3 5 4 1 18
by DREW SKELTON
Even gods cannot protect the people that they love.
Sobbing in grief and pain, his heart was breaking.
It is not good to speak of things intangible as wind.
"Be brave, and win yourself a lasting name."
They agreed.
Notes:
Drew remixed words and phrases from Emily Wilson's translation of Homer's Odyssey to reflect particular characters or moments from the Epic of Gilgamesh. This piece recalls Enkidu and Gilgamesh's decision to make themselves immortal by obtaining wood to build a wall for Uruk and leave a lasting legacy.
The numbers below the title correspond to Odyssey book numbers. Drew devised the title by associating book numbers with letters of the alphabet (e.g., book 1 = A, book 18 = R). The list of numbers also indicates the book from which each line in the poem has been drawn (e.g., line 1 comes from book 3, line 4 from book 1).
