To Francisco Gomes deMatos, Ricardo Moutinho,

and the Brazilian Amazonian people

O sloth, embrace my orchid

as the papaya yellows under orchard leaf.

The mist descends upon our green mansion,

aureoled by one million candlelights

of fireflies,

glowing from the canopy.,

and the twilight of purple bougainvilleas crowns my emerald garden.

O sloth, embrace my emerald orchard

as the papaya yellows under orchard leaf glittering in the twilight.

The Goddess was born of grapes,

fertilizing our ancestors,

washing away the rot,

blowing away the stench,

breathing through our hearts

the pure, caressing aroma

of the Cordillera.

She strokes us

into a deep soothing dream:

the Festival of Seres, Goddess of Fertility:

an orchid whiter thanAndean snow;

a wheat field more golden than King Solomon’s mines; a red currant

redder than a redwood;

a blueberry bluer than the azure

and softer than an azure silk dress.

Manaus, Amazon, Brazil, July, 1989