No One Will Remain

The twenty-fifth cuicatl in Songs of the Lords of Anahuac, my English translation of the codex Romances de los señores de la Nueva España.

Begin beautifully, bard!
Keep beating your flower drum,
bringing bawdy joy¹ to the princes.
Eagle knights and jaguar warriors —
We but briefly borrow those bodies!²

The heart of the Giver of Life
desires these feathers and jewels,
and therefore they will shatter!
For he will crave them all beyond;
he will go scattering the princes.³
Eagle knights and jaguar warriors —
We but briefly borrow those bodies!

So many gems,
so many plumes
by fire consumed!
Since they are jade,
since they are like gold,
revel⁴ in them, you princes!
May it be through them
that our sadness fades.

Yet our hymns
and our blooms
become our shrouds.
Revel!
The orders of eagles
and jaguars⁵ are intertwining⁶.
We will we leave with them
for that distant land⁷.