Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveler 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".



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I found this to be a very interesting poem, a reminder of how the river of time erodes everything. I am a very ambitious person, and I want to do great things, yet this poem made me realized that no matter how great I become, no matter what I do I'm just a splash in the river. All of us, everyone are just splashes, and no matter how big a splash we make, the ripples have to subside eventually. Look at the biggest splashes in history. Have their accomplishments really affected us far into the future? Do we really care about Alexander the Great uniting the known world? He must have been truly great to be called the Great, but really we don't care too much about him. And the more I think the more I realize the futility of all our works, so what is there in this life? Fame is the greatest gift that man can bestow on another man since it is the only one that can last beyond death, yet does it really matter? Perhaps all there is for man in this life is to work and be happy, praising the Lord God. Still, I would like to go out with a big splash.