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My hero, you return from the shores of your island paradise, Bahrain, home to the Far Away,
where we have found unsuspected tranquility, the meeting place of the two waters,
freshness from the deepest wells which join the sea salt in underwater mirth,
Gilgamesh's tears, he who had known great love, faithful companionship,
with Enkidu, cherished as a brother, yet shamefully betrayed by the whims of the gods

My friend, can you master the faith of Gilgamesh and the strength of Enkidu, rekindling
legendary myths of heroic battles against adversaries defying nature's power
where the Great Cedar Forest aged majestically, destroyed by man's folly, applauded by the gods?

My hero, my love, I have followed you to the fresh waters, to the gates of eternity promised
after the Great Flood, excavating traces of Gilgamesh, kneeling before his trials, his heroic acts;
have today's gods of destiny not predicted our life together will be of equal adventure?
may the lessons learned from the Sumerian tablets your hourly passion cherishes,
help us to avoid betrayal of those who would imprison us in duty --
for we also are two men, who, in search of adventure, companionship and trust,
have uncovered the vestiges of a long-forgotten gift of love.

My love, tell me once more of the Mesopotamian warnings against seducing the gods,
tell me once more how they, so vain, permitted such disaster
and how centuries later, mankind repeats the same errors induced by arrogance…
Is there no justice? No lesson set in lapis lazuli on the walls of Gilgamesh's kingdom?
Is there only an ill-learned suspicious idea of our own folly throwing men into battle,
for the pretentious joy of proving, through misaimed might, a narcissistic notion of…victory?

My tender companion, we too have measured our strengths against stronger adversaries;
for the freedom of knowledge, for riches, influence and respect, and even just for the pleasure
of an endeavor in buoyant company, succeeding against the undaunted will of our modern gods
in a complacent society whose dictates remind us we may only fail…
let me follow your voyages of discovery, for I have known the betrayal of my people
my mother goddess and her mortal husband have abandoned me to err for immortality,
love, worthy of the gods, has been taken from me because of my mortality…

My love, when next humans reek havoc against life itself, and hate floods the earth once more,
because the gods have still not learned the errors of placing blind trust in humankind,
will you not lead me a last time to the luxurious palm groves of Bahrain,
where we may walk together, tasting of the millenniums when Gilgamesh
after great strife, found the eternal sources promised by the Far Away,
tasting his freedom, his folly, to act as a man, renouncing his divinity…
will you not accept my mortal pledge to grow old in the idyll of generations, there
in the arms of your hero who has learned finally of love?




         a lesson from Gilgamesh
         12 june, 2006
         Slam! Final Round One


Author's Note:
The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the oldest written legend mankind has discovered, dates originally from 2700 BC. One of the oldest copies, signed by a writer called Shin-eqi-unninni, was discovered at Nineveh, in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria from 669-633 B.C. The cuneiform texts of the Akkadian version, written on twelve well-preserved clay tablets, are the most complete version of this epic poem, and date from 2000 BC.

Further explanations are in the bitem link.