4 18 5 1 13 19
by DREW SKELTON
The dazzling light of moon
fell backwards on the dust
to show him the one he loves, in his own country.
Her son
still fast asleep
will arrange a contest with his axes.
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 King Gilgamesh's prophetic dreams and the companion that his mother, the goddess Ninsun, interprets from them.
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 19 = S). 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 4, line 4 from book 1).
