Book 2, Letter 14

To Gilgamesh; on the meaning of life

*

Dear Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, Hero of Ancient Legend.

I have been reading the poem of your life, well, more than reading it, I have been living it. You see, poetry for me has always been more than the pretty arrangement of words and sounds, it has been the guiding wisdom of my life. Poets, and poetry are a source of guidance ever fresh, the pure spring of a kind of truth that I have always been able to believe in.

I believe in you, Gilgamesh, you and your brother in arms, Enkidu. I have been reading your story, your epic, and more than that, I have been re-writing your story into my own life and with my friends I have brought your adventure to the stage, re-telling your story for an audience of common people who may or may not have ever heard of you. Like a kaleidoscope, each way I twist and turn your tragic adventure, new facets of the eternal human experience are revealed.

Ok, I'll say it...truth. There is truth in your story, Gilgamesh.

*

“Eat bread, Enkidu

that is a part of living.

And drink beer

as is the custom on earth.

And Enkidu ate bread

to have his fill

and drank seven jugs of beer.

His mind became clear

and he felt merry;

his heart beat,

and his face lit up...”

*

Rehearsals for this dramatic presentation of your story have been accompanied always by that best of all human activities, eating and drinking and sitting at a round table with friends and family, talking and laughing and telling stories and listening.

Listening...

Listening to each other tell the stories of our own lives, as we, Gilgamesh, are lit up from within by the brilliance of your story. We drink beer and eat bread and our minds are clear and we are merry, our hearts beat out the rhythm of our happiness.

Listening to the songs of birds at sunset, listening to the silence of bats rising from their daytime slumber to hunt along the river at dusk. Listening to the music of our lives, to the sound of feet upon floorboards and fingers upon strings and our voices lifted up in pride and …

*

“Make merry each day,

dance and play day and night!

Let your clothes be clean,

let your head be washed, may you bathe in water!

Gaze on the little one who holds your hand,

let a woman enjoy your repeated embrace!

For such is the destiny of mortal men...”

*

For such is the destiny of mortal men.

Death comes for us all, and we shall not see his face, and when we are gone, we are gone forever, and all that remains of us are stories. This day shall never come again, and neither shall we.

Gilgamesh, dear brother, King of Uruk, hero of an ancient land, your story lives on in immortality, and I, a poet and a storyteller, have become you, I wear your mask and reinvent your likeness upon the stage. I learn the lessons you learned and I see in the living, smiling, laughing faces of my friends and family, the greatest treasure that a man can possess.

For such is the destiny of mortal men.

Thank you,

with gratitude and respect

Morgan

Link: Gil and the Kid (The Epic of Gilgamesh as a detective story...)