NOAH, THE CARRIER

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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, № 4 (77)

Other publications:
Kristin Dimitrova. A Visit to the Clockmaker. Cork: Southword Edition (Ireland), 2005.