Dedicated to John and Bob

From first flesh we move down widening halls
That lead to lives of wondrous walls.

Our spidered fingers gripped walls of brick,
Cruets, cups and candle sticks.
Incense clouded open graves
When we too believed we too were saved.

Between Annex walls we learned our phonics,
On tin-roofed walls we lived our comics.
Garage walls scaled showed different views,
Kitchen walls steamed with soups and stews.
Our school yard walls tallied pitches
That marked our summers of youth and wishes.

Now lift memory's pane and go back
To the white-framed walls of a secret shack.
There, in confusion we would cling
To the unknown wonders girls would bring.
These young boys' walls we both outgrew;
Now new walls sprang, as we did too.

Coffee House walls offered something new.
Wet kisses lingered near shadowy walls,
We heard poetry read in a backroom stall.
Recreationals made our new skin crawl.

Cliff walls were breached by stairs of clay,
Carved by Incas on a turquoise day.
Tent walls echoed with impish fray,
Green walls beckoned at the end of day.
These walls gave rise to hot desires,
Like Vikings planning funeral pyres.
New music, cheers and weekend guests
Stood us ***** to pound our chests.

Those walls no longer ring our shores;
Time swept us forward with worldly lures.
We doffed our coats of suede and frills,
And donned new clothes and workday skills.
The walls of work are a rocky climb,
Stones laid by us, for yours and mine.
Such towers & turrets of heart & hearth
Guard all we know of any worth.

I see distant walls on cliffs, in fields;
Where do they lead? What will they yield?
Yet, there three friends climb one more hill,
Climb one more wall. Then all is still.

I'm eating chocolate,
the kind the Swiss
keep for themselves,
the quality kind
that can only be delivered
by security truck,
Chocolate that the Incas
would **** a thousand in cold blood,
Chocolate that's so good
it will turn a committed ******
into a ******* sweet ****.

*Touring Venice with the Chocolateer is paying current dividends!

Dear Mohammed,
Did you know.
Brits own 8 million dogs and
lavish 10 billion on pets
In Syria this must cause mirth
for its distorted priorities
but in Britain it awakens the soul
to love one’s animals most
It's a companion with few conditions
and reinforces  quaint traditions.
Do you find them funny?

Dear Isaac,
Did you know.
Why the sky is blue
You must have coloured it that way
It isn’t easy explaining but I try
The seven colours of the rainbow is light
Like the ocean it’s made of waves
Blue is the shortest so it’s nearest
Red is the longest so it’s  far behind
Arsenal still beat Chelsea though.
Are you laughing?

Dear Khadija,
Did you know.
You are beautiful and gifted
Bet you were surprised when they said
yes - let the world see your mind
and picture your thoughts
of the dark skinned man and woman
which is the colour of their diversity
When you reduced them to flat shades
Their conflicts became your success
What are you thinking right now?

Dear Mierna, Fatima and Zeinab,
Did you know.
Curling tongs are cool
Confidence is better than looks
Girls are doing better in school
Fifty-six countries had women leaders
Boys prefer curly to straight hair
but Beauty is mostly within
Make up is for the beholder
Smiling eyes are a winner
as a sure sign your heart is open.
Who said smile and the world smiles with you?

Dear Yahya, Firdaws and Yaqub,
Did you know.
Football was born in China
The first club was Sheffield FC
Messi is only five six
The number one rapper is Jay-Z
Your eyes and heart Firdaws
left its mark with its brushes
Inside is a free spirit
that roams across your sketches.
Who is your favourite artist?

Dear Baby Leena and sisters three and five,
Did you know.
Halloween was a Celtic belief
to mark the start of winter
School trips in year 6
can make friendships forever
Fingernails grow faster than toenails
Hair grows at half inch per month
just in case you like them painted
or wanted long locks for fun
You will soon take your first steps.
You cannot wait to run?

Dear Maria,
Did you know.
The home of the Bird of Paradise
is in faraway South Africa
The lotus sacred to Buddhists
is a symbol of hope and peace
Roses adorned Cleopatra
created by Chloris and Aphrodite
Hydrangeas are from the Himalayas
when pink the Beating Heart of Asia.
Do you like flowers?

Dear Jessica,
Did you know.
Australia was born in Dreamtime
onto a land that owned Man
Incas once reigned supreme
In the heights of a mountain
Fish and chips married in 1860
in London by the Bells of Bow
Bruno Mars was number one
but now he is second.
Where would you like to go?

