Ozymandias

"Ozymandias" is a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, published in 1818 (see 1818 in poetry). It is frequently anthologised and is probably Shelley's most famous short poem. It was written in competition with his friend Horace Smith, who wrote another sonnet entitled "Ozymandias" seen below.

In addition to the power of its themes and imagery, the poem is notable for its virtuosic diction. The rhyme scheme of the sonnet is unusual[3] and creates a sinuous and interwoven effect.

The central theme of "Ozymandias" is the inevitable complete decline of all leaders, and of the empires they build, however mighty in their own time.

Conocí a un viajero de un antiguo país
que dijo: «dos enormes piernas de piedra
se yerguen sin su tronco en el desierto...
junto a ellas, en la arena, semihundido
descansa un rostro hecho pedazos, cuyo ceño fruncido
y mