Vox Populi
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Octavio Paz: Motion
If you are the amber mare
I am the road of blood
If you are the first snow
I am he who lights the hearth of dawn
If you are the tower of night
I am the spike burning in your mind
If you are the morning tide
I am the first bird’s cry
If you are the basket of oranges
I am the knife of the sun
If you are the stone altar
I am the sacrilegious hand
If you are the sleeping land
I am the green cane
If you are the wind’s leap
I am the buried fire
If you are the water’s mouth
I am the mouth of moss
If you are the forest of the clouds
I am the axe that parts it
If you are the profaned city
I am the rain of consecration
If you are the yellow mountain
I am the red arms of lichen
If you are the rising sun
I am the road of blood
“Motion/Movimiento” By Octavio Paz, Translated by Eliot Weinberger, from COLLECTED POEMS 1957-1987, copyright ©1986 by Octavio Paz and Eliot Weinberger, New Directions Publishing Corporation, agents. Included in Vox Populi for educational purposes only.
Octavio Paz Lozano (1914 – 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Vox Populi 
Wonderfully educational, suited to your purpose.
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I love the way the images and metaphors flip through the air, catching each other like acrobats.
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Yes, and very animated!
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Great stuff!
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I’m an adherent of this man and his work.
Wonderful poem.
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I love Octavio Paz!
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I could listen to him live once, many years ago, in ‘La Residencia de Estudiantes’ in Madrid. Magic.
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Que poema tan inspirado e inspirador!
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sí, lo es
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