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Open the gate and let me in.
Who is there?
Why have you decided to travel on the road of no return?
It is I, Inanna, Queen of the Heavens. I have abandoned my offices and set down my crown to travel to the East.
And why, Inanna, have you decided to lay down your crown and travel to the land of the dead?
Gugulana, husband of my elder sister Ereshkigal, has died.
I have come to pay my respects at his funeral and to take my share of the libations at his wake.
You may enter, but for each gate you pass, I shall take one of your garments of power.
Oh my sister, how I have longed to see you
Many years, even centuries, have passed since we played by the lemon trees And I have missed you terribly
But why my sister, why do you come? Do you know that you have no power here, that even Enlil himself cannot save you now
This is the land of death and I fear for you Why have you come to the underworld?
To journey to the underworld is to go deep inside my mind Sinking down in the darkness of my heart
The blackness here, my fears, my sorrow And live inside the cave Like a fish with no eyes
Yet also to be reborn and find the light Like a bird that flies free from the cave
I will let my body go, to know all of creation I will sink down to the lowest depths, and then climb my way back
Up the chain of life to the light at the top of the well
I am the seed brought down into the soil Within me the spark of life will live, even in this place of darkness
Life contains all, even death Life is full of fear and sorrow
We cannot ignore the despair of creation We must live it completely to know the world.
No my sister, cant you see that it is suicide? There are places no one should have to go
Sometimes it is better to leave the dark places alone
Even the deepest place is touched by the spark of life, Inanna, but here is only fear and death.
This is my realm, this godforsaken black desert of night It is here I have been condemned to spend my days
From before the time of man I have slept in this eternal night
My kingdom is this infinite grey desert of emptiness and dread Only the dead spirits roam the blasted land
My sister you have suffered so long. Now your husband has died and you can be free.
Give your throne to me, rest and let me rule all of creation Both the land of life above, and here in the land of shadows.
Oh Inanna you have not changed all this time. You are still the girl who played in the gardens of the palace at Uruk.
Do not be so naīve.
Would you spend an eternal darkness in this dim and desolate place?
You my sister who copulates with gods on a bed of lapis in the dome of heaven?
You my sister whose beauty shines like the star of Venus, eight flashes of love?
I know that you have known war, that you have drunk the blood of thousands of men You are as cruel as you are beautiful, my sister, you hold the fate of man in your claws
This throne is not for one such as you. You seek too much, Inanna, but this is a power you cannot claim.
But you were wrong to pass through the seven gates and enter this land
Everyone who comes here dies, and so shall you, my beautiful sister
Stand aside and give me the throne, Erishkigal.
Why Inanna why? I lay my husband to rest and now my sister as well
Yours was the kingdom of life and joy, and now you have nothing. You wanted too much, Inanna. Oh my sister ..