NOAH, THE CARRIER
Noah told it differently.
To the Jewish delegation he said
after the raven he had sent out a dove -
Lo! she returned with an olive leaf.
The dove is the white herald of joy, pure soul of the innocent
foretokening new life.
The founding fathers approved the tale
& included it.
To Gilgamesh, however, he put it like this:
I sent out a dove but she came back.
I sent out a swallow, she also returned.
Finally, I sent a raven:
never saw him again -
then I knew he had found
dry land & prey.
The raven is the black warrior among birds, a circling cut
in the good sky, first witness of the last transformation.
This was the language of Gilgamesh.
Left to himself,
Noah murmured
"Truth does not
make a good myth
yet only myth can carry it."
He could clearly remember
it was the flies
that discovered the ark.
© Kristin Dimitrova
© Gregory O'Donoghue, translated
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© E-magazine LiterNet, 09.04.2006, ¹ 4 (77)
Other publications:
Kristin Dimitrova. A Visit to the Clockmaker. Cork: Southword Edition (Ireland),
2005.