Macchu Picchu

The Heights of Macchu Picchu III, the story of the decimation of the Incan people in their capital city of Macchu Picchu. The irony is heights usually implies greatness, or happiness, not only because Macchu Picchu is at the top of a mountain. The city of Macchu Picchu was the home of the priests, and government officials of the Incan people, but was abandoned as they fled the decimation wrought by European conquistadors. Among the devastation brought from europe was disease, specifically malaria which was carried from africa with the slaves. The Incan people had no immunities to this airborne threat, they became infected and died like flies. Leaving Macchu Picchu to remain undiscovered until 1911, hundreds of years after the spanish conquistadors rule.
"A tiny death with coarse wings" refers to the mosquitos that brought the disease to the Incan's. The opening tercet speaks of the suffering which is ocuring in the capital city, it was morally crushing to see your family and friend succumb to the viscous disease and die a painful death. The last line closes with much the same attitude, "everybody lost heart, anxiously waiting for death". THe grinding bad luck of every day was due to the fact that they could not possibly avoid being bitten by mosquitos in the jungle, and they had to go about their daily buisiness in order to survive. They could only pray that their attacker did not carry the deadly disease.


Or it could be about slaves