Encore Un Poem #poem #poetry

Posted on Nov 18, 2019 by TanGental

Dodgy Ozy: A Man For All Seasoning

(Ozymandias of Egypt, Percy Bysshe Shelley)

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, ‘di’us 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.
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7 Responses to Encore Un Poem #poem #poetry

  1. Elizabeth says:
    Nov 19, 2019 at 4:40 pm

    I am trying to understand why the original had to be memorized by my 7th grade class. It doesn’t exactly encourage one to succeed at life! Nice rendition of your own as always.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Darlene says:
    Nov 19, 2019 at 7:44 pm

    OMG that is the cutest picture of the dog, ever!! Your poem is better than the original.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Jennifer Barricklow says:
    Nov 23, 2019 at 6:30 pm

    Well done! I love “the flimflams and the muffin men”! And the photo of Dog is definitely totes adorbs! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

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