Ozymandias Reflection

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in a 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 strech far away.

I love this poem for it's "wonders of the world" archeologist feeling and imagery. It reminds me how all people and places of great power fall, and reveal that power is really nothing at all but a building and building of perceptions, which can vanish in the sand. All that remains are crumbling stern faces of command, which to the future onlooker, are comical and sad in the irony of hindsight. It reminds me that there is not much value in treasure and power-- they carry a weak legacy. I find it interesting how overtly past rulers asserted dominance. A giant sculpture of an kings face, walls of frilly castles lined with portraits (employing the 'airbrushing' techniques of the day), and tall town stelaes outlining every imposing rule and code. Power nowadays seems more covert. Or maybe it's not... maybe the form of our self-promotion has just shifted from imposing statues to manipulative commercials. Maybe we're less ruled upon and more brainwashed within.