Classic Poem

Hear, O beloved, another song
Of how longing for worthiness
As bridegroom of Iltani, —
Longing to be in all things worthy
Of that honour the highest, the most delicious,
I, Belânu, upon my bridal eve
Repaired to E-Sagila, to the temple of Marduk
For purification at the shrine of Ishtar
From lesser loves of days gone by,
From loves that were as poisonous gnats
Stinging me in days gone forever,
Stinging my flesh but not my heart
Where now nestles that dove of silver flame
Iltani, the bird of Ishtar.

At the shrine of Ishtar
I offered as burnt offering
A female ruby having many sides,
Pale in hue as had been the loves it represented,
Of many facets little as had been those loves.
I burnt also upon the Altar,
In the name of Iltani
A pure pearl, unpierced, perfect,
Flawless as the heart of Iltani.

As votive offering
I hung above the shrine a necklace of lordly emeralds,
Of the immaculate stones that repel impure desire,
Vowing faithfulness in the name of Ishtar, to my beloved,
To her whose heart is winged with silver fire;
Iltani, dove of Ishtar.

Then did the holy âshipu
Chant over me the words that drive out evil;
Then did the holy pashishu
Pour upon my head the sacred ointment;
Then did the holy nisakku
Pour out in my name to Ishtar
The wine of libation;
Then did I stand gladly before the shrine of Ishtar,
With heart purified,
Worthy to be the shrine of the bird of Ishtar.

Great was my joy,
Great was my heart with devotion to Ishtar,
With devotion to her brother, Marduk, the resplendent
I made obeisance also at his shrine,
At the shrine of him who is Lord of E-Sagila,
Lord of the Lofty House
And of the world.
Seven shekels of gold did I give to his high-priest
That songs might be sung in his honour
By the holy zammeru ,
That music might be played in his honour,
By the holy lallaru ,
In the name of Belânu and Iltani,
Night and day without ceasing,
During the month of bridal.

So great now was my joy
That I wished not to leave the house of Marduk,
That I desired to keep vigil in E-Sagila
All the night preceding my bridal day.
Therefore I made offering of a star-sapphire
To the holy bara , who watches the stars,
Who interprets the divine writing on the heavens,
And he also blessed me,
Suffering me to mount with him to the seventh stage,
Even to the topmost stage of the Temple Tower
Whereon is the golden statue of Bêl-Marduk
Twelve cubits in height, all magnificent,
Blazing against the onyx sky like a pillar of sunlight.
The priest of the holy stars
Would not suffer me to approach the shrine of Bêl
At the foot of his golden image,
That shrine sacrosanct,
For worship of his priests only:
But to the observation place of the stars,
He made me welcome,
Saying in the voice of a father,
" Be you welcome, my son;
Watch here on the eve of love,
Under the beams of the star of love,
The Star of Ishtar, lady Goddess of love.
Be you blessed, my son, in your vigil,
You and your love and the lady of your love. "

And standing upon the top of the Temple Tower
I beheld Babylon spread beneath me
Like a mantle of divers colours,
Like the mantle of a king
That the dyers have spread out to dry.
Flowers of light were as fallen stars upon it,
The shadows of its folds were marvellous,
Full of awe.
Round about its borders,
Like an edging of dim silver,
Like a purfling of glass,
Wandered the sacred river.
I could see the ferrymen in their boats
Moving as water-flies upon it,
I could see the reflections of their torches
Lacing it from bank to bank
As with serpents of fire,
As with glistering embroideries of gold upon silver
That shine round about the border of a King's mantle.
Also the hanging gardens of the King,
The secret gardens circled by Imgur-Bêl,
Were revealed to my wondering eyes.
I was as a slave who should behold suddenly
The uncovered breast of a queen.

I withdrew my eyes, looking upward
And lo! Night as high-priest of all the gods
Bending above me,
Wearing a breast-plate of stars,
Mitred with the moon,
Having about his neck as seal of his high office
The Star of Ishtar.

I trembled and looked down again,
Searching for the little, well-loved street
Where stands the house of your lady mother,
Soothing the vertigo of infinity
By thinking on my little rose of Babylon
Folded warm and mortal beneath its roof,
In the sweet sleep of earth.

