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Callaloo 28.3 (2005) 537-540


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from Gilgamesh

written by Yusef Komunyakaa

conceived and dramaturged by Chad Gracia

Scene 4

The brink of the world. Siduri, a barmaid, is at work. Gilgamesh wears tattered animal skins—wild-looking in his disarray. The lights come up. Gilgamesh shields his eyes in the brightness; he stands before Siduri.
Siduri
Who are you?
Gilgamesh
I am—
I am.
Siduri
Are you a murderer
running away
From the laws of man
and the gods?
Gilgamesh
I am—
I am a king
[Siduri laughs].
Siduri
Who are you
when you are not
swollen with dreams?
Gilgamesh
I am a king.
I am Gilgamesh. [End Page 537]
Siduri
You are mad.
Gilgamesh is a king,
and you are clothed
in tattered skins.
Almost an animal.
Gilgamesh
I killed—
I killed—
I killed Humbaba.
Who are you?
Siduri
If you are Gilgamesh,
the slayer of evil,
why is silence
in your eyes?
Gilgamesh
I have a friend
who fought shoulder
to shoulder with me,
from beginning to the end.
When he died,
I almost had to break my arms
to break my embrace.
I could not surrender
his friendship.
Siduri
Why are you here?
Gilgamesh
I need—
I am—
I am lost.
Siduri begins to wipe the dirt from his face with the hem of her long garment.
Siduri
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Siduri disrobes him, tossing aside the tattered animal skins. She fetches a basin of water and oils, returning to Gilgamesh. Siduri uncorks an earthen jug of brew, handing it to Gilgamesh. [End Page 538] They both periodically sip from the jug. She begins plucking a lyre-like instrument; she hands Gilgamesh a small drum, smiling. She sings.
Siduri
When I laugh
my laughter
comes back to me
threefold
at the threshold,
like an echo of mystery
from across the sea.
When I laugh
my laughter
comes back to me
with a lover's
sweet perchance
and goat-footed romance
to make the soul dance
my laughter
comes back to me
like a bright bird
from across the sea.
Siduri and Gilgamesh dance
When I laugh
my laughter
comes back to me
outside death's doorway
at the edge of this bay,
and I am almost happy
when my laughter
comes back to me.
Siduri and Gilgamesh fall to the ground. They kiss. They laugh. Gilgamesh half-rises, but Siduri forces him down. The lights fade slowly.
Gilgamesh
Show me again how
to touch a woman—
though she may have been sent
by the gods
to block my path. [End Page 539]
Siduri
I am Siduri.
I am only a barmaid
at the brink, between
worlds.
Gilgamesh
Siduri,
tutor me till
stars tremble in the water.
Tutor me till
a viper sheds the skin
of a demi-god—
the sash of a bright garment
in the morning light of dusk.
Tutor me till
I am born backwards in time,
and sorrow does not
know my name.
Teach me how to be a king.
Teach me how to die a man.
The lights fade. The sounds of love. The soft sounds of sleep. A cock crows. The lights come up. Siduri and Gilgamesh lie in each other's arms. She kisses him awake.
Yusef Komunyakaa, the subject of this issue of Callaloo, teaches at Princeton University. His most recent book of poems is Taboo: The Wishbone Trilogy, Part I. The numerous prizes, awards and honors he has received for his poetry include a chancellorship with the American Academy of Poets, the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Wesleyan University), the William Faulkner Prize (Universite Rennes, France), the Kingsley Tufts Award for Poetry, and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Chad Gracia, founder of the monthly lecture series of the Ben Franklin Dinners, was, from 1998 to 2003, Executive Director of Inverse Theater, Inc. Since 1996, he has served as the CEO of The Gracia Group, Inc., and General Manager of The New Globe Theater since 2003. This New Yorker has advised the governments of the United States, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, and has published texts on petroleum, geopolitics, and terrorism.


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