Ozymandias and Me

When they come to the end of their life, how many people can claim to have done something really lasting? How many feel that they have left an indelible mark on this world? Have you ever read the poem, “Ozymandias”?


"Ozymandias of Egypt,"
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.


Even those who think themselves to be of great importance end up being forgotten and even inconsequential, lost quite literally as Ozymandias was in the sands of time.

Have you made an impact? A lasting one?

What have I done?

I’ve worked with children and teens for years. Since I was in high school I’ve been hard at work on younger generations through teaching, discipleship groups, Bible studies, counseling, directing plays, and a myriad of other ways. The writer Nikos Kazantzakis said, “Teachers are those who use themselves as bridges, over which they invite their students to cross; then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully callapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.” Could this be said of me? Would any of the people that I have so fervently poured myself into see me as a bridge or a building block for what they have become or what they aspire to be? Kazantzakis's quote can relate to any person who imparts knowledge: parents, writers, coaches, pastors, etc. I would have to say that I have often seen myself in this way, and I hope that others would be able to say the same thing of me.

I certainly don't want to be like Ozymandias.

Just something I've been thinking of as of late since returning to work....