Then a second time I looked upward,
Gazing now only upon the Star of Ishtar,
Making obeisance to it,
In your name and mine.
And as I rose from making obeisance
The priest drew near to me
With the smile of an indulgent father,
Saying, " O Belânu, son of Mar-irsitim
I, even I, Iddin-Marduk, watcher of the holy stars,
Have for you a bridal gift. "
Whereon, ever smiling,
He took my hand in his, leading me,
Saying to me, " This is my bridal gift to you,
That you shall gaze upon the Star of Ishtar
Through the sacred lens of crystal
More precious by far,
Than the great elmêshu stone
In the diadem of the King. "
With awe I approached the sacred lens
Which is set in a cylinder of virgin gold,
In a golden tube longer by many lengths
Than the golden temple-horns of E-Anna,
Of the Heavenly House at far famed Uruk
Sacred to Ishtar.
With awe I held aloof from it,
Saying unto the priest of the holy stars:
" What if I be unworthy of this gift, O father? "
Thus he answered me:
" Not you but your love is worthy, O my son.
For I who read the hearts of men,
Even as I read the stars on Nabu's tablet,
Have read your heart,
Have read your love,
Finding it worthy.
Know that there is a love beyond love, O my son,
Beyond the hunger of man for woman,
Beyond the thirst of woman for man.
And in your love for your lady,
I have discerned this love also,
Like a thread of pure light
Woven through a tapestry of flame.
Wherefore, my son, approach,
Looking without fear through the sacred lens
Upon the Star of Love. "
And looking through the lens of crystal
I beheld as it were a fountain of precious stones
Playing athwart a mist of pearl dust;
As it were a shield of silver fire
Bathed in rainbows,
And lo! on a sudden I was falling upward
Drawn by the irresistible magic of celestial beauty,
Helpless as a spark in the talons of the wind, —
I, Belânu, yet not Belânu,
I, in the body, yet not in the body,
I, myself, yet more than myself,
I, ever Iltani's, yet more than Iltani's.
And I perceived suddenly
That I was standing in the centre of space,
Upon the summit of the Mountain of the West,
Upon the dread Mountain that upholds the firmament,
And gazing awe-struck
I beheld the shining bark of Sin, the Moon-God,
Sailing toward me across the ocean of ether.
Within it was Sin himself, steering it,
Resplendent beyond resplendence,
At the prow stood the Lady Ishtar,
Beautiful beyond beauty.
I fell upon my face in worship
But they bade me rise,
They bade me rise and enter into the bark with them
And being entered in, the Goddess of goddesses spake to me,
Saying: " Thou that art said to know the love beyond love,
Thou that hast been purified in an earthly temple,
Thou shalt be purified in heavenly temples
If — thou knowest verily the love that is beyond love! "
And it seemed to me that in her voice was mocking,
And it seemed to me that the smile of Sin, her father,
Held mockery.
Yet was my heart strong within me,
For I knew that I loved my lady beyond hunger
Even as my lady loved me beyond thirst,
Yea, I knew that I loved Iltani beyond the love of man for woman,
With that love which seeks even beyond the gods,
For a god still greater
With the love of the poet for poetry
Which is as the love of that God beyond gods
For the beauty that is beyond beauty.

And again Ishtar spake, saying:
" Thou shalt be purified in heavenly temples of the god,
With gods as witnesses;
Thou shalt be purified and consumed
Or thou shalt be purified and live,
According to thy love;
For if thy love be mortal only
Thou shalt perish,
But if thy love contain within it,
Even so much as a mote of the love beyond love,
Thou shalt survive.
Behold the witnesses!

And I lifted up mine eyes,
And lo! a fleet of heavenly ships
Terrible in effulgence,
Gathering from the four quarters of the heavens.
In the nigh-most ship blazed the form of Marduk,
And of Sarpanit, his shining consort,
And of Nabu, his mighty son,
The glorious Legitimate,
Scribe of the gods,
Together with Tashmit his consort;
And following them sailed all the chief gods,
With the goddesses their consorts,
In barks of light,
And all the Anunnaki
With their consorts
In lesser barks,
And the heavens glared with insufferable splendour.

