greg friedrich

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An Ode To The Sphinx

2500 years after Oedipus and the Sphinx
was written
I sit in my English class
studying her riddle
as the silverfish crawls
and the fruit flies fly

a teenager, I think
no- twelve years old perhaps
we live in the toughest time

we grow; we are no longer a child
with neon signs lighting the streets
the roar of cars and trucks from city
to town and back
a man playing golf on the moon
we grow

we need to get used to our body
there's new power, new responsibilities
never known before, and we grow
we reek of adolescent growth
and in our premature fear
we fight
we fuel our wars with hatred
hatred from fear
still learning our place
not quite child- not quite adult
and the silverfish crawls
and the fruit flies fly

we fight back
when we are shown love
we cower, hold back
trying to figure out what is right
entering the world with no parent
communism
monarchy
democracy
dictatorship
nuclear war

bombing the head, the torso, the feet
meanwhile the silverfish crawls
and the fruit flies fly
we discover ourselves in time

and now- 2500 years later
the Sphinx returns with a new riddle

The Sphinx is a girl
The Sphinx is a girl

the test for centuries
failed and failed again
this time aiming for the heart
stabbing, crushing, stomping
the fall of dynasties,
emperors,
kings,
and power
she once again seizes control
the toughest enemy...

the loneliness! that's the riddle!
twisted with fear and hope
failed and failed again
the Sphinx is a girl
lost, wandering and waiting
waiting again
waiting

and the silverfish crawls

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