This soliloquy is told from the perspective of the last surviving An Zu bird found by Inara (Inanna) in the little hupullu tree rescued from the great Flood (see Inara & the Hupullu Tree: A Retelling). In this poem, the An Zu is a giant Phoenix-like bird who has suffered greatly at the hands of the Sky Gods and wishes to correct their version of history and the demonic portrayal of his kind as seen in traditional Mesopotamian myth. (Stay tuned for more in “ An Account of An Zu history by Ki, the last surviving An Zu of the Great Wars”)

Based on the character of Ki in “An Zu" from Dalley, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University Press, 1989. pp. 205-227. Sponsored in part through a grant from the Houston Arts Alliance and the city of Houston.

Original artwork courtesy of Tania Day Magallon.

from the collection Inara & the Tree of Souls: An Anthology of Tales & Poems