Dear Amayah,
Did you know.
Perrault wrote Cinderella
and Beauty sleeping in the Forest
A princess likes to impress
like a jewel she’s so precious
Rapunzel had very long hair
Snow White very fair skin
Little Mermaid had very sad eyes
The Goat Girl a very clever mind
Would you like to read them all?

Dear Jeremiah
Did you know.
Writing is fun because you connect
with other inquisitive minds
Twenty-eight curved and straight letters
compose Arabic words in a line
The Chinese started before everyone
have characters nine thousand
Whether with a pen or a stick in the sand
No longer are the words confined.
What words will you write first, I wonder?

Dear Mr Councillor
You do know, don’t you?
Isaac has lost his pencil case
Jessica cannot find her tickets
Princess Amaya is looking for her dress
Jeremiah wants some paper
Fatima needs to read the Quran
Maria is desperate to water her plants
Mohammed keeps longing for the Sun and
Khadija is preparing for that accolade.

Forever there is a drought.

You, Mr Councillor, were the outline in their lives
and the shadow in our fears

Pinkhat
22nd June 2017

El agua la manda el cielo,
la tierra la puso dios.
Viene el amo y me la quita,
¡la p...ita que se partió!
A ver, respóndame, hermano:
si esta fue tierra ´e los incas
¿de donde hay dueños de fincas
con títulos en la mano?
Pa mí que al pobre serrano
le vienen tomando el pelo.
Acequia, puquio, riachuelo
todo en títulos se fragua.
¿De ´onde tiene dueño l´agua?
¡el agua la manda el cielo!
Y por último, los incas
no han sido los más primeros;
antes los huancas ´stuvieron
y antes que ellos los mochicas.
Ora hay haciendas tan ricas
pa sólo un dueño o pa dos
y gritan a toda voz
que heredaron de su padre...
¡Que no me vengan, compadre,
la tierra la puso Dios!
Donde no hay minas de gringos
hay tierras de gamonales,
pagan míseros jornales
y te andan a los respingos.
Se trabaja los domingos
Más pior que en tiempo ´e la mita.
Y hasta si tengo cholita
para mi pobre querer,
por el gusto de ...poder
viene el amo y me la quita.
Creo que, ultimadamente,
debiera ser propietario
quien fecunda el suelo agrario
con el sudor de su frente.
Así espera nuestra gente
y así mesmo espero yo.
Y así ha de ser, pues si no
a gringos y gamonales
vamo a recontrasacarle
¡la p... ita que se partió!

Dear Poet Friends, we are all born rich with plenty of time in our hands taking it for granted till old age arrives; when time begins to run out gradually going beyond our reach! Time is the only thing which we can never accumulate or save during our lifetime.  Yet each passing moment remains priceless like the effervescent dew drops of time! Kindly do read the short Notes below, which makes it easier to appreciate this poem you know! Thanks, -Raj

               TIME THE TRAVELLING GYPSY MAN
TIME you travelling gypsy man won’t you like to stay, and park
your magic caravan here just for a day?
You have been travelling without stopping through vast eons
of time,
Over the Tigress and the Euphrates Rivers, to the Valley of the
Nile;
Nile that longest river of the world, and Egypt’s life line.
Passing over ancient pyramids and the sphinx with raised heads.
To the Valley of the Indus where civilizations of Harappa and
Mohenjo- daro had once spread!
Across the Great Chinese Wall to visit the civilizations of
Mesoamerica; -
Those of the Ancient Mayans, the Aztecs, and the great Incas!
With your long flowing beard as white as snow,
You old gypsy man you surely require a rest you know.
Time you old gypsy man won’t you park here for a day,
Best of food and drinks and a bed of feathers, I have spread
out for your stay!

TIME the gypsy man with a wan smile replied, “Thanks for the
invitation my friend but I must decline, simply because I have
no time!
Since the Big Bang like an arrow I have started to flow,
I cannot stop now and forward I must go!
With your sundials, water clocks, and the hour glass,
You try to enslave me, but I shall always remain in a flux!
With your caesium atomic clock you accurately measure me out,
But weather I am real or illusory, there remains a nagging doubt!
But if ever mankind reaches that magical speed of light,
Only then I would appear to freeze and stop moving forward -
as time!
The only breather I get is inside the ‘Womb of Eternity’,
Where I keep pulsating and breathing before I can break free!
Then I am reborn as future time once again,
Like your Sisyphus I have been cursed never to rest my
friend!” *
                                                              ­                  -by Raj Nandy.
NOTES:
Speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. According to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity this speed can be reached only theoretically, but if reached, time would cease & the hands of the clock will stand still! Now should this speed of light be crossed, time will being to flow backwards.
Arrow of Time = Western concept of time is linear which moves forward like an arrow. The Hindu concept of time is cyclic, where time moves in a repeating cyclic motion. I have explained both these concepts in my ‘Introduction to Indian Art in Verse’, for those who may be interested.
SISYPHUS = In Greek mythology Sisyphus was punished for his greed & deceitfulness by being forced to roll an immense stone up a hill only to watch it roll back again, thereby forced to repeat this action for eternity!
*ALL COPY RIGHTS ARE WITH THE AUTHOR RAJ NANDY

