I am the Sphinx. br I am the woman buried in sand br up to her chin. br I am waiting for an archaeologist br to unearth me, br to dig out my neck & my nipples, br bare my claws br & solve my riddle. br br No one has solved my riddle br since Oedipus. br br I face the pyramids which rise br like angular breasts br from the dry body of Egypt. br My fertile river is flowing down below- br a lovely lower kingdom. br Every woman should have a delta br with such rich silt- br brown as the buttocks br of Nubian queens. br br O friend, why have you come to Egypt? br Aton & Yahweh br are still feuding. br Moses is leading his people br & speaking of guilt. br The voice out of the volcano br will not be still. br br A religion of death, br a woman buried alive. br For thousands of years br the sand drifted over my head. br My sex was a desert, br my hair more porous than pumice, br & nobody sucked my lips br to make me tell. br br The pyramid breasts, though huge, br will never sag. br In the center of each one, br a king lies buried. br In the center of each one, br a darkened chamber. . . br a tunnel, br dead men's bones, br malignant gold.