Ozymandias In Reverse

Ozymandias In Reverse

Long ago, we stood in this antique land.

Back when the land was young,

we gazed upon the stones, so many to see.

We tread upon their form,

so many about this land, so many under our feet.

We looked as far as we could see,

to the horizon, then not so far,

back when time was young.

Did we wonder at what would be?

These are the stones that remain.
These are not the stones
selected by the builder.
These are the stones
that time could not take away.
Tell me what’s of value,
and now we all say these stones, yes these.
Don’t you see?
These stones make the great tower that’s here.
And today we all say,
look how far we can see from these heights!

But we can’t see far enough 
to know how this tower came to be.
We can’t see far enough 
to know how these stones came to be.
The stones and tower we see
were here all along.
Everything else that couldn’t stand
the tests and trials of time
was taken away.
These are the greater.
The lesser is gone. 

These are the stones that remain.
Where they are
is not where they were placed.
This is the tower that remains.
Where it stands 
is not where it was built.
How can this be?

The hand of another builder
made these, made this.
The eye of another builder
placed these, placed this.
With awful might
this work was raised for us.
Do we know what we’ve been given?

Long ago we walked along these ramparts,
reached them with an easy step.
Only time made their height known to us.
What else don’t we know?

August 2014  North Andover, Mass