You're my solitude, my course
The majestic random
Violins in the Penumbra
Roars of Gogin
My imperial dark light
Wisdom of the Incas
I see thy empty soul
You're the soul
My sickness, disease
Fevers
And the onomastic music begun

You unwrapped my blind fold
I could only see this mess of deconstructed bones
The smog filled my bleeding nostrils
I gasped to know the truth of a world rotating in circumvention

Tangents of humiliation
A crab crawls back into its used receptacle
It does not have to face the uneven shadows
Fairy wings brittle and break

The ashes of frightened unicorns
Paths off way far into the emasculated jungle
Hidden silences wielded in your depth
Machines and paper plates

The trees of battered car horns and biohazard bags
The stereotypical infantile jungle world  
Without the echoes of the children you never should have had

Mary prostitutes herself on the corner
The Holy Ghost burns unnoticed

Please let us go back to a time
When we could sit still without retrograding voices
Telling us to progress and revolve
We can no longer feel awesomed in the presence of a structural anomaly

One that had never lived or breathed
Or failed
We were on the verge of a revolution
Before they took our fairytales away

The myths were replaced with shear and utter disgust
For the entire human community
Let us retreat to the forest of Incas and attack dogs
For we can not have a revolution of one.

Ya know .....

I'm down with … Problem Solvers … !!!
Not those … who use … Revolvers … !!!!!

By this I mean …. " Evolvers " … !!!!!

"Logical" … Thinkers … !!!
who … Don't Wear … BLINKERS … !!!

"Evolved" … like … " Incas " … !!!  
who … "Peruse" … The View …
"From" …. "Machupicchu" … hues …
to blues now seen ….
in …. " New Age " …. crews …. !!!!!

NOT SO … Evolved … !!!!!

NOPE …. would seem …. NOT …. !!!!!!!

"Problems" …. up top ….
"Evolution" …. dropped ….
for …. " Dropping Bombs " ….  !!!

"Inhumane" …. wrongs ….
as wrongs ……. move on …….
and become … " More Strong " … !!!!!

I Evolve … to belong …
where wrongs … " ABSCOND " … !!!!!
because what …. " Evolves " ….
are thoughts that … " Revolve " …
On ….. " Cerebral Planes " ….

Do you get what i'm … saying … ?!?

Higher levels of … " Being "
where there is … " No Ceiling "

A place where … " Believing "
that ….. " HIGHER ACHIEVING "
is something …. " ALL PEOPLE "
are seeing ….. Each Evening ….. !!!!!

and … Each Day … " Receiving "
"Within" … " ALL THEIR " … Teachings … !!!!!

"Darwinism" ….. Removed ….. !!!
and ….. " Eugenics " ….. Too ….. !!!!!

Instead …. STRONGER Movements …. !!!!!
are things I be …. " Choosing " ….
to be a ….. " Good Student " …..  !!!
who … " Evolves " …
with … MORE … " Prudence "
than … " Ignorant " … Tutors … !!!!!!

See … Evolution of … " words "
I put into …… " VERSE "
"Evolve' … where things … " Work "
Even if … they may … " HURT " … !!!!!

because of their … " Clarity "
Revolving round … " REALITY "

Reality …… where …… " VANITY "
Denies … so many ….. " CHARITY "

The type … where people
.…… RISE ABOVE …….  
These acts of … "Evil" …
and show …. " LOVE " …. !!!!!

Instead of …. All This ….

" Self-absorbed " …. stuff …. !!!

It's clear some have … " evolved "
just far … enough …
for them to …. " Absolve "
their acts of …. " LUST " …. !!!!!

LUST … for … Each Other …
ahead of their … Mothers … !!?!!

