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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SPHINX, by CLINTON SCOLLARD Poet's Biography
First Line: Couchant upon the illimitable sand
Last Line: Inscrutable as is the face of death!
Subject(s): Egypt; History; Monuments; Sphinx; Historians
First Line: Couchant upon the illimitable sand
Last Line: Inscrutable as is the face of death!
Subject(s): Egypt; History; Monuments; Sphinx; Historians
COUCHANT upon the illimitable sand,
Like some huge Libyan lion, human-faced,
The solemn march of centuries thou hast traced
With brooding eyes that seem to understand
The secrets of the ages, -- whose the hand
That rolls the stars along the ethereal waste,
And for what purpose suffering man is placed
Upon this orb, to be or blessed or banned.
In elder years did suppliants bend the knee
Before thine awful presence reverently,
Beseeching answer with adoring breath;
Yet wert thou mute, as thou wilt ever be,
Enigma, like our mortal destiny,
Inscrutable as is the face of death!
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE IN PICTURES by JAMES MCMICHAEL
THE HISTORY OF MY LIFE by JOHN ASHBERY
INITIAL CONDITIONS by MARVIN BELL
THE DREAM SONGS: 290 by JOHN BERRYMAN
THE EROTICS OF HISTORY by EAVAN BOLAND
THEM AND US by LUCILLE CLIFTON