Ozymandias (Inspired by Horace Smith)

Ozymandias

In the days of lore as t’was told long ago
There was no man more feared than the mighty
Ozymandias, the King of Kings. He stands now,
Half lost in the sandy wastes of Egypt, half-
Buried by the shifting sands. His mighty legs
Stand, torn off above the calf. His shattered
Head lays yards away. The pedestal, with
Giant feet, reads simply “I am the Great
Ozymandias, the King of Kings; this mighty
City shows the wonders of my hands”
His trunkless legs stand, no city stands behind
Him, yet he still stands. This forgotten king, this
Ozymandias, has vanished much as his statue has.
What had this Ozymandias wrought? This forgotten
King of yesteryear, this Ozymandias is gone, as is
His city. Ozymandias stands steadfast before a
Shattered city, its components laid bare. Had
Ozymandias broken this city? What had transpired here?
What had Ozymandias sacrificed? Had this bygone lord
Of a long forgotten past, stood on the verge of Armageddon,
And sacrificed himself and his people, for the greater good?
Who is Ozymandias? What had he done? Had this fearsome
Potentate stared down the end of his age, and with a wry
Smirk on his brow, had he not surrendered, and watched
As his city was destroyed? Ozymandias, who art thou?
Ozymandias, stands alone in the desert, his stony
Face stares out o’er the great expanse, and his frozen
Lips speak the words “I am Ozymandias, King of Kings”

NOTE: The first quotation is from Horace Smith's Poem Ozymandias.