LUST … for … " Destruction " … !!!!!
of our …. Fellow Brothers ….
when we … NEED … " Constructions "
that … BUILD …and DON"T … "smother"

A way to …. " AGREE " ….
and … EVOLVE to be …

……. " FREE " ……. !!!!!

and find ……. " UNITY "
that bypasses … hatred …
in … Vapid Type Racists … !!!
with … " **** Type Beliefs " … !!!!

They NOW … have … " Evolved "
"Beyond" … their … White Sheets

It seems that …. Their Offspring
Now … " RUN " … companies … ?!?

where  colours are … " Mixed "
"Dissolving" … to … "FIT" …
in with …. " These Racists " …. !!!!!

NO ….
"Evolving" …. THERE …. !!!

because most … are … " Scared " … !!!!!
to evolve …. to that …. place ….
where they're … NOT AFRAID … !!!!!

to fear …. " Retributions "
for YES …. " Contributing "
to such …. " Revolutions "
that are …. " Evolutions "
to finding …. " SOLUTIONS "
that … INSPIRE … " Movements "

for …. " EQUALITY CALLS "
that … Benefit …… ALL …… !!!!!!

The Rich … and … The Poor
cos' … that gap … FOR SURE …

" Evolves " … to … Ensure …  
That …. We Can't …. " IGNORE "
These things ….. " ANYMORE " ….. !!!!!!

"Dissolving" …. The Void ….
where we have … " Unemployed "
Might Help … some … " Evolve "
from …. trying to …. " ROB " …. !!!

But that …. " Evolution " ….
is … Needed … " In Boardrooms "  

Don't get it … " Confused " … ???
to …. " EVOLVE " ….

THEY NEED …. TOO …. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Greed Driven" …. Villains …. !!!!!
who clearly … Aren't … " Pilgrims "
who live by a …. " Faith " ….
that … FEEDS … " Empty Plates "

They'd say that … "They Do !"
but … is that … " The Truth "

I don't have an answer ….  ?!?
That Question's … for … YOU … !?!

Those now …. " EVOLVED "
to think past … "Themselves"

who … do not … INVOLVE … !!!
"Pursuit" … of … Mass Wealth …
as part of the …. " Well " ….
…….. where their ………  
" BETTERMENT "  … Dwells … !!!!!

Knowledge of …. " Self "
that … " Uplifts " … The Mental

A form of …. " Self Help "
that … TRULY … is … CENTRAL
to …. " Human Infusion " ….
of what should be … loosened … !!!

Our hold of …. " Confusion "
that leads to …. " Contusions "
Persecutions …. " Exclusions "
and movements so … " GRUESOME "
that they seem …. " INHUMAN " …. !!!!!!!

The words i'm … NOW … Choosing
DO NOT FEED …. illusions …. !!! ….

" Upliftments' "…. BRUISING …. !!!
has left … MANY … Losing …

A hope for …. " Inclusion "
and some …. " Distribution "
of more than … Sweet Talk ...
from tongues shaped like … FORKS … !!!!!
that … KEEP … Fuelling Wars … !!!!!!

So ….
Here's My …. " Conclusion "

It's time for … " SOLUTIONS "
that … STOP … " Destitution "
and REMOVE … what's polluting …
Humanities' …. movements ….
towards some …. " Improvements "

where LESS … are … "colluding"
to seeing … MORE SHOOTINGS … ?!?!?

INSTEAD ….. " Resolutions "
that … Provide … " Solutions "
that … REJECT … Revolvers …
…… " Suicide Bombers " …… !!!!!!!!

and … Moods that are … " Sombre "

May see … " Problem Solvers "

be the ones who we choose …..

to … INSPIRE …

….. " Evolvers " …..

It was a five finger discount
Just a benign theft
It wasn't hurting anyone
Besides, it was going to look good in my breakfast nook

I put on my "cross your heart" seat belt and jetted home
It was a beautiful coffee mug crafted by Incas
It wasn't like I looted the store

I now refer to it as my stolen-Incan made-oversized coffee mug

But I guess I should have seen the warning label

"ATTENTION THIEF, THIS MUG IS CURSED BY ANCIENT SPIRITS! AND IF YOU DARE KEEP THIS MUG ALL THINGS DRANK OUT OF IT WILL CAUSE YOU HORRIBLE PAIN AND SUFFERING"

Now every time I have my morning coffee it either tips over on to my lap or gives me a sudden case of the runs

I question how they took the trail here
How many men it took
And did many die trying

I question their strength
Are they a breed of superhuman?
To build such weight at this height

I would question why here
If the views did not speak the answer already
And for knowing their mountainous belief

But how is my biggest question
Just really how did they make it possible
For this path should fall to its' death

I give the Incas questions
But moreover I give them my greatest respect

In thousands and thousands of years,
our successors, who or whatever they are,
won’t just find our bones.
They’re going to find our living rooms,
our I-pods, coffee mugs,
suitcases, post-it notes.
The quiet little things that become our lives,

and they’ll look at each other, our successors,
and they’ll think: ‘how charming…how primitive they lived.
This is what they wore on their feet,
and this is the thing they used to listen to music
with before they had the microchips implanted.”
But it makes me think.
This is exactly what we say now
…about the Greeks, the Mesopotamians,
the Incas, Mayas,
all the ****-cloth wearers.

