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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Progress

The Ligo Haibun Challenge prompt this week is "South America".
I regret to admit that I am profoundly ignorant about the topic.
My first thought was, "Montezuma, ruler of South America, was conquered by Cortez."
A little research showed me that Cortés conquered the Aztecs, ruled by Moctezuma II.
So I wrote a haibun about that, finishing it before I realized that the Aztezs were in North America - Lol.
Taking another stab at the prompt, I called up an image from "The Lost World" - a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I read long ago.

So this week, I'm sharing two pieces: my first haibun about the conquest of Mexico, and my second 'Lost World' response to the prompt.

Moctazuma II was the ruler of the wealthy Aztec Empire in the early sixteenth century. They say Moctezuma drank only the chocolatl - the divine drink - chocolate flavored with vanilla and cooked down to the gooey consistency of honey. And that he served this potent beverage to the conquistador Cortés in a golden goblet. Writing to Charles V, Cortés claimed the Aztecs believed him to be the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl. 

Perhaps their eyes met 
Over the golden brown brim 
The king and his doom 


Deep in the South American rainforest, off a tributary of the Amazon, a great mesa looms, swathed in clouds. Down the plateau's sheer eastern cliff spills a glorious waterfall. At the top of the falls stands a tribesman, leaning on his spear. In the distance, smoke rises from a new lumber camp.

Primordeal brave
Surveying the world below 
Dozers crawl his way


10 comments:

  1. Paradise Falls! Squirrel!

    "chocolatl" is just awesomeness! I'm glad you shared that and your funny anecdote too!

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    1. lol - short attention span theater, eh?

      Haibun and haiku are nice in that way - small doses, easily digested...

      Thanks for visiting and commenting!

      Uttley

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  3. profoundly ignorant about the topic - don't worry, you're not alone in this haha
    but i say you did pretty damn well! the descriptions are splendid and i very much like your first haiku
    ps the funny intro was entertaining too.lol

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  4. Being unaware about south America is something we can share. For the sake of it, let's pretend Mexico is south America.. And you have 2 great haibun

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  5. I'm so glad you decided to share both of these stories (which reflect how demise of a culture can result from change - and I guess that's why humans are so naturally resistant to it!). (Have made several attempts to post this comment & it keeps throwing it out - hope you don't get multiple entries!)

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  7. Mmm...very, very good indeed, full of information, and the haiku, so powerful...I agree with Bjorn!

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  8. Great introduction. Creative stories and haiku paint a vivid scene.

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Yo, it's me - Uttley. Say, did you click on the post title or the 'Read on' button so that you can see everything? Please do. Now you can enter your email address in the box below to subscribe to future posts, then scroll down below that and click like all of the little buttons down there to share this post around and so that we can be connected everywhichway? C'mon - it'll be fun!

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