Paul Ozymandias
With Apologies to, oh I don't know, everyone famous and already Dead
I met a poet from the British Lands
Who said: "I have no truck with all those old cranks,
The romantics long dead,
their shattered memories lie in state,
With pouty, serious lips and sneer of poetic command,
Their words wounded and dull from lifeless passions read
Which yet survive, stamped upon yellowed pages,
The hands that wrote them long dead.
On pitiful pedestal forgot, their names are still carved:
Shelley, Byron and Blake,
Pushkin and Coleridge, oh sin against the saints
That bloody bore Wordsworth and Keats
Their saccharine prosody a pain in my royal feet."
He paused for breath and jauntily shifted his gold crown
Till he spake once more,
"My name is Paul Ozymandias, Kingmaker of Kings;
Look on my Words, ye bilious bores and despair!"
Then he grew silent, his lips turned down in a frown
Staring with seeming sadness at dusty volumes
Untouched all around.
His royal hand grasped a lily as he heaved a great sigh,
"Nothing beside remains," he whispered lastly,
"Round the decay of this colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level shelves stretch far and away."
...
Apologies to Percy Bysshe Shelley. It's a jolly good thing he's already dead.
About the Creator
John Cox
Twisted teller of mind bending tales. I never met a myth I didn't love or a subject that I couldn't twist out of joint. I have a little something for almost everyone here. Cept AI. Aint got none of that.
Day 4 of Quitting
If this is how sobriety feels, maybe it’s better to go through life a little buzzed… this, along with other hits like, I want to kill myself, I wish I was dead, and I’m going to throw myself off a bridge have been the only thoughts on rotation these past few days. I promise myself that if, in a month, I still feel like this (‘this’ meaning despondent, full of rage, and simultaneously numb) I can go back to smoking. Until mid-February though? Nicotine is off the table.
By sleepy drafts7 days ago in Longevity
Comments (20)
Well-wrought! I'm sure Shelley would approve, as he was not one for idols!
Thoroughly enjoyed the original poem and your witty remix & artwork!🙃
Which yet survive, stamped upon yellowed pages, Staring with seeming sadness at dusty volumes.....I liked these lines... captivating poem!
😅 That Photo! Your creativity is very adaptable... It knows no limits. Fun stuff, John!
Amazing story keep uploading
I'm not much of a poem aficionado, and had to look the original poem up so I could understand the parody. I think I like yours better, haha! Great job as usual, John!
Alright, John. I've decided if any of my poetry (being that good or that bad) deserves a scathing parody, you're the guy I want to do it. Shelley would love to pushed down another notch on your hit list.
If he weren't, he'd probably clock you one, eh 😁
John, I had forgotten about this poem from high school lit class, and you brought it to life with much more style than my teacher with no sense of humor. Your work is so varied but consistently great that I can't wait to read your next offering!
Magnificent! Bravo! This is one of my favorite poems that I memorized as a youth so your rendition gave me double delight. You manage to be witty and poignant and poetic in equal measures. Your name will be stamped on this digital pedestal 'til pixels scramble and fade! And your could your parody have a more fitting subject than King Paul? Jolly good, I say.
Haha. This is brilliant and so much fun. I wasn't familiar with the poem, but when I looked it up, I was so impressed with what a great job you did on the rewrite. And that pic is perfect. King Paul looks like he's about to judge all us minions. I hope his sentence is not too harsh. 😬🤣
What a fun parody! Very clever, John!!
Oh, the inside jokes. The outside jokes. The jokey jokes. The mockery made of making a mockery of a well-mocked king of kingmakers who dethrones upon the throne. This one's porcelain, John. All in the name of Paul the Great, who may or may not know where greatness doth hide... Brilliant. I expected nothing less. Of both of you! 🤪 🤩 🥳
My youngest son's favourite poem lol. To be fair...I'm a grumpy old gen-xer lol. Percy is fine enough...prefer his wife's work. This...though...is hilarious...I mean look at that face....that image is now burnt into my mind. Your words, as ever, though, were just oozing with brilliance. Yeah...I am a little speechless...made me smile this morning lol. So that's a good thing. Awesome work and thank you for the silly, clever, funny nod! Wordsworth can go hide in a hole (I do realise he's dead...oh the irony.) So many clever lines...but don't wanna highlight them and be accused of being pretentious haha! Well done and thanks for the smile and laugh and that awesome image that makes me look like I'm sat on the outhouse toilet....
That photo, I cannotttttt!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Also, I call Paul as Sir Paul, Lord Paul and King Paul Shakespeare. This was so freaking fantastic!
I had to go look this poem up. Fantastic rewrite, but I hope Paul's shelves don't get bare.
Oh my! The last line...😅 Great poem, I loved it!
I don't think they'd mind too much, any of them. I loved this little reworking for King Paul! What I would draw your eye to is your mentioning of Shelley's full name at the end of your piece and the spelling of his middle name.
What a fun poem and hahahaha to the comment: it's a good thing he is already dead!
I think that works, Paul. Now you look a proper King.