AZTLAN: THE PLACE OF THE HERON
            Michael R. Collings
                p. 1990*
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Grey on blue, omen-bird, the heron
Swoops, caught between earth and skies
Beyond the flat salt marshes of Aztlan.

Grey in morning mists--against a sun
Not quite risen--against a golden eye half-closed,
Grey on blue, the omen-bird, a heron

Cries a cry to echo human pain;
Weary Aztecs begin their march to die
Beyond the flat salt marshes of Aztlan.

A blue gem, set in the valley plain,
Lies Texcuco Lake. Its island pinnacles rise,
Grey on blue. Omen bird, blue heron,

Grey on blue: the facets of Tenochtitlan
Glitter. Its pyramids challenge endless skies
Beyond the flat salt marshes of Aztlan.

The Great Pyramid thrusts, stone on stone,
Wings of stone. And Aztec dreams fly
Grey on blue--omen-born, heron-like,
Beyond the flat salt marshes of Aztlan.
		

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* originally published in _POET_ (Summer 1990)
	
Note: Aztlan is the legendary homesite of the Aztecs; they deserted
it, wandered southward, and finally settled on the islands of Lake
Texcuco and founded Tenochtitlan.

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