We talk about them
like they were exempt
from unremarkable daily existences,
that their run-of-the mill equivalences’ to Tuesdays
were filled with human sacrifices,
complex rituals and **** like that.
We never talk about how they must have felt exactly like we do now…
We never talk about how they could have easily felt alone in a crowd,
or how they could have felt unrequited love.

They’re always talked about like they were better or worse than we are.
But I think we’re really just exactly the same as them.

Hay un tropel de potros sobre la pampa inmensa.
¿Es Pan que se incorpora? No: es un hombre que piensa,
es un hombre que tiene una lira en la mano:
él viene del azul, del sol, del Océano.
Trae encendida en vida su palabra potente
y concreta el decir de todo un continente...
Tal vez es desigual... (¡El Pegaso da saltos!)
Tal vez es tempestuoso... (¡Los Andes son tan altos!...)
Pero hay en este verso tan vigoroso y terso
una sangre que apenas veréis en otro verso;
una sangre que cuando en la estrofa circula,
como la luz penetra y como la onda ondula...
Pegaso está contento, Pegaso piafa y brinca,
porque Pegaso pace en los prados del inca.
Y este fuerte poeta de alma tan ardorosa
sabe bien lo que cuentan los labios de la rosa,
comprende las dulzuras del panel y comprende
lo que dice la abeja del secreto del duende...
Pero su brazo es para levantar la trompeta
hacia donde se anuncia la aurora del Profeta;
es hecho para dar a la virtud del viento
la expresión del terrible clarín del pensamiento.
Él sabe de Amazonas, Chimborazos y Andes.
Siempre blande su verso para las cosas grandes.
Va como Don Quijote en ideal campaña,
vive de amor de América y de pasión de España;
y envuelto en armonía y en melodía y canto,
tiene rasgos de héroe y actitudes de santo.
«¿Me permites, Chocano, que como amigo fiel,
te ponga en el ojal esta hoja de laurel?»
Tal dije cuando don J. Santos Chocano,
último de los incas, se tornó castellano.

the lost city of the Incas,
survives and breathes
with this cataclysmic vegetation
still malignant and undying
to conjure divinity
for those lack,
in the purest form,

it awed Neruda and Che
with the shimmer of the first light,
the smell is a poisonous offering,
the view is like an unforgotten love,

most of the nights in my sleep
I come back from there
and some of the nights
I wish I could never.

oh i'm pretty sure the anglo-sphere doesn't care much for other tongues... or what happens in them: how they arrived to where they are now... but... sometimes... it comes about by the most curious of circumstances when, the natives & / or their extended family of trans-Atlantic cousins (etc.) start to... mishandle their: zunge... then... something wakes up, that should have been sleeping... in a person who treats this tONG in the confines of: acquisition, rather than something... passed down with: accent... idiosyncrasy... "whereabouts": local "allegiance"...

covert excess drinking:
i'm starting to love it more and more:
i get to play both actor,
a shadow... and fictional death...
all is well when you can
summon the... nerves(?)
to also make a distinction between
making strawberry gelato vs.
strawberry ice-cream...
no eggs more fruit pulp
less cream for the former...
plus... "displacing" things...
you wake up... it's... [there]...
half an hour later it's... "there"...
these spontaneous pockets
of amnesia:
these spontaneous bouts of...
AM... née: SHIA...
how else? Zee-E-E'Ah?
there's another name for this:
SKLEROZA...
it's not an English word...
but the symptoms are:
you get to walk a lot...
it doesn't hurt...
ah... memory... such a fickle faculty...
it's like we were engineered to:
forget in order to: push on
forward and... replicate... procreate...
alas... what if you...
don't want to?
   like an antithesis of
Frankenstein's monster...
who... if written by a man and not
a Mary Shelley would...
play the Sisyphus for a while
and then... do-himself-off...
hanging... stab to the heart
while working out the arithmetic
spacing of soft flesh to ribs...

cumin coriander, garlic ginger
cumin coriander, garlic ginger
cumin, coriander, asafoetida... ginger...

