This 2nd edition (of my original 2011 book still for sale via Smashwords - see Works for Sale above) tells the mythic history of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk (a city called Warka in modern Iraq) who is believed to have lived in the 28th century BC.
This edition has been updated with some new original photos, and also to reflect that my writing style has changed since 2011. A few small additional sequences have been added. The idea of a second edition is to refresh the poem, and take away a lot of what I now see as distracting in the original presentation.
Published exclusively (in 'fixed' text to preserve the visual element) in Apple Books for the time being, and also at a 100% discount (ie free)!
From Utanapishtim's (the Sumerian Noah's) first speech to Gilgamesh:
He sat with Gilgamesh in the shade:
Why do you do this to yourself
Gilgamesh?
You are still young
The flesh of the gods still on you
Did the gods mould you in their image
For you to tarnish it with the filth of beasts?
Did they set you astride a golden throne
or a beggar’s stool?
They made you a king to serve them:
Who do you think will sacrifice
at their alters
Shore up the walls
of their temples
if not you?
If they did take Enkidu in your place
be glad at their choice
Would you have had your friend
Wail his way throughout the world
in this degrading fashion?
What do you achieve by this
But misery to yourself
A fright to those who
meet you?
Your fate is as
everyman’s!
No-one foresees death
but still he comes!
For the young and beautiful
or the poor as sin
It does not matter to that butcher!
Do you think your life can be any more
durable
than other works of man?
If we build our house strong upon a hill
On foundations of granite dug deep
Will no tempest ever arise to wash
it away?
Forever the river has broken its banks
Risen further than we expected
Flushed away our dreams