Again Ishtar spake, saying;
" First thou shalt enter into the Temple of the Moon,
O Bel├ónu, aspiring one, —
Into the heavenly house of Sin, my father,
Which is wrought of frozen fire,
Burning with coldness
More than all the fires of earth with hotness! "
And the gods cried as with one voice:
" Let him enter into the Temple of the Moon! "
Sin steered to the portals of the moon,
Sin and Ishtar thrust me within them,
The glory of the moon was as a million swords of crystal
Piercing my eyes:
The frozen fire of the moon was as a million spears of ice
Piercing my heart:
The thought of my heart was
" O how bitter is the jesting of the gods,
That Iltani's lover should perish of frozen fire! "
And behold! the thought of Iltani,
The thought of my beloved,
Kept me warm even in the house of Sin,
Even in the midst of the frozen moon-fire!

Ishtar called to me with mocking:
" Come forth again! "
Sin called to me with mocking;
" Come forth again! "
And the gods all laughed together
As when Ramman clashes the cymbals of thunder.

I came forth,
I came forth unhurt,
And there fell silence upon the gods.

Then spake Marduk, Lord of Heaven and Earth,
Lord of the gods:
" Verily, this mortal is a mighty lover!
He hath survived the ordeal of the Moon,
Let him now withstand the ordeal of the Sun.
Let him enter into my heavenly house
Wherein Shamash only of all the gods
May dwell in safety. "

And all the gods cried as with one voice:
" Let him enter into the heavenly temple of the Sun! "

Marduk took me within his ship of light,
Steering to the portals of the Sun:
Marduk and Sarpanit thrust me within them.
The glory of the Sun was as a billion dragons of fire
Devouring my eyes:
The raging hotness of the Sun was as a billion demons of fever
Devouring my heart:
The thought of my heart was:
" O how merciless is the jesting of the gods
That Iltani's lover should perish of fire
Whom the fire of love could not consume! "
And behold my love for Iltani
Was as an armour about me
Casting off the terrible shafts of the Sun-fire
As they had been arrows of cassia wood tipped with yellow flowers!

Marduk called to me with mocking:
" Come forth again! "
Sarpanit called to me with mocking:
" Come forth again! "
Sin and Ishtar laughed and the gods with them.

I came forth as they bade me,
I came forth unharmed.
The gods were silent,
Some bowing their heads as in thought.

Nabu the scribe of the gods,
The patron deity of poets
And of fair Borsippa,
Inscribed these things upon his tablets,
Resting them against the knees of Tashmit
His beloved consort,
Smiling a secret smile.

Then spake Marduk a second time,
Addressing his words to me,
Even to me all unworthy,
Thus said Marduk:
" Thou hast won the right to ask two questions of the gods,
Two questions mayest thou ask the gods, O Belânu,
And the gods will answer thee. "
Making obeisance, thus did I reply:
" O mighty Lord, Marduk Lord of the Gods,
Praised be thy name forever!
This would I know:
Are ye, the gods here assembled, all in all?
Or is there above ye yet another god? "

And the gods veiled their faces.

Marduk also having veiled his face, answered thus:
" There is a god above us. "

Then for a second question I asked this thing:
" Grant me to know the name of that god, O Marduk!
That I may worship him! "

And Marduk answered me from behind the veil:
" Not even to us the gods is His name known,
But the fear of him is called the Rose of Wisdom. "
Thereat, I found myself again upon the tower
Of the earthly temple of Bêl-Marduk
In dear, familiar Babylon,
And the priest of the holy stars knelt beside me,
Laving my forehead, breathing into my nostrils,
Whispering to me:
" Was the vision beneficent, O my son? "
And I said: " The vision was beneficent, O my father. "
So he bade me go in peace,
Blessing me a second time,
For the dawn was breaking,
The dawn of my bridal with Iltani.

And thus, O my rose!
I bring you as crowning gift
The Rose of Wisdom,
Which is the worship of the God beyond the gods,
Whose name even the gods know not:
Yet my heart knoweth it,
Yea, sure is my heart, O beloved,
That the name of the God beyond the gods
Is Love-beyond-love.