"apparently" it's offensive to call
a dish a curry...
it's more or less just: gravy:
gwavvy...
those blue Indians of Bengal
and elsewhere those Reds
and those Incas never really
drank or for that matter: minded
the concept of yeast...
flat as the platitudes of
Belgian mud or a *******
japati...

it's the middle of the day
i've pickled myself in some 70cl
of bourbon from the night
before and... right
now: with a swiggle and a hum...
i'm pickling...
irritably pickling... some sweet
notes to mind: but otherwise...
sour as a stash of lemons...

and that's fine... because i'm also
thinking about the self-help gurus
and the machinery of:
capitalising on everything:
even death and sickness...

my advice is? read the three musketeers...
my advice: have about 3 maxims handy...
categorical imperatives
or what not...
here are the two that i best behave
under:

Tao: the best way you can help
the world is... to forget the world
and allow the world to forget you...
non-verbatim...

Dumas: the best advice i ever gave was:
to no, under any circumstance:
give advice...
since... if people take it...
will probably regret it...
ergo... blame you for it...

- currently there are two words on my mind...
one borrowed from a list:
parsley sage, rosemary & thyme...
the last on the list... thyme...
not... F-I'm...
thyme... time... thyme... time...
such a delight i have with this tongue:
you can say the same set of syllables
but imply a completely different meaning:
esp. sharpened in writing...
perhaps i was born into a language
that is as clear-cut katakana as no
other European language:
apart from the necessary workaround
of consonant graphemes: just as well as
in English: SHould you CHoose to bother
yourself: with...

i'm still not quiet following the whole
pseudo-grammatical pronoun agenda...
*** is never associated: will never be associated
with nouns in this tongue...
a table is neither masculine nor feminine...
perhaps that's... why pronouns have
imploded?

i'm currently in the process of making
a distinction between strawberry gelato and
strawberry ice-cream...
obviously no eggs in the former...
a 2:1 ratio of full fat milk to double cream...
but the cream needs to be beaten...

slang terms:
LASKA - LAS - forest...
LASKA - a fit: most desirable female...
also a walking-stick...
LODY - ice-cream...
   robić lody - to make ice-cream...
also slang for... *******...
OSTRYGA - oyster...
K'WIAT - flower...
     well... something to counter making ice-cream:
lody... gobble down an oyster?

it's not even that any miniscule variation
of katakana would help...
no stand-alone consonants apart from N...
why N?
always clinging to:
vowel: woman...
consonant... man...
mind you: there is still no concept of ***
bound to nouns in English...
the moon is him
the sun is her...

i'm gently drinking: while also fasting...
the combination with immaculate sunlight...
why wouldn't the flowers be rejoicing?!

excuse me: hrabia: wal-do-dechy
     count: hit-to-the-plank (of wood)...
echoes of expressions of a dead man...
clearly i should know:
born into a language with clear:
Clear syllabic distinctions...
more! added to vowels:                     Ą!

oh... but beside the Italians & the Greeks...
just your European neighbours...
i too don't want to mind the pan-Slavic
movement... some called it communism...
i will never understand what
the Russians were up to...
ha ha... pan-Germanic is sort of happening
while everyone seems: coolly bothered
by something with: an alias...

terrible ideas ought to die...
seems like Marxism is not such a bad idea
if it finds volunteers... zealots to:
revise it... Darwinism does account for
mutations... doesn't it?
like a pig that barks or a dog that oinks...
a bonsai tiger... wait... tigers don't growl...
do they?
they snort apathy or something...
i don't know... i was never placed in front
of one...

murmur murmur... m'hmm something
in the place of: too far away from the sea...
from one wave: to another: mω...
oh... look:
           it's only a double-u if it's an omega-yu...
yule...
    otherwise? sharpen the edges:
v'ah-v'ah: empty the room! Wedge & Whinge
are coming in with a pink-elephant
and five blind men!
should have been expecting a carton of milk...
as you would: armed with a mω a mᵒₒ...

well... at least making ice-cream... ******!
gelato! clearly there are no poultry abortions involved!
is not a sour-note metaphor for...
giving ******* to... a hungry bandwagon
of Pakistanis eager to please
the children of Ing-Land...

