I walked to the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, went to a neglected area, felt frightened from the possibility that a snake would come and bite me, went back, felt tired then walked aimlessly and I was suddenly next to Marduk who gave me energy to go for a second walk and I found that neglected building.
It seems like that it is of the temples of Ishtar worship. Its neglected gate got iron sticks that prohibit entrance in a very primitive way. I looked right and left, nobody was there. All this neglect from those in charge and they still feel that they should prohibit me from entering the temple, Ishtar temple, my love temple?
From the first steps and I regained my nostalgic breathlessness, a kind of shortness of breath that I wantted it to last long. My ears caught a piece of music played at a very low intensity, as if for a child to sleep. The old brick floor, the silence, and the sun light were inviting me to a dream. The walls were so old and I wondered what they were made from. I looked close at them and found a writing on one of the walls: “Hassan”. Hassan is an Arabic name written in Arabic on one of the walls. So it seems that people are free to write on these walls. It is neglected and abused. I felt sad. The music stopped.
Walked few steps and I saw a dim corridor with a source of light at the end of it. As I was walking in with cautious steps I started feeling in love again with Babel and smelled the glory of Ishtar. The music started again. I reached the end of the corridor and it was a room with a destroyed ceiling and the sunlight is coming from above. A new unexpected wave of disappointment hit me. The music stopped again.
I wanted to leave but I heard a whisper: “wait”.
I stopped stunned and saw Ishtar coming from the sky. Her feet were about to touch the floor but she stayed still in the air and said: “you can feel sad and can get disappointed although I want you to make it, to make it…. um, how is the exact word?” She lost her words. I was stunned that a Goddess could lose her words. “How could you lose your words and you are a Goddess?” I asked her.
“I am an old fashion Goddess you know, and my age has gone too far, reached 7000 maybe? So ..look don’t interrupt me when I talk ok?” she pointed her index finger at me in an act that made me smile. She looked like my primary school teacher. “Hey be aware I can read your thoughts!” she said. My smile vaporized but the scene was full of comedy. She looked so funny.
“Ehm ehm.. temporary, . make your sadness” she opened her eyes widely, moved her head in front and to a side, make a smile of proud of the philosophy she was teaching me pointed her finger again and added “and disappointment temporary!”.
“That is it?” I said feeling disappointed of what Ishtar can say.
“You didn’t like what I have said?” she said sadly with a childish tone.
“It seems easy for you to say it while you live in the sky with your deep purple custom. After all I think our problem is that we forget. We forget too much. How many explosions have hit Iraq? How many crimes? We were never sure who did them. We ask for a day or a week. Then we forget our sadness as you say and quit asking. Our souls had become ambiguous political letters from one ambiguous sender to an ambiguous receiver.” I lost my temper and I noticed my hands shivering.
She froze. She looked down for a while. Raised her head and said: “but don’t lose your faith in me, cause I love you and I do believe in you.” She put a kiss in her hand and through the kiss to me. I took it and put it in my heart. Ishtar started her journey back to the sky. I went back to my bed after that daydream. The music started again.
The music is of Marcel Khalifa named "King from Times Past". The description of "our souls had become an ambiguous messages from ambiguous sender to an ambigious reciever" is taken from an article of Haider Sa'ad on the occation of assassination of Kamil Shya'a
