Sphinx

What does the Sphinx know?
At least she knows the rise and fall of the tide of empire.
At least she has seen the ebb and flow of armies staining the sands red and black
the water red with dirt and black with night.
If she asks you a riddle in the tongue of starlight on stone you will not hear it
you will not comprehend, you will not answer
and she will not devour you for you are thin and tasteless.
But if one should come strong in ancient wisdom
and hear her question, and ponder it in timeless silence--
him, she'll devour.
And if one should come who asks her a riddle for which there's no answer in sandstone or sandstorm--
the Sphinx will be devoured
and nothing left on the desert
but a crumbling dead hill of sand.