Thursday 25 February 2021

Updating a Favourite Classic Poem


[illustration by Theo Gayer-Anderson]

Ozymandias 
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the 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 stretch far away.”


["Ozymandias of Amarillo, Texas"
sculpture by Lightnin' McDuff]

OZZY
by Mitchell Thompson

I met a traveller from way the hell off
who said: two gigantic, fucked-up rock legs
be out there in the middle of goddamn nowhere
right next to them covered in shit some kinda big face
looked pretty pissed & upset & whatnot
all damn covered in words
“yo ozymandias here, this my shit”
“better than your shit, get fucked buddy”
not much else tho, just sand
shitloads of sand all over the place


32 comments:

  1. Hmmmmm - "Ozzy" loses a bit in the translation.

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  2. Lol. Another great laugh! Thank you.

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  3. I like the second one better. I do prefer a poem I can understand, and funny is a bonus!

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  4. Timeless sentiment expressed perfectly across the ages. "Get fucked buddy, not much else tho..." Oh man, so very good.

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  5. This is hilarious; I'm kind of partial to the newer version. But then again, I'm a weirdo!

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  6. I cackled at 'yo, ozynadias here, this my shit'. I repeated that in a Gwen Stefani voice, BTW.

    XOXO

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  7. Both is good but I like the second one best.

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  8. Number 2. Now I need a poem about my snow feet.

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  9. I don't get poetry, except limericks, I get them!

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  10. High-brow poetry just ain't my thang... gimme limericks any day, LOL!

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  11. I'm not a Shelley fan, so I like the re-write.

    Love,
    Janie

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  12. Either way, it's here today, gone tomorrow.

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  13. The second one!! Too funny..ENjoy your weekend..

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  14. I like the second one better. Also the message.

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  15. LOL Debra!
    Btw, I do agree with you about Mel being a little old for the role. But it's hell being Mel isn't it? ;) Hamlet should be a late teenager in my opinion, as you said, impulsive and angry...vindictive yet scared, but defiant at the same time! Your comment made me reminisce about sitting in the "quad" after class, sipping on coffee and discussing/debating Shakespeare...thanks for the memory! :)

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  16. Call me conservative, but I prefer the first one. But it is maybe because Shelley andI are neighbours, albeit a few centuries away.

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  17. It remains one of my favorites poems.

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  18. Thanks, Debra, for sharing Shelley's poem. I hadn't thought of it in a long time, and it's one of my favorites. I need to read more poetry! Thompson's poem is a funny take, but I much prefer Shelley's. Just saying. Have a good one!

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  19. ROTFL, Ozzy captures the flavor of a particular time and place.

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