Ozymandias, Or The Deceit Of Modern Media #PercyByssheShelley #poem #poetry

Posted on Sep 23, 2018 by TanGental

Shelley wrote this poem over 200 years ago. He never foresaw the power of social media but of course, had he done so, he’d have embraced it. So, I thought, I’d maybe help him to consider what he might do if it got a bit much for the old boy…

And while you read it, here are some pictures from the garden – September is allowing us a lot of late season colour

I met a traveller from an antique land

A dodgy geezer from my wild youth

Who used the pseudonym of Ozy

I hesitated for a while: ‘Was he

The real deal? Ozy man,’ at last

I said, ‘dias a favour, forget the past,

And for old times tell me the truth

Or at least as much as I can stand.

The question is should I believe

All the crap that I have read

On snapchat and my twitter feed

About the fact that I am dead

To all of those who mean the most –

The flimflams and the muffin men –

The ones who write with poisoned pen

Those killing evil hateful posts.

Of course I said, I trust their views

There’s no such thing as fake news.

Oh is that so, the traveller said

You think you can weave a web

That will deceive your online foes?

And how will you achieve that goal?

Of protecting your immortal soul

Without the need to come to blows?

Who needs Facebook, text or tweets

If I’m going to, them, defeat?

I’ll do it, old school, go one better

I’ll dump the phone and write a letter.

About TanGental

My name is Geoff Le Pard. Once I was a lawyer; now I am a writer. I've published several books: a four book series following Harry Spittle as he grows from hapless student to hapless partner in a London law firm; four others in different genres; a book of poetry; four anthologies of short fiction; and a memoir of my mother. I have several more in the pipeline. I have been blogging regularly since 2014, on topic as diverse as: poetry based on famous poems; memories from my life; my garden; my dog; a whole variety of short fiction; my attempts at baking and food; travel and the consequent disasters; theatre, film and book reviews; and the occasional thought piece. Mostly it is whatever takes my fancy. I avoid politics, mostly, and religion, always. I don't mean to upset anyone but if I do, well, sorry and I suggest you go elsewhere. These are my thoughts and no one else is to blame. If you want to nab anything I post, please acknowledge where it came from.
This entry was posted in miscellany, poems, poetry and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

20 Responses to Ozymandias, Or The Deceit Of Modern Media #PercyByssheShelley #poem #poetry

  1. Ritu says:
    Sep 23, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    Love it!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Darlene says:
    Sep 23, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    Excellent! Love the dog sniffing the roses. xo

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Jennie says:
    Sep 23, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    So pretty. I love this!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Erika Kind says:
    Sep 23, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    Great poem and such beautiful photos.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Arlingwoman says:
    Sep 23, 2018 at 8:20 pm

    I had to go through twice, once reading to see what you did with the poem, and the second time for the pictures, which are filled with lovely light.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. thecontentedcrafter says:
    Sep 23, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    Oh clever you! Delight at how you wove the name into the meeting. You know that’s what some of us old farts are doing don’t you – dumping facebook et al for good old fashioned snail mail letter writing. Your garden is lovely and so of course is Mylo!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Rosaliene Bacchus says:
    Sep 23, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    Geoff, I found it difficult to follow the thought of the poem with the numerous photo breaks.

    Beautiful garden, by the way.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Mick Canning says:
    Sep 24, 2018 at 9:50 am

    Letter? I think I’ve heard of that…

    Liked by 1 person

  9. derrickjknight says:
    Sep 24, 2018 at 11:04 am

    Marvellous photos of a lovely garden

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Charli Mills says:
    Sep 27, 2018 at 1:45 am

    No discourtesy to Shelley and Dog, but Le Pard and Garden held rapt attention.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.