   - what a sight! a canvas i have returned to
throughout the day... now:
night has come...
how bewildering to stand in the garden
while two insomniac magpies chase
each others' cackle...
one perches in my eucalyptus tree and
rattles, rattles: cackles... stutters...
so much so that even some poor dog left
in the warm air of September replies
with a bark!

how rare to hear birds tell their presence
in the night...
how rare to hear birds in the night...
how welcome these spies:
they must be either magpies or crows...
it... simply: sublimates their otherwise
cautious presence in the day...
and the magpies cackled in the night
so much so: that even the dog was roused
to bark!

- one glug, two glugs: make it three!
whiskey this cold so it almost resembles some
syrupy liquid ought to be imbued with much glee!
i could make ice-cream all day!

esp. since i have found a most pristine recipe!
i'll be ever the most obnoxious
when i tell you: dear reader
of the difference between ice-cream and gelato...

i think i memorised the two recipes...
ice-cream...
    as a warning: i usually halve the suggested
amount of sugar...
whether that be using raspberries,
strawberries, blueberries...
crème anglaise

mein gott! i'm in one of those rare instances
of life, reality where: *** can be compensated:
or thereby a lack of... an Ava Lauren /
Monique Fuentes...
i like to think of *** like a well-worn...
many a times sat in: leather... arm-chair...
i like that: i don't know what the thrill
with inexperience is... all about...
timid bodies... timid: frail... dolls...
i can compensate this desert of the ****-less...
as a curiosity by some Pakistani who

i could make ice-cream all day...
i'd rather make gelato... but all day...
i could make curry all day...
curry and gelato: i'm your man...

- i abhor sober opinions: let alone sobering up
in the domain of dialectics:
i have enough on my plate with
English: the language...
making no attempt to transcend the Latin script
with any sort of addition of
diacritical markers...
Charlie Dickens: good "sport" might have
included the term: orthography...

one reason leads to another... just bad spelling...
but it's only orthography if...
you apply diacritical stressors...
can have an Empire to rival Rome's with their
alphabet... but can't exactly keep
the neo-gothic Victorian romance
alive... on a mere whim...
look at it! disintegrating into vagabond
graffiti... or... emoji! which is not the same
as breaking away from the kanji in favour
of something more: phonetic...

Koreans & the Japanese are right up there:
on my... ahem "spice" list of ingredients
of people required...
the origins of writing is to: encode sounds...
to write sounds down...
no ideas... not insinuations...
throw the whole bunch of those
sand-******* into a crab bucket and see
what confused :)( comes out... savvy?

sober people and their sober ideas...
always so... *******... serious!
like they mean it... but rarely do they
keep themselves intact on enacting their intent!
i better eat a dollop of whole-grain mustard before
every meal before i deal with:
sober, serious... sen-si-blah... sensible whole lot of them
get the ***** to launch an offensive
on the groovy... gravy... groovy? gravy train...
**** me: it's good to know i'm getting old...
and out of touch...

i get pockets of nostalgia: time... immemorial...
anecdotal evidence that i:
somehow brushed against...
the pain... the strokes... of time...
and made some spatial-coordinate concerns
moving: for-ward...

ice-cream: 5 egg yolks...
bruised by... ha ha... "bruised" whipped to a lighter
colour... some sugar was added...
two cups of double cream... one cup of full fat milk...
a cup of sugar...
your choice of berries: heated up separately...
blah blah... combined... hey presto! an indigestion
pause... relapse...
depending on your temperament...

that's ice-cream... but... gelato! GEE! LA TOE!
T'OH!
no egg yolks...
    2 cups of full fat milk...
one cup of double cream: beaten... whisked...
it has to... half the sugar you're expected to use...
in the berry pulp...
    
i'll need the RRR... why has the trill of the Ar
disappeared in the Ing-Leash tongue:
betäubungzunge: compounded... obviously...
higher tier Germanic... not this... Ing-Leash...
mongrel sort...
so the adjective comes before the noun:
rather than the noun coming prior to
the adjective... i don't want to be asking for:
proper this... eh... proper that...

the exasperated yawns... gags and yelling impositions
of the "liberal" moralists...
like a god finally said: if i gave them
free-will... can "we" just agree that:
they better experience their full: "potential"?
oh i believe in god: but i also believe in free-will...
one counter-acts the other
in the way thus: follows:
to completely have: free-will...
you can't expect a nanny-state c.c.t.v. omni: gwand-p'ah
moment... can you?
there's... sweet & sour...
there's... sweet & salty...
can't have one... without... the other...

