Myth by Muriel Rukeyser

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 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."