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