Man cannot surpass dying—
He cannot live past his own death.
Power fades and falls. Like the tide,
It disappears. "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings, "
Is that not what Shelley's traveller said?
Yet, this infamous statue—a pillar of prowess—
Fell too, just like any other man. For power
Cannot live beyond a man's death. Immortality
Is false; a facade. Nothing can outlast nature
And time herself. Yet, the irony is palpable, for
Rameses II himself may not have survived beyond the grave,
But Shelley's famous poem is still known and read.
Shakespeare's own Romeo and Juliet is still beloved and cherished;
Even London by William Blake is still relevant today.
Is this not immortality? A creator living forever?
But reigns and empires and eras come to an end,
Just like these poets did. And, though we still hang on to their work,
Their influence is not what it used to be.
I saw the maples;
Chattering with the spruce;
Sparrows awaken;
Squirrels recused;
Running rapid;
Are those rabbits;
Dogs chasing still the cat up the tree;
God where are all the honey bees;
By the grave I saw the maples;
The lonely liquidambar leafing;
I felt obliged to admire the Rameses;
~
The bur oak smiled;
As the trees of all kinds;
Lo! The sun dials;
Waves with the wind in the skies;
Do just only the butterflies mind;
For the maple leaves fallen down;
By the grave I saw the maples;
Onto the grounds are browned and dead;
The lonely liquidambar leafing;
Tree, tree, trees;
Memories;
Dread;
~
Homeless one I am;
I guess under their shade I’ll be sleeping;
Living off the land;
Alone sleeping;
7/6/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. ©2021
It is how you see things, perspective, what angle do you view it from
Hierogliphic writings alongside pictures of supposed spacemen in some long dead Egyptian Kings tomb.
We have all seen the documentaries, the speculation and expert opinion
Triangular spacecraft with a tall skinny big eyed being with his head a fish bowl on
It must be true, aincient alien drawings from a time of Nekhebet, Rameses and others
Alongside indecipherable writings of a time long past relating fantastic story covers
But what if
Only the other day my young boy drew a picture of some fantastic nonsense with light
If he had drawn it on a rockside, in ten thousand years, it just might
Create speculation and disbelief, become the topic of controversy, conspiracy, am I right
Tom was doodling, being creative, using his mind and imagination
Maybe ten thousand years ago, others were doing just the same thing in a long past civiisation.
A gypsy queen is dancing
In Aminhotep’s land
Her full blown skirt billows out in the wind
Her tambourine beats time
Held in a strong, slender hand
Sand grains churned by dancing feet
Lie in ecstasy
Unfelt since Rameses had marched
and an ultramarine
Peacock that flew in from Blue River
had settled on his crown
To spread its plumes and shrill into his ear
Unknown names of unseen lands and seas
Of kings to come and start new dynasties
And vanish across a few millennium days
The sheer blue gauze of a deep delinquent haze
Protects the sleeping Pharaoh in his tomb
Dancing daughter to deeply buried kings
Carries a fairytale inside her womb
A gypsy queen is dancing
In Aminhotep’s land
Her full blown skirt billows out in the wind
Her tambourine beats time
Held in a strong, slender hand
Sand grains churned by dancing feet
Lie in ecstasy
Unfelt since Rameses had marched
and an ultramarine
Peacock that flew in from Blue River
had settled on his crown
To spread its plumes and shrill into his ear
Unknown names of unseen lands and seas
Of kings to come and start new dynasties
And vanish across a few millennium days
The sheer blue gauze of a deep delinquent haze
Protects the sleeping Pharaoh in his tomb
Dancing daughter to deeply buried kings
Carries a fairytale inside her womb
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