In the privacy of your thought
And let that carry you forward

For without these the ferryman cannot carry him to
The longed-for place
They are his means to cross the waters of death
They are his passage and his right of passage
And so without them another way will have to be found

There is always another way
No story ever offers only one conclusion or possibility
No journey is ever fated to follow only one path

"Cut down some trees and make a raft and punting poles
And in this way cross the waters of death
But beware, beware, to touch those waters brings instant death
So beware, beware, beware"

Go with him now in all his loneliness and fear
Go as he goes over the long and dangerous waters
See what he see, feel what he feels,
Let your sympathy embrace the journey and its purpose
O yes, you also would outwit death if you could
You would also escape the sentence of night and its darkness
Gilgamesh is your brother in this so acknowledge
All he sees and endures
Go with him as he goes
Feel his heart pounding in your chest like a large drum
Suffer his fears and travel with him
Even though you will do so in silence

Everything seems unending until it ends
And so even this ends -there on a shore
Where a lone figure is waiting
A figure who seems human and not at all fabulous

"Who are you?
Where do you come from?
What do you want?"
These are the questions history asks of every intruder
And Gilgamesh answers with the story of his life

"I've come to find that which is most precious-
Life without ending, immortal life, and there is one
Who can give it to me"

"And why should you want what you do not have?
What gives you this right?
Death is the inheritance of all
Do not try to avoid it"