Saturday, February 16, 2008

Literary Interlude: Ozymandias

In keeping with the evening's theme, here is one by Shelley about Ramses the Great.

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."

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, that's why you wrote "huh?"
I wasn't talking about Ozymandias!
I was talking about Elvis!
Now I understand.... I need another double shot -of espresso, that is....

Anonymous said...

Ah, saw your comment!
Make it a triple for me too...
I should not take that much time to write and/or edit anything while I am not totally awake!