My Own "Ozymandias" Sonnet

  BACKGROUND: Way back in the late 1800’s, two writers named Percy Shelley (husband of Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame) and Horace Smith challenged each other to a competition: Write a poem (a sonnet, specifically) called Ozymandias (the Greek-given name of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II). Historians reading this likely know that Ramesses famously had a giant statue with words at its feet that basically bragged about how his kingdom and legacy of greatness would last forever, only for that very same statue to end up tumbled over, ironically surrounded by vast, barren desert…

Shelley’s poem (which was used as the inspiration of the Breaking Bad episode of the same name), explored this irony head-on, highlighting how the pharaoh’s hubris ultimately led to his own demise. Smith’s poem, on the other hand, took things a step further, by comparing the fall of Ramesses’s kingdom to the possibility of a post-apocalyptic future London, making the point that all “kingdoms” come and go in cycles, no matter what.

That all being said, several months ago I was discussing this very topic with a history buff friend of mine, who claims that a lot of “discoveries” that were made under Ramesses’s rule (medical, agricultural, etc.) went on to shape the future world for many ages to come, regardless of whether people even knew it or not. I’m not smart enough to know whether or not my friend is talking out his ass, but nevertheless, his words still inspired me enough to make me write an Ozymandias sonnet of my own. I used “Shakespearean rules” for mine, like Shelley, whereas Smith used “Italian rules.”

Anyway, here you go:

The great pharaoh looks upon his kingdom

A kingdom that once stood tall, above all

Now he watches it crumble, in lonesome

For what rises must eventually fall

Far off lies the statue of his image

Words of his “greatness,” written at its feet

Now a mere joke, as is his lineage

“Greatness,” now a legacy of defeat

…But then he recalls, all he discovered

Medicine, military, so much more

All which his time in power uncovered

All for the world to forever adore…

He looks to the future that will forget him

Knowing that it wouldn’t exist without him

…Well, thanks for indulging in my mediocre poetry!

Peace!

Related: Poetry Repository