Gilgamesh

1.) Come, meet me in palm groves and laughter,
come, find me in cedar and stone,
admire my temples and towers,
dance lightly on lapis and flowers
in the shade of my throne.

Come, meet my match and companion,
my friend by the sky-god's design,
yet I suffer no peer nor contender,
I rival the gods in their splendor
and take what is mine.

Behold, I am greater than pity,
behold, I'm the base of the wall,
for I am the king of this city,
and Uruk stands tall.


2.) Come, meet me in questions and twilight,
come, rest by Euphrates' mild shore,
lie back into warm, fragrant meadows
and hark to the song in the shadows
sweet as never before.

Far Away, at the source of all rivers,
where even the timeless are old,
I have walked where men's hope cannot follow
to learn that our ventures are hollow
and prayers don't hold.

The city around me is grieving,
valedictions in every hall,
still its beauty burns bright in the evening -
for Uruk stands tall.


3.) Come, meet me in fragments and glances,
come, dwell in the Houses of Dust,
where, hid between whispers and pauses
the gods, stilling reasons and causes,
are finally just.

Come, walk with me, meet my companion,
he may have passed moments ago,
we all drift through our feathered seclusions,
alike, void of life and illusions,
so how would we know?

I was Sha Nagba Imuru,
I was the One Who Saw All,
I lay my last question before you:
Stands Uruk yet tall?

Eva, April 2007
For Rafael – first wedding anniversary

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