Hakim The Gatekeeper from Esagila

Hakim. The Gatekeeper from Esagila. (A lone voice whispers) In ancient Babylon, I once stood alone and mixed fire Iron and clay All day Creating a spell To entice my only light to come my way Sent merchandise of gold and silver To her, The Pythoness of Endor Hidden in dark woods Over the deepest of rivers Bundles of finest fresh linens and purple silk To satisfy her and her ilk Citron wood and every kind of object I could ever find Made of white ivory and black marble Whenever I could No matter the expense Incense sticks And scented Egyptian Candlesticks Made of expensive Frankincense Delicious crates of red wine Bamboo baskets filled with white flour and yellow wheat Fields of fat cattle and herds of baying sheep Priceless trained horses and golden inlaid chariots New slaves of broken souls Lascivious ladies and ravenous men To do her bidding Even acts of depravity Linked to the forbidden For the fruit of my soul And to be joined to her again A bright light I once saw On a seemingly endless night But in the year 323 When my leader Alexander the Great At only 32 Died and was eternally set free In the opulent palace of Nebuchadnezzar She The Lady of the Wild Woods The Pythoness of Endor Cursed me to chase her Forever The Queen I once conjured by fire Iron and clay So today In the 21st century Her I still chase Since eternal life Is now my only penitentiary My only great living version Of Babylon of Old When I desired to sire A queen, I once met Dancing The Raqs Sharqi So fiercely That her raw beauty I can never forget Adorned in soft crimson and glittering purple linen Clad in silver Wearing gold and shining diamond stone earrings Reborn into the likes of Badiaa Masabni It's why I still chase her If I could confess For underneath Beneath all things linked to trying to achieve immortal strength It's why now To seek her out Once more I always choose to break free From the external grip Of The Valley of Death (C) Copyright John Duffy