Los Chisos

The poem below, written in Spanish with an explanatory English translation, describes a “mystical experience” that I had some forty years ago. The event in question—a hiking trip in Big Bend National Park—was not as dramatic as the poem; but it did change my life. I became a spiritual seeker and eventually ended up with the Quakers, eventually here in Old Chatham Monthly Meeting.
 
                                Los Chisos
 
                                    I
 
Subía in el guijarro del sendero
          I climbed over the trail gravel
          mientras el sudor corría por la nariz
          while sweat ran down my nose
Y saltaba a la boca salada.
          and sprang into my salty mouth.
 
Oía los zumbidos explosivos
          I heard sudden explosions of sound
          cuando los bichos volaban cerca del oído
          when insects hummed and flew near my ear
Y sentía el ritmo de la cantimplora
          and I felt the rhythm of the canteen
          meciéndose a mi lado.
          swinging at my side.  
 
A veces me paraba para recobrar el aliento
          Sometimes I stopped to catch my breath
          pero seguía trepando a paso lento
          but I kept climbing slowly
Y por fin llegué a la cima de los Chisos.
          and arrived at last on the Chisos summit.
 
                              II
 
Un viento me azotaba y me hipnotizaba
A wind whipped and hypnotized me
          con su música celestial.
with its celestial music.
De mi risco alto las montañas se marchaban
From my place on high the mountains marched away
          en fila parda
in khaki files
Y las nubes ensombrecían la tierra
And clouds shadowed the earth
          con manchas de azul.
with splotches of blue.
 
Un halcón solitario giraba,
A solitary hawk circled
          suspendida arriba,
suspended above,
Y me invadía la paz profunda,
And a profound peace subdued me--
          inesperada, tan deseada.
a peace hoped for, a peace desired.
 
 
                        III
 
Hubo silencio y gozo.
There was silence and joy.
Hubo tranquilidad y luz.
There was calm and light.
El cuerpo se esfumó.
My body vanished like smoke.
El peso se levantó.
Its weight lifted away.
No hubo pecado.
There was no sin.
No hubo culpa.
There was no blame.
No hubo ansiedad.
There was no fear. 
Sólo tranquilidad,
Only tranquility,
Y paz,
And peace,
Y luz,
And light,
Y silencio,
And silence,
Y gozo,
And joy,
Y nada,
And nothing,
Y todo,
And everything,
Y todo nada,
And all nothing,
Y yo todo,
And all me,
Y yo nada,
And me nothing,
Y yo todo nada,
And me all nothing,
Y todo uno,
And all one,
Todo el océano de luz.
All the ocean of light.
 
           IV
 
De repente el ave zambullió
          Suddenly the bird dove
          en busca de su presa.
          in search of its prey.
Mientras se caía, una ráfaga del viento
          While it fell, a gust of wind
          me apuñaló violento.
          violently knifed through me.
Me desperté y regresé. 
          I woke up and returned.
Acepté el peso del cuerpo.
          I accepted the weight of the body.
Abracé el dolor del alma.
          I embraced the pain of the soul.
 
Mareado, descansé un rato. 
          Dizzy, I rested a little.
Rendido, empecé el descenso,
          Exhausted, I began the descent,
el retorno terrenal.
          the return to earth.
Tarde llegué al pie de los Chisos
          I arrived late at the foot of the Chisos,
Que tenían los picos iluminados
          peaks shining bright
por los rayos del sol. 
          in the rays of the sun.
Y la tranquilidad del la naturaleza
          And nature’s tranquility
Me llenaba y me pacificó.
          filled me and won my soul. 

—Richard Russell