The Sphinx by the desert stands,
Lord of the lonely lands,
With the dust of the desert sands
On its head, and its heart, and its hands.

Ages before the flood,
Ere the delta grew out of the mud,
Up to its knees it stood
In a deluge of tears and blood!

The desert was out of sight
When the creature was dragged to light,
Out of the caves of night,
And the desert was puzzled quite.

'Twas a riddle they used to tell
At the digging of Joseph's well,
Ere the scourge of the Pharaohs fell
On the shoulders of Israel!

And there's never a star that winks
On Africa as it sinks
But wonders whenever it thinks
Of the world and its wonderful sphinx.

And there's nothing by land or sea
Can ever expect to be
Such an ugly old puzzle as he
Except old Tyranny.

A riddle to rest unread
Till the Pharaohs are dead,
Till the people shall toil for bread,
And not for a stone instead.