The Modern Ozymandias
The Modern Ozymandias
By Elton Camp
Among nations’ leaders, none more powerful than he
Showy medals displayed on his chest for all to see
His facial expression and most particularly his sneer
Caused all who were around him to tremble in fear
His orders he expected that all would quickly obey
Even if it was to murder innocents that he did say
In an unknown and unmarked grave he lies today
And for him too, the desert sands stretch far away
Ozymandias
I met a traveler 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".
By P. B. Shelley
Copyright © Elton Camp | Year Posted 2011
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