Enriqueta Carrington

She of the Serpent Skirt
To a goddess of my Aztec ancestors

The Gods do feed on human hearts
Coatlicue is Goddess of Death and Birth
Whence all comes, whither all departs
Braided Serpents form Her skirts

Coatlicue is Goddess of Death and Birth
Obsidian is the knife of sacrifice
Braided Serpents form Her skirts
The seed must die that the crop may rise

Obsidian is the knife of sacrifice
Which slashes flesh, rends ribs apart
The seed must die that the crop may rise
The priest lifts high the palpitating heart

Which slashes flesh, rends ribs apart
Hers the implacable claw, Hers the all-giving power
The priest lifts high the palpitating heart
She the All-Conceiver, She the All-Devourer

Hers the generous hand, Hers the all-taking power
No need for knives, She’ll claim all things
She the All-Begetter, She the All-Devourer
In eternal ceaseless birthing

No need for knives, She’ll claim all things
Whence all comes, whither all departs
In eternal ceaseless birthing
The Gods do feed on human hearts

In Spanish

La de la Falda de Serpientes
A una diosa de mis antepasados aztecas

Los Dioses se alimentan de corazones humanos
Coatlicue es Deidad de la Vida, Deidad de la Muerte
De Sus manos viene todo, todo vuelve a Sus manos
En Su falda se entreteje serpiente con serpiente

Coatlicue es Deidad de la Vida, Deidad de la Muerte
Para el sacrificio cuchillo de negra obsidiana
En Su falda se entreteje serpiente con serpiente
Muera el grano hoy, así nazca cosecha mañana

Para el sacrificio cuchillo de negra obsidiana
Nos cercena las carnes, nos despedaza el costillar
Muera el grano hoy, así nazca cosecha mañana
El corazón arrancado no cesa su palpitar

Nos cercena las carnes, nos despedaza el costillar
Suyas la mano creadora, la garra destructora
El corazón arrancado no cesa su palpitar
Es la Omniconcebidora, la Omnidevoradora

Suyas la mano creadora, la garra destructora
Todo se lo adueña, el cuchillo no es requisito
Es la Omnidevoradora, es la Omnigenitora
Da eternamente a luz, en duro parto infinito

Todo se lo adueña, el cuchillo no es requisito
De Sus manos viene todo, todo vuelve a Sus manos
Da eternamente a luz, en duro parto infinito
Los Dioses se alimentan de corazones humanos

Enriqueta Carrington is a Mexican-English writer-mathematician, transplanted by fate or happenstance to the US. Her poetry in Spanish and English has appeared in Pedestal Magazine, Carnelian, WAH, and the US1 Worksheets, among other publications, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her poetry translations have appeared in Rattapallax 13 and A Gathering of the Tribes. She is the editor and translator of the bilingual book Treasury of Mexican Love Poems, Quotations & Proverbs (Hippocrene Books). Some of her stories have appeared in SHOTS, the Magazine of Crime and Mystery, and The Plum Ruby Review. She teaches mathematics at Rutgers University.

Reading with Enriqueta is Carlos Hernández Peña. Carlos grew up in México and has lived in various U.S. cities over the past twenty-five years. In 2005 he launched the “Voices” program at the Princeton Public Library—poetry from around the world read in the original language and in English. His first collection of poetry, Moonmilk and Other Poems, was published by Ragged Sky Press in 2006. [www.raggedsky.com]