An Ode on Ozymandias

FauxPoWriMo 21

An Ode on Ozymandias

Through whispered smoke,
A poem arrives on a school boy's tongue.
Numb in all but lips and eyes,
He recites to me
A dirge turned idyllic melody.
Every stone, every sneer,
Every hazy dream stands clear before my borrowed bed,
And the school boy stands a man
At finally knowing what Shelley meant.
My audience gave the words dimension.
Before my glazy-eyed awe,
The intent was spent in the day's assignment.
Teenage rebellion kept worth at a distance:
About as far as I sat, curled in wonder
Under a shawl;
So small I was, it blanketed me with wool to spare.
But at the poem's end,
I shed my shelter and embraced another:

Ozymandias, King of kings,
Cover me from this night to the end of mornings.
Touch my works with stone turned flesh,
And let no King or Queen despair it. 

The worth is in our traveling words.
The worth is in our sharing it.

For anyone who doesn't know, my favorite poem is "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley. It has been my favorite poem since I was around 9 years old. While celebrating Christmas with relatives in North Carolina, I heard the poem for the first time, recited to me by a stoned cousin. I would later go on to write a book that includes Ramesses II (aka Ozymandias). So, as you can see, that first recitation made quite an impression on me. Enjoy!