Michael Palmer

The Laughter of the Sphinx

The laughter of the Sphinx
caused my eyes to bleed
 
The blood from my eyes
flowed onto that ancient map
 
of sand
Ridiculous as I am
 
often have I been drawn
to such lands
 
rippling oceans of silence
and the distant, enigmatic glow
 
of burning shops and burning scrolls
overseen by river birds and mitered beasts
 
sad-eyed scholars and mournful scribes
omniscient ibises
 
and in the dust-clogged air
the laughter of the Sphinx
 
endlessly riddling, endlessly echoing,
loosing the blood’s engulfing tide
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