Gilgamesh : A New Rendering in English Verse by Ferry David

Author:Ferry, David [Ferry, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466885028
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

iv

He emerged from the mountain into a wonderful garden.

Gilgamesh looked at the garden and wondered at it.

The fruit and foliage of the trees were all

the colors of the jewels of the world,

carnelian and lapis lazuli,

jasper, rubies, agate, and hematite,

emerald, and all the other gems the earth

has yielded for the delight and pleasure of kings.

And beyond the garden Gilgamesh saw the sea.

TABLET X

i

Veiled Siduri, a tavern keeper, keeps

a tavern on the shore of the glittering sea.

They have given a golden mixing bowl to her

and an ale flagon. She gazed along the shore;

she gazed and gazed and saw that there was coming

along the shore a hairy-bodied man,

a wanderer, who was wearing an animal skin,

coming toward her tavern along the shore.

It was Gilgamesh approaching, two-thirds a god,

but one-third mortal and grieving in his heart.

He looked like one who has undergone a journey,

his face bitten by hunger or by sorrow.

“Who is this man,” she said to herself, “who is it,

hairy-bodied, wearing the skin of a beast,

coming toward my tavern along the shore,

looking like one who has undergone a journey,

his face bitten by hunger or by sorrow?”

She was afraid, and shut the door to her tavern,

and slid the door bolt to, and locked the door.

Gilgamesh heard the sound of the door shutting

and heard the sound of the door bolt sliding to.

He called to the tavern keeper: “Tavern keeper,

why have you shut the door against me so?

If you do not let me in I will break the lock

and break the door that shuts me out of the tavern.

It is I who killed the lions in the passes.

It is Gilgamesh, who killed the demon guardian,

Huwawa the guardian of the Cedar Forest.

It is I, who wrestled the Bull of Heaven and killed him.

My fame will be secure to all my sons.”

Siduri spoke to Gilgamesh and said:

“If you are Gilgamesh who killed the demon,

and if you killed the lions in the passes,

and if it is you who wrestled the Bull and killed him,

why do you look like one who has undergone

a terrible journey, why do you look like one

who grieves, why do you wear the skin of a beast,

why is it that you roam the wilderness?”

Gilgamesh spoke to the tavern keeper and said:

“I look like one who has undergone a journey,

like one whose grief lives in his heart, and I wander

the wilderness wearing the skin of a beast because

I grieve for the death of Enkidu the companion,

he who has fought with lions and with wolves.

Together we made the journey across the mountains

through the dangerous passes to the Cedar Forest;

he found the secret places where there was water;

together we slew Huwawa the guardian demon;

we fought the Bull of Heaven together and killed him.

Enkidu, the companion, whom I loved,

who went together with me on the journey

no one has ever undergone before,

now Enkidu has undergone the fate

the high gods have established for mankind.

Seven days and nights I sat beside the body,

weeping for Enkidu beside the body,

and then I saw a worm fall out of his nose.

Must I die too? Must Gilgamesh be like that?

It was then I felt the fear of it in my belly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.