THE SAND TRAP (Oedipus Redux)

Astride his golf cart Trump rides o’er the dale,
Through turf and sylvan groves with sand traps nigh,
A Sphinx leaps toward him, waving claws and tail.
“I’ll ask one riddle. Get it right, or die!”
Says she, “Throughout the morning, noon, and night,
What walks on legs first four, then two, then three?”
“I’ll WIN,” says he. “My genius shineth bright,
It’s easy-peasy, ’cause the answer’s ME!”
“Me, ME! Four billion worth, two terms, three wives—”
“How wrong thou art! So sunk in vanity,
Thou hast no care for other people’s lives,
Nor Truth, nor love for anyone but thee!”
“The answer’s MAN, whom thou hadst vowed to cherish.”
She snarls through clacking teeth, “Prepare to perish.”

Margaret Panofsky
2017