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:

Moving with Mitchell said...

The second one are better.

Frank said...

?????????

Forsythia said...

"Ozzy" lit up my day.

pam nash said...

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

Now Am Found! said...

yep. both.

Martha said...

Oy, LOL!

Marie Smith said...

Lol. Another great laugh! Thank you.

Deedles said...

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

brewella deville said...

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

Busy Bee Suz said...

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

e said...

Those painted toenails!!!

Sixpence Notthewiser said...

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

XOXO

Leanna said...

Both is good but I like the second one best.

The Blog Fodder said...

Nope. Just nope.

Mike said...

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

Susan Kane said...

2nd one speaks to me.

Polly said...

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

Tundra Bunny said...

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

Janie Junebug said...

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

Love,
Janie

Kirk said...

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

Liz Hinds said...

Some clever people around!

Bill Lisleman said...

great public art

This N That said...

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

Anne Johnson said...

I like the second one better. Also the message.

Rain said...

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! :)

Guillaume said...

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

yellowdoggranny said...

huh?

Ur-spo said...

It remains one of my favorites poems.

Fundy Blue said...

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!

DVArtist said...

It's a good one.

Magic Love Crow said...

LOL! Very good!!!

Rommy said...

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