"to live within the tethers of desire is---again & again---to be shocked at how far they have come loose from reason..."
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
MURIEL RUKEYSER b DECEMBER 15 1913
MYTH
"Long afterward, Oedipus, old and blinded, walked the roads. He smelled a familiar smell. It was the Sphinx. Oedipus said, "I want to ask you one question. Why didn't I recognize my mother?" "You gave the wrong answer," said the Sphinx. "But that was what made everything possible," said Oedipus. "No," she said. "When I asked, What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening, you answered, Man. You didn't say anything about woman." "When you say Man," said Oedipus, "you include women too. Everyone knows that." She said, "That’s what you think.""
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2 comments:
Marvelous. Thanks for posting this. I'd love to know the source so I can file it.
hi dbh, it's rukeyser's poem. it can be found online or in her collected works. thanks for writing. dj
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