i
The Lady Llorona
passes near here –
Beware!
my Dear Son,
for the Crocodile Tears.
Take “No!”
for your answer.
Tenga Cuidado!
Como se dice –
“Watch out for this Lady.”
I will give you a tale,
it’s high-time you knew,
of the Modern Medea,
Dark Angel of Hell.
I’ve waited ‘til now,
but Now’s overdue –
Fruition and Prudence,
first needed of you.
ii
You have heard the sounds
a large part of Life,
sounds that rise from El Grande –
A River much like
the Nile to its Land:
The River of Promise,
El Rio Grande.
To listen much closely,
you’ll hear it clear,
the wailing and crying
stream of ghost tears.
La Señora Llorona
wanders near here,
through the night,
every day, every year.
The story of Grief
and the Torment she bears
becomes of what follows
from here:
iii
Years upon years,
many years, long ago,
lived once La Señora
of New Mexico.
So fair was the maiden,
far fairer, unknown.
But she loved only one man,
and one man alone.
Dom Juan San Diego,
un grand Caballero.
So fond of young women
was this grand inamorato.
And the Lady Llorona
se dice Hermosa.
Muy Linda
this Lady
of New Mexico.
But the Lady Llorona
was married to plan –
Los Patrones had sanctioned
an elderly man.
His cause, her beauty;
her’s, the duty:
a young wife
to the Life
of Tradition.
iv
El Señor,
a fortunate man,
un hombre muy suerte.
For he’d won the hand,
la maña encantada,
of the lady,
La Señora Llorona.
And felicity rang.
Good fortune it brang,
A el Señor,
for his love
of the Lady.
Of their children amassed,
tres came to pass –
un hijo y double las hijas.
Y el Señor never knew
that the Lady held true
to brujería,
and the bruja’s mysteria.
For years upon end
good luck she would spin
for herself, her friends,
and familia.
v
And all went quite well
until the day that befell
el Señor, when compelled
to travel a distance for business.
Not until his return
was it then he’d learned
of Dom Diego
and Llorona’s love interest.
For both had demurred
to love, and concurred
a las citas
secretas
amores.
La Señora Llorona
fell for amora,
in Dom Juan San Diego,
el novio nuevo
de ella Señora,
La Llorona.
vi
And Love has its way,
ensnares everyday,
by insatiable desire
with fire.
The demiurge at play,
here he had his sway
on two bodies
the souls he acquired.
Though choice is a way,
but only one way,
responsible action requires
to ward off desires
the demiurge transpires –
Beware!
of the demiurge
at play.
Dom Juan San Diego
embodied the fuego
La Señor Llorona
fell onto.
And the Fire still burned,
long after one spurned,
when Dom Diego abandoned
and run.
All the damage done spent,
her flame did relent;
and off, then,
to El Paso
he went.
vii
Cold Air returns
o’er that which it burns;
but the spark that remains
o’er all which has changed,
reminds all the same
and retains.
Bereft and besotten
she felt overwroughten
by the light that enlivened,
now gone!
but still unforgotten.
And the Burden got darker;
heavier, starker.
The weight of self-sorrow
was wasting away
all Resolve to Recover.
O! Piteous Lover!
The Torment grew Stronger,
until one autumn day.
And Then!
by Despair,
All end to Welfare –
A Modern Medea, maternal filicide!
Henceforth, from here
evermore vilified.
viii
Thus, then, my son,
and as well, everyone,
is the tale of Señora Llorona.
Neither Heaven nor Hell
may Llorona in dwell;
but condemned to roam
the Rio Grande.
La Llorona must search
for the young lives there Lost;
and forever, evermore,
Be Damned!
~
©2013, Marvin Loyd Welborn
Revised 28 June 2013 Revised 4 November 2013
Long time but worth it.
Is it Epic Writing or General, Marvin ?
Sumita
An Epic Poem, yes, based upon a New Mexico myth, of Medean proportions.
dang…you did really well with this…your structure and cadence dance and lend it to more classical stories, but what a tale you tell internally as well…forever damned in the end…interesting telling of this man…
hope you have a good weekend
Definitely is written in the style of an epic poem. Very well developed with complex details. Interesting that Senor Llorona is still roaming the Rio Grande! A lost soul indeed.
wow…this was epic…really cool storytelling and a fast paced read and loved the embedded spanish as well…
I will admit I don’t know of this myth, but it sounds an intriguing epic, and love how you weaved your this together.
this reminds me of a Mexican Soap Opera!! 🙂
Cinderella Limerick
An interesting story, I was enthralled ~ Also enjoyed the mix of Spanish words in the storytelling ~
…i like the homage you produced here with your magnifique words… thoroughly reminded me of the same feel i had with some epic poems i read in the likes of indarapatra & sulayman… bravo! smiles…
What a ghastly story, and a beautiful poem. I enjoyed the mixing of Spanish and English
I can appreciate this tale since I’m here in New Mexico. You did an excellent job of retelling it. I really enjoyed it.
Tan triste! Well done, Tink!
Reblogged this on Tink's ChapBlog ~ Tales of the Tribe. Mythopoeic Verse.