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 light
……………. 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 the 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
by Octavio Paz
from Octavio Paz the Collected Poems 1957-1987
Carcanet, 1987