The Twenty Days of the Mayan Calendar
 

"The Tun Wheel"

by the Mayan (fifteenth century)

The wheel of time turns,
foretells the future,
tells the past. Turns in the sun
and in the shadow.
Turns throughout the long night.
Counts off the days and the years
 and all the epochs.
Gives us the signs, the ones to live by
and those to die by; Carries us up the
ninefold path, shows us the nine
precious gifts, brings us face to
face with the gods; guides us on our
perilous journeys; teaches us of demons
who preside over darkness.
Brings us to the awesome
reckoning with the

rose
on whose petals are inscribed
 the book of years, the eternal turning
towards our ends.
 
 

 translated by Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno
  ©City Lights Books