Gilgamesh
(in memoriam of Enkidu)
There is no justice
The gods cannot reveal
Who deserves to live
And who must die
They are not strong
Their fickle weakness
One way the wind blows, now the other
There is nothing to rely on
No mercy
No respect
No consideration
Rank and merit have no meaning
I am king
And hero
And I could not save my friend
The one I found and fought
And from whom I learned
That to be a god
One should be human, first
Then with both natures
Understand the world, at last
My heart is severed from the rest
My mind burns
With fire:
Regret, loss, shame
Lack of understanding
With nothing
Nothing
I may do
Though I would cleave infinity
Face the worst beast I have yet to meet
More so than the Beast of Heaven
With no sword
But with my soul, alone
For my friend’s return
C L Couch
By Anonymous (Mesopotamia) – Walters Art Museum: Home page Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18784557
Early Middle Assyrian cylinder seal impression dating between 1400 and 1200 BC, showing a man with bird wings and a scorpion tail firing an arrow at a griffin on a hillock. A scorpion man is among the creatures Gilgamesh encounters on his journey to the homeland of Utnapishtim.
(Wikipedia text, “Gilgamesh”)
clcouch123 
December 2, 2018 at 8:13 pm
Wow, this is so cool. I love your wide range of inspiration that you find through news article, mythology, and whatever else. I had not heard of Gilgamesh, not the full story. The name is familiar perhaps in a religion class in high school/university I studied it. But interesting take as you describe part of his story, his sense of helplessness even as a god. Such a sadness & sense of rage that Gilgamesh as a god, cannot save his best friend. That as a god, his powers are not beyond that of death & bringing his friend back to life. Fascinating how death is an obstacle for this Mesopotamian religion, despite some kind of mythological gods/goddesses & that their godleness is complimented when they are more human, but at the same time, trapped by it Just as humans are.
Love your mythology. Thanks for sharing! Hugs