OZYMANDIAS BY SHELLEY-A POEM FOR OUR MODERN TIMES

 I learned this poem in High School when we studied the Romance poets. It stuck out for me.

Reading it, would you see any parallels to our modern times??

OZYMANDIAS-BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLY

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 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.

Source: Shelley's Poetry and Prose (1977)

With the current geopolitical climate, his poem stands out. Some current mighty leaders who think they are invincible could take heed.

Remembering this story gives me some solace that eventually good will prevail.

I hadn't thought abut this poem for decades. It came to my conscience lately.

How about you? Are there some life lessons you would want to share?

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