Gilgamesh : A New Rendering in English Verse by David Ferry Page B

stormy-hearted other, Enkidu,
    the hairy-bodied wild man of the grasslands,
    powerful as Ninurta the god of war,
    the hair of his head like the grain fields of the goddess,
    naked as Sumuqan the god of cattle.
    He feeds upon the grasslands with gazelles;
    visits the watering places with the creatures
    whose hearts delight, as his delights, in water.
    iii
    One day a hunter came to a watering place
    and saw Enkidu; he stood expressionless,
    astonished; then with his silent dogs he went
    home to his father’s house, fear in his belly.
    His face was as one estranged from what he knows.
    He opened his mouth and said to his father: “Father,
    I saw a hairy-bodied man today
    at the watering place, powerful as Ninurta
    the god of war; he feeds upon the grasslands
    with gazelles; he visits the watering places
    with the beasts; he has unset my traps and filled
    my hunting pits; the creatures of the grasslands
    get away free. The wild man sets them free.
    Because of him I am no longer a hunter.”
    His father said: “Go to Uruk and there
    present yourself to Gilgamesh the king,
    who is the strongest of all, the perfect, the terror,
    the wise shepherd, protector of the people.
    Tell him about the power of the wild man.
    Ask him to send a harlot back with you,
    a temple prostitute, to conquer him
    with her greater power. When he visits the watering place,
    let her show him her breasts, her beauty, for his wonder.
    He will lie with her in pleasure, and then the creatures,
    the gazelles with whom he feeds upon the grasslands,
    and the others with whom he visits the watering places,
    will flee from him who ranged the hills with them.”
    So the hunter went to Gilgamesh in Uruk
    and told him about the power of the wild man,
    and how he had unset the traps and filled
    the pits, so that the creatures got away free.
    The lord of Uruk said to the hunter then:
    â€œWhen you return, a temple prostitute
    will go with you and with her beauty conquer
    the wild man. He will lie with her and then
    the gazelles with whom he feeds upon the grasslands,
    and the others with whom he visits the watering places,
    will flee from him who ranged the hills with them.”
    iv
    The harlot and the hunter traveled together,
    taking three days, back to the watering place.
    For three more days they waited, and finally
    Enkidu came with the creatures that love the water,
    the gazelles and the others, so as to drink their fill.
    The temple prostitute looked at him, Enkidu,
    the hairy-bodied wild man of the grasslands,
    the hair of his head like the grain fields of the goddess,
    naked as Sumuqan the god of cattle.
    â€œThat is Enkidu, Shamhat, show him your breasts,
    show him your beauty. Spread out your cloak on the ground.
    Lie down on it. The wild man will look at you.
    Show him your body. The hairy-bodied man
    will come to you and lie down on you; and then
    show him the things a woman knows how to do.
    The gazelles and with them all the other creatures
    will flee from him who ranged the hills with them.”
    And so the harlot, Shamhat, showed him her breasts,
    showed him her body. The hairy-bodied man
    came over to her, and lay down on her, and then
    she showed him the things a woman knows how to do.
    For seven days Enkidu in his wonder
    lay with her in pleasure, and then at last
    went to seek out the company of the creatures
    whose hearts delight in feeding upon the grasslands,
    and visiting the watering places, and
    ranging the hills. But seeing him, they fled.
    The creatures were gone, and everything was changed.
    His body that loved to range the hills was now
    unable to follow; but in the mind of the wild man
    there was beginning a new understanding.
    Bewildered, he turned, and sought out the company
    of the temple prostitute. He sat down beside her,
    and looked into her face, and listened to her:
    â€œEnkidu, now you are beautiful as a god.
    Why do you seek the company of beasts?
    Come with me to the city, to Uruk,
    to the temple of Anu