my god! genius logic! look for applause
when all the self-deprecating humour dries up...
clap... clap... clap clap...
how can you expect a god...
when... you're also expecting free-will?
you can... no... wait... you can't be a murderer!
Cain... was a vegetarian...
Abel... ably sacrificed a goat... or a sheep...
or two... Cain was a Hebrew version of:
'indu...
so... the northern European mind simply
boils corrupted with: staged logic
and...  the idiosyncrasies of other cultures...
yeah! thanks for the bread... where's, the, yeast?!

you use it?! you... ever used it?!
yeast: you get to say yes a lot...
you allow yourself to encourage to grow bread...
you also make beer...
no? not handy? o.k.: we'll just leave the "appropriate"
answer for the white women folk: people-kind
to conjure up a "properly": response...

ooh... believe me... i can play the grammar game
like... for eternity...
in between being allowed breaks
to do some proper *******...
like... churning strawberry ice-cream...
or making a curry sauce...

i am: SCHEMING!
i'm not going to allow this language to be
left in... *******: tartan: let alone:
tatters... even though it's not my own tongue...
i will not leave it: to... RUIN!
i'd best keep it in runes....

                    ᚱᚢᚾᛖᛋ...

no... you don't tell me what i am: or i am
not... "supposed" to do...
you settle my score on the fabric of
capital punishment... i die... you live...
but... it's not so ******* simple... no?
leech eats leech...
crab bucket...

she's a... three-dimensional woman...
looking for a... two-dimensional man...
ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
i need to write down laughter:
since it's so silent... so covert...
it doesn't really require a stand-up
comedian's solipsism to ****-me-off...
ha ha!
a three-dimensional woman...
looking for a two-dimensional man!
ah ha ha!

goldfish of an ego:
in a muddle of a "think-tank"
of 70cl of... is whiskey...
i could be her grandpa santa
and she could be my selfish elf
quasi dwarf on my knee:
not readied for a spanking:
i'm so turned off by modern *******

time is a concept i'd rather forget....
father Xavier...
i just want to make ice-cream:
or... make the distinction between ice-cream
& gelato...
& curry... i want to make a bucket load
of "that"... enough to make joking remarks about
an invading envy equivalent to match up to
the Ottoman Janissaries...

i don't like being sold the sole impetus
that blatantly numbs me...
a walking abortion: i am...
             find me in my most reclusive spot...
when the  birds... triple the night...
merge with it... allow the: bystanders!
postcard enthusiasts! tourists! begone!
with Essex: alone!
i don't care much fo the western aspect
of England... POMPOUS SODS
THE WHOLE LOT OF THEM!

anything associated with Bristol
i wouldn't feed to pigs...
sure... they might be the most pristine sort
of people:
they're still a people i wouldn't
share food with... sorry... what?!
you might care that i might care?!
how... custard-esque...
how... bewildering...
i... exist?!
                    *******...
really?! does one digest that fat of fact
with a: hmmm...

         SUDDENLY?!
"diatribe of waking shadows"?

forget it...
the postponed death of Johnny Cash
matched up to the "un-expected"
relief of... false claimants oeuvre!
Elvis... ought to have died...
he died... the end!

Free time, take enough
to last 'til we agree

here, in the first five minutes, taken to extreme
waiting
is such sweet suffering,
we fail to apprehend what is rotting wrong away.

Patience esotero, pleas, esoterical

but no, no, no man may know…

I insist. And am ignored/
quick,
so quick to tic, the constant pushing
spring,
the battery, which is called that,
I don't know why

and I care a little, response, aitia, I care
fret
so much I look it up, AI says, trust me,
I know
assault and battery we suffer for a season,
we resist,
we build a battery of stones only Incas ever
had know how to let such be
moved up this mountain we have told to move,
and when it refused, as seems, it did,
if refusal in confusion
made more sense.
Rivers bent.
Slow to plenary oxbows.
We came to sit and watch.
Wait and see, simultaneously,
we may know
a donut whole inversity...
more again than ever knewt before…

waiting is, you grok, and wonder was this
like this once, before

we know  we are  one mind, certain
in our selves, it happens all the time.

From the damp dark recesses
Of cloistered bookshops
Into the blinking glare
And thronging crowds,
We are all unfocused
And unrecognised except
For our reflections
In shop windows.

Down newly cobbled streets
Walking at your speed now
Whistle, guitar and violin
Offer original renditions
To down and outs and drunks
Who dance where they slept
But quickly if you want
To hear some real music
For the Incas are in town.

Wheelchairs and children
Are politely ushered to the front
Gathering around
Standing next to me;
Until the shouting and screaming starts
His shots indiscriminate
Knocking me over.