Guatemala

Guatemala
By Michael David Coffey

Where are you princess

in the volcanic skies
Looking down on Atitlan
-- its pure deep gray green
Inviting my soul

to dwell
And live among the

Mayan echoes
A culture amid cultures

in tradition's garb
Ancient rituals and

spirited independence
Across the lake

in Santa Catarina
Among the merchants

and the players
We dallied and

peered inward

to that ancient

way

Where are you princess

in the echoing cloisters
Of an old Spanish church
In Chichicastenango
Old customs, time

held rituals
Kneeling, chanting

rhymes to

ancient gods

and spirits

heard
Amid the flickering

candles of
Mother Mary's Church
Ancient spirits,

souls lingering
in the dark corners

of that white

church
On market day

Where are you princess

in the courtyard
of that Spanish home
In the cobbled streets

lingering
The strains of the

marimba players
And the languid

caress of a tropical

evening
Bougainvilleas and

passion flowers

kissing my vision
In the beauty

of a Guatemalan

dark blue sky
And there, in

the shadows
My princess watches

Where are you princess

in the breaking dawn
Gliding across the

deep waters

of Atitlan
Are you in the market

place
Or at the water's

edge
Washing clothes

and waiting

for another day
Or are you in

my mind

a vision lost
in the strife

and bullets
Clinging to your

existence
But dying in

the shadows

of that church

in Chichicastenango

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Document last modified on: 07/23/2000

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