Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Lessons to stay humble and grounded
This powerful poem, "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, I remember since my school days, delivers a timeless lesson about humility and the impermanence of power.
I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing besides remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
Here’s the core message:
No matter how great, powerful, or proud a person may be in their time, time eventually humbles all. The once-mighty king Ozymandias boasted of his greatness—"Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"—yet all that remains of his empire is a broken statue in the middle of an empty desert.
The key lessons about staying humble:
Power and glory are temporary – Even the greatest rulers and their achievements are eventually forgotten or reduced to ruins. This reminds us not to be arrogant or think we are above others because of success or status.
Nature and time outlast all human pride – The vast, unchanging desert contrasts the shattered remains of the statue, symbolizing how the world moves on regardless of human ego.
True legacy isn’t in monuments, but in how we live – Ozymandias is remembered, ironically, not for his greatness, but for his hubris. The poem subtly asks us: what kind of legacy are we leaving behind?
So, staying humble means recognizing that nothing lasts forever—not wealth, not fame, not power. And that our actions, kindness, and humility matter far more than grand declarations of greatness.
Then, Amid the chaos, someone’s quiet grace and gentle humility arrived unexpectedly, a balm of warmth and kindness to a fragile soul.