A sphinx in the desert grabs my feet

     What is small, soft and weak
     but stronger than the hardest marble?

     Do not count on what you have learned
     do not count on what you are thinking now
     do not count on what you will know later

     but surrender to the answer
     or burn alive in the sun!

The standing heat and my resistance
against this exam dehydrate me

I lick the salt from my lips
fold my hands above my head
until they sting and get exhausted

my sweat evaporates
my skin is bursting
sand fills the slits

I dream of drops
that seal me
one by one, slowly

making their way deep
into my fibres, and the sphinx nods
She releases me

     Here's a roof
     here's a well
     take a rest and move on