"Lord Dunsany - The Sphinx At Gizeh" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dunsany Lord)

The Sphinx atGizeh

byLordDunsany



I saw the other day the Sphinx's painted face.
She had painted her face in order to ogle Time.
And he has spared no other painted face inall the world
buthers.
Delilah was younger than she, and Delilah is dust.
Time hath loved nothing but this worthless painted face.
I do not care that she is ugly,nor that she has painted
herface, so that she only lure his secret from Time.
Time dallies like a fool at her feet when he should be
smitingcities.
Time never wearies of her silly smile.
There are temples all about her that he has forgotten to
spoil.
I saw an old man go by, and Time never touched him.
Time that has carried away the seven gates ofThebes!
She has tried to bind him with eternal ropes of sand, she
hadhoped to oppress him with the Pyramids.
He lies there in the sand with his foolish hair all
spreadabout her paws.
If she ever finds his secret we will put out his eyes, so
thathe shall find no more our beautiful things -- there are
lovelygates inFlorencethat I fear he will carry away.
We have tried to bind him with song and with old customs,
butthey only held him for a little while, and he has always
smittenus and mocked us.
When he is blind he shall dance to us and make sport.
Great clumsy time shall stumble and dance, who liked to
killlittle children, and can hurt even the daisies no
longer.
Then shall our children laugh at him who slewBabylon's
wingedbulls, and smote great numbers of the gods and
fairies-- when he is shorn of his hours and his years.
We will shut him up in the Pyramid ofCheops , in the
greatchamber where the sarcophagus is. Thence we will lead
himout when we give our feasts. He shall ripen our corn
forus and do menial work.
We will kiss thy painted face, O Sphinx, if thou wilt
betrayto us Time.
And yet I fear that in his ultimate anguish he may take
holdblindly of the world and the moon, and slowly pull down
uponhim the House of Man.