Long Andes Poems

The Heights of Machu Picchu, Canto VIII
by Pablo Neruda
translation by Michael R. Burch

Ascend with me, my American love!

Let’s kiss these mysterious stones together!

The Urubamba’s torrential silver
lures pollen to fly from its golden chalice
while above this...

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Thaddaeus Haenke
A man of thousand talents
Scientist and musician

His heart belonged to the Indios
His grave will never be found

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Thaddaeus Haenke
Ein Mann mit tausend Talenten
Wissenschaftler und Musiker

Sein Herz schlug für die Indios
Sein Grab wird man nie finden

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Tadeo...

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There are Guineas that live in America
Guineas that live in a zoo
But the craziest, zaniest guineas of all
Are the ones that reside in Peru

It is said that they live in the Andes
And on weekends they...

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Although flowers bloom it’s awkward to say that they are flowers
because they are not flowers, but thorns disguised as yellow pistils 
and stamens surrounded by the petals made of pieces of colorless
paper. Moreover, their fragrance...

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Friends , while reading the History of the Incas , I came across the wonderous story of their 
mail runners , the 'chasquis' ! Kindly read their story !

THE MAIL RUNNERS - ON THE INCA...

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WALKING WITH RUMI

It’s a religious routine, his impious
use of scripture and prayer calling on god
for salvation and sustenance, purity of heart,
perhaps a way better job, or some actual proof
that his people still matter
His, is a...

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" She was born in 219 A.D.,
I met her in 235 when she was 16 years old.
I was working hard with her father as a mercenary
from a Belgium territory, trying to persuade a chieftan named...

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Viva la Cordillera de los Andes by Nicanor Parra, Translated by T. Wignesan

       Long Live! The Andes Mountain Range!

	I’m seized with a mad rage to yell
	long live the Andes...

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Love is the essence.

Your presence is flavor.

I'll savor you "Now and Later."

Your sweetness is one,

of many candies,

not just good night pillow mint "Andes."
 
I'm a "sucker" for you,

like an "Everlasting Gobstopper," forever true.

Even if there's "Mounds"...

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I WISH I WEREN’T A CENTIPEDE
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS




I wish I weren’t a centipede, a lowly arthropod
I need a transformation into something much more mod
To obtain status, with a much higher species standing
Not be straddled with...

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Nunca fue mi intención decepcionarte
perdoname porque a tiempo no pude contestarte
ahnelaba el poder verte y estar contigo
abrazarte y besarte y ser tu abrigo

Se que eres algo impaciente y no quiero causarte estres
y quizas pienses que...

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I sifted through white sands in coastal cities, longingly searching for an 
answer; explored every cave, and even sailed all over the Atlantic.
Asked every soul that I encountered, but it was all in vain,
there was...

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A is for Accordion, squeezing air with bellows
B is for Banjo, five strings plucked by bluegrass fellows

C is for Clavichord, keyboard with a metal sound
D is for the Drums which percussionists will pro-pound

E is for...

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Oh unruhige Welt,
höre seinen Gesang,
vom rauschenden Ozean 
bis zur weiten Kette der Anden

Erhabenes Macchu Picchu,
hier wandelt sein Geist
zwischen den Nebelbänken 
des Urabamba und den
eisigen Höhen der Berge

Du hattest viele Leben,
den für ein einziges 
war keine...

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A scarlet daydreamer marbled in blue velvet
marooned in confidence mired in yucky mucky chucks
Twas a heist at gunpoint to honor those petted   
I have brained the threshold and my mind turned to suds
On...

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Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme
was born in Chillan in central Chile.
The bastard son of Ambrosio, Marquis de Orsorno,
his Irish-born father hailed from County Sligo.
Bernardo’s mother was Isabel Riquelme.
She was from a prominent South American family.
Bernardo was supported...

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Across the globe, music ascends—a universal zephyr,
Bridging cultures in harmonious yearning;
Chords converge from Andes to the Zangezur, xenharmonic,
Dulcet tones of a duduk—in the air, they whisper.

Every note—an echo of humanity's vibration,
From flamenco's fire to the...

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Pitter-Patter on my Heart

Do not believe that your size in any way
diminishes the depth of my affection for you.
Some may say you are mere eating-pooping machines
but ever since you traipsed into my life a year...

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Even though I was a mess
I knew what to care for
I learned to read your eyes
and crossing your walls,
hell was big
when height was short
but it was much closer
than everyone thought...

A demon lived under my bed
when...

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Sacred Lake Titicaca

High atop the Andes, between Bolivia and Peru,
sits the birthplace of the Incas, sacred Lake Titicaca.
A powerhouse of nature through and through,
it was created by the Inca god of the lake, Viracocha.

A treetop...

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Kristalle aus Eis und Salz
überziehen den See rot
im Abendlicht.
Am Horizont erstrahlen die Anden
im Mantel aus Purpur und Gold,
Eldorado  der  Ewigkeit.
Die Andengipfel hüten ihr Eis
wie wertvollen Schatz.
In der Hochebene am See
suchen Flamingos vereinzelt nach...

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From the mountain's peak; the wooden flutes sound
the lamas leap and the water falls-- clear,
mindful, the wind's play on the Quechua's ground. 

The majesty of the Andes astounds
for from behind the clouds, the peaks reappear....

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Tender
emerald realm ...
lungs of the earth
to span a continent, wide -
jade labyrinth of wonder and mystery.
Like a serpent, its watery namesake winds and slithers,
the strength of its back, untested,
colors and creatures of limitless kind and...

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In May I joined in a collaborative write
 with Jan Allison about a bi-polar bear
  Since then the furry marine mammal
   Has been treated at Arctic Health Care

Here is an update that...

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An Odd Bird
  
   The seagull and I were flying over the Andes.
   the mountain was brown, and we saw a lake green
   as an emerald ring on...

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