Noah, the Carrier Poem by Kristin Dimitrova

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
and 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 and 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.

Translated by Gregory O'Donoghue