Gilgamesh
Innocence lost to raw beauty
Cut the man from his low consorts
Alone thus, he met a tyrant
In the midst of unkingly duty
They made war, the king and the man,
And killed Humbaba in their play
The man first sailed
To the netherworld’s bosom
The king clawed to land
Crushing all in his path
Cursing those on the beach
Why does he first send emissaries
To the kingdom of Ereshkingal?
Such a king is no conqueror
But a thief seeking wealth without danger
None resist the tide
But the king of Uruk
He drowns upon the raft of Ur-shanabi
And wails for youth lost
But what shall be done
Without death?
From cave to castle
The leap is one of ecstasy
From castle to heaven
The hollow crown
Is but a weight of stern iron
That bears down all
To walk with Dumuzi
A tear for Humbaba
A tear for the Bull of Heaven
A tear for Ur-shanabi
A tear for the Stone Men
Yet one watched all
Yet one knew all
Yet one took all
Such a name is unknown
We shall put our words
On stone, on metal, on trees
All shall become
Fragmentary
The dream
The dream
Will come to you
Will come to you
Will come to you
Will come to you