The wet dawn inks are doing their blue dissolve. - Sylvia Plath

Ozymandias

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

1. I met a traveller from an antique land
 2. Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
 3. Stand in the desart. Near them, on the sand,
 4. Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
 5. And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
 6. Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
 7. Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
 8. The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
 9. And on the pedestal these words appear:
 10. "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
 11. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
 12. Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
 13. Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
 14. The lone and level sands stretch far away.

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Click on a line to see some annotations. 1. Antiques you say? 2. I'd rather be remembered for something other than my legs...but I guess there are some people out there that would be ok with that. 3. Is that mispelling on purpose? 4. "A shattered visage" - I love that phrase. 5. It's a shame that those with a sneer of cold command usually get old enough to have wrinkles. 6. I can always picture obelisks when I read this piece of art. 7. Nothing survives forever. The burning gaze of the sun will ensure of that. 8. I can never tell if this line is referring to the sculptor or the king himself. 9. The novel 'The White Mountains' by John Christopher, has a chapter entitled 'I Am Ozymandias.' It's a good read. 10. Jesus is the only King of Kings, Ozymandias! 11. Any works that are designed to make others despair are obviously abominations that never should have been dreamed up. 12. Time errodes all...except love. Love is eternal. 13. Must have been some sight to see, even in the condition it is described in. 14. And the only sound is the whisper of the wind...