*Spanish translation at the bottom of the article

On the 100-peso Mexican banknote, there is an image of Netzahualcoyotl (or Netzi, to his friends), and tucked away in a tiny corner, there is also a poem he wrote. That poem and the story of Netzi’s life are what inspired this song. I hope you enjoy it ❤

I love the song of the cenzontle*,
bird of four hundred voices.
I love the color of jade
and the intoxicating perfume of flowers.
But more than anything, I love you.

The wisest leader who ever ruled.
The one you always call upon.
Poet, prince, and warrior.
Always the first in my thoughts.

For your actions are etched in my history.
For your words are etched in my memory.
Strong and capable, true, wise, and eloquent.
These words of yours that I revere often run through my mind.
This is what my prince, poet, and warrior said:

I love the song of the cenzontle,
bird of four hundred voices.
I love the color of jade
and the intoxicating perfume of flowers.
But more than anything, I love you: brother human.

*cenzontle is in Spanish the Northern mockingbird.

En el billete de 100 pesos mexicanos, está la imagen de Netzahualcoyotl (o Netzi, pa los compas), y ahí bien escondidito en una esquinita, esta también un poema que él escribió. Ese poema y la historia de la vida de Netzi fue lo que inspiró esta canción. Espero que la disfruten ❤

Amo el canto del cenzontle,
pájaro de cuatrocientas voces.
Amo el color del jade
y el enervante perfume de las flores.
Pero más que a nada, te amo a tí.

El líder más sabio que haya gobernado jamás.
Aquél al que siempre llamas.
Poeta, príncipe y guerrero.
Siempre en mi pensamiento el primero.

Porque tus acciones quedaron grabadas en mi historia.
Porque tus palabras quedaron grabadas en mi memoria.
Fuerte y capaz, verdadero, sabio y elocuente
Estas palabras tuyas que venero, en mi mente pasan frecuente.
Ésto fue lo que dijo mi principe poeta y guerrero:

Amo el canto del cenzontle,
pájaro de cuatrocientas voces.
Amo el color del jade
y el enervante perfume de las flores.
Pero más que a nada, te amo a tí: hermano hombre.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. If you’d like to read more like it, feel free to follow, I’d love for my lines to find their way to your pretty eyes again.

If you want to hear some of my poems-to-songs and instrumentals-for-poems, you can also follow me on my SoundCloud.

©️ 2026 Lisu Mei. All Rights Reserved.

Netzi’s song/ El canto de Netzi was originally published in Soul Bay on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lumi always wanted to shine the brightest,
but the stars stole the limelight,
even when they were tiny.

Lumi wanted to reach the sky.
The sky always held her,
but only from a distance.
She never got to keep
what she yearned for.

love.

It was always the crumbs.
Lumi turned blue.

Whatever she loved,
whatever she yearned for,
was never completely hers.
Someone always snatched it away.

Is this selfishness?
Is this a punishment?

Or is this the lord playing games?
Why does the lord let Lumi yearn,
only to leave her sad,
only to leave her disappointed?

Is Lumi not allowed to yearn?
Is Lumi not allowed to be loved?

Perhaps,
he was right.

Perhaps Lumi was never meant to be loved.

Perhaps Lumi herself
is the curse.

The curse of wanting?

~ Pravinah Shrii~

A Heart Full of Almosts was originally published in Soul Bay on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I only want to be free,
like a kite soaring high above the land,
I only want to be free,
like a river, seeking its lover.
doo-doo-doo, I hum,
my heartbeat, a drum,
doo-doo-doo,
a prayer won’t die,
for right now,
I only want to see people smile, somehow,
doo-doo-doo,
So let the wind pick up the string,
and let the flock of birds start to sing.
doo-doo-doo.

Soar Above the Land was originally published in Soul Bay on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.