Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear –
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’
This is probably one of the finest poems in the English language. Thanks for bringing it back to memory.
Stunning poem, that ‘colossal wreck’… hey, is he talking about my day?? Seriously, your blog always delivers on a bit of respite amidst the chaos – I’m grateful for the moment to relax and to remember the chaos doesn’t last forever either. Or maybe it does but my expiry date doesn’t.
Hey Laurie, I remember first discovering this poem while we were traveling in Egypt. Loved it then in the context of all the colossal ruins and still lovin’ it. Certainly does put everything in perspective eh?
I’m glad you got a chance to escape out of your chaos for a little bit
I think I agree with you Mandy. When I think of all the monuments around the world and all the empires that thought they would rule forever, I always smile at their silly inability to know that they are merely a moment in time…dust in the wind.