tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28238816.post4909911019031252927..comments2024-02-24T11:28:02.310+00:00Comments on Poetry in Progress: Marion McCreadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04657757253873577465noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28238816.post-673280283356394122011-03-03T19:36:42.383+00:002011-03-03T19:36:42.383+00:00i meant to say it's been ages since i read the...i meant to say it's been ages since i read the triumph tree but what a cracking book it is. i must see if i can come by a copy again.swisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17924594772578153947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28238816.post-62295104593122993312011-03-01T16:17:16.922+00:002011-03-01T16:17:16.922+00:00I can see why it would remind you of this, wonderf...I can see why it would remind you of this, wonderful piece, haven't read The epic of Gilgamesh for years!Marion McCreadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657757253873577465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28238816.post-56056578285951957582011-02-28T21:03:48.274+00:002011-02-28T21:03:48.274+00:00it made me think of one of my favourite bits of po...it made me think of one of my favourite bits of poetry ever, from the Epic of Gilgamesh (sorry for the long quote, but i can't leave anything aside):<br /><br />I'll cry now, citizens of Uruk, and you<br />will finally hear what no one else<br />has ever had the nerve to say in sorrow.<br />I was family and friend to Enkidu and I shall<br />fill the woodlands where we stalked with loud, sad sobs today.<br />I cry now, Enkidu, like some crazed woman. I howl.<br />I screech for you because you were the ax upon my belt<br />and the bow in my weak hand; the sword within my sheath,<br />the shield that covered me in battle; my happiest robe,<br />the finest clothes I ever wore,<br />the ones that made me look best in the eyes of the world.<br /><br />That is what you were; that is what you'll always be<br />What devil came to take you off from me?<br />Brother, you chased down the strongest mule,<br />the swiftest horse on mountains high,<br />the quickest panthers in the flatlands.<br />And they in turn will weep for you.<br />Birds in the air cry aloud.<br />Fish in the lake gather together near the shore.<br />What else heeds this sorrow?<br />The leaves of the trees and the paths you loved<br />in the forest grow dark.<br />Night itself murmurs and so too does the day.<br />All the eyes of the city that once saw your kind face begin to weep.<br />Why? Because you were my brother and you died.<br /><br />Enkidu can move no more.<br />Enkidu can lift his head no more.<br />"Now there is a sound throughout the land<br />that can mean only one thing.<br />I hear the voice of grief and I know that you have been taken<br />somewhere by death.<br />Weep. Let the roads we walked together flood themselves<br />with tears.<br />Let the beasts we hunted cry out for this:<br />the lion and the leopard, the tiger and the panther.<br />Let their strength be put into their tears.<br /><br />Let the cloud-like mountain where you killed<br />the guardian of woodland treasures<br />place grief upon its sky-blue top.<br />Let the river which soothed our feet overflow its banks<br />as tears do that swell and rush across my dusty cheeks.<br />Let the clouds and stars race swiftly with you into death.<br />Let the rain that makes us dream<br />tell the story of your life tonight.<br />Who mourns for you now, Brother?<br />Everyone who knew you does.Roxanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05650840495095863057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28238816.post-10705877199197894902011-02-21T00:21:36.714+00:002011-02-21T00:21:36.714+00:00Thomas Owen Clancy, I was impressed with the trans...Thomas Owen Clancy, I was impressed with the translation - not the usual dry academic translation.Marion McCreadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657757253873577465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28238816.post-9046916650264884712011-02-20T08:17:28.724+00:002011-02-20T08:17:28.724+00:00Who did the translation to English?Who did the translation to English?An Honest Manhttp://www.anhonestman.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28238816.post-44431925174519580762011-02-18T14:30:08.862+00:002011-02-18T14:30:08.862+00:00Powerful stuff!Powerful stuff!Forthvalley scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05128591514560815991noreply@blogger.com