“I’ve written some poetry I don’t understand myself.”~Carl Sandburg
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”.
I think I’ve mentioned here before that Mr. Shelley is not my favorite person or poet. However, he managed in Ozymandias to capture the spirit of the Biblical admonition, “Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19)
Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, is about a month away, on March 9 this year. We would do well to remember the arrogant and the mighty who were fallen and forgotten before we were born and come before the Lord God of the Universe in humility and repentance.
Amen.
Love the Carl Sandburg quote.
This is one of my favorite poems. It is so evocative, and it is comforting to know that those who want us to believe that they are the ultimate power are ALWAYS wrong.
Did you see my entry today? Inspired by your generous gift. 🙂
That’s exactly why I like this poem so much. Man – in his arrogance – mistakenly thinks that he is great, when in reality, he is but grass that flourishes one day and perishes the next.
Ditto what the Ink Slinger says!