The Sphinx

A Sphinx from Villa San Michele, Capri

The enduring image of the sphinx has long stirred the imagination, appearing in the haunting works of artists such as Gustave Moreau, Félicien Rops, and Franz von Stuck. Yet my own fascination with this ancient guardian was rekindled years ago during a visit to Villa San Michele on the island of Capri, where two silent sphinxes keep their timeless vigil above the Bay of Naples. The poem that follows is inspired by that memory and by the ancient symbolism of the sphinx as a guardian of mystery, a sentinel at the threshold between the known and the unknowable. ~ Giovanni di Napoli

The Sphinx

Long before kingdoms
Were swallowed by the desert,
Before temples became ruins
And the names of kings dissolved into dust,
The Sphinx stood watch.

She still waits,
In her fatal beauty,
At the threshold—
Between wisdom and folly,
Between life and death,
Between what may be known
And what must remain forever hidden.

For some mysteries
Were placed before mankind,
Not to yield their secrets,
But to teach humility
To those who dare
To meet the eyes
Of eternity.