Machu Picchu

 

“Machu Picchu” by Dante Guevara Bendezu

 

 

unable to catch my breath
all the air in the world
thinned and solemnly
drawn in a burial shroud
upon mazes of masonry
ritual outlines of citadel

medieval empire felled
from impregnable heights
of it myth-imbued aerie in
misty conceit of low clouds
by an alien conquest
of culture and canon

the altar of condors
abruptly made silent
the mountaintops weep
grieving history’s heritage
harsh bitter lessons that
trust when ill-placed
is a most lethal weakness
and kindness ill-paid
is rewarded with cruelty

the passing of pastoral ethos
Darwinian story retold
since the dawning of time
leaving mazes of masonry
marking its mysteries
artifacts worthy of reverence
stone signals of hope
irrepressible stubborn
that someday a city
of good men and women
will stand till the sun
gives its last to the day

 

 

From my books Human Waters and Legacies (vol.2)