Nathaniel Sterling

One of the most sententious and profound poems ever. Dripping with irony. "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings, look on my works ye mighty and despair." At the time Ramses II was the god-king, the most powerful person on Earth, and his works were second to none, very impressive, no other mighty man could compare, thus others comparing themselves to the god-king would despair that their works could never come close to his works. Fast forward 3 thousand years later and now the god-king's boast has a very ironic and opposite meaning, that the tremendous pyramids and so many other works of the most powerful person on Earth could be wrecked and forgotten in the sands of time. 3 thousand years is a long time in the context of a human lifetime, but nothing in the context of geologic, stellar, or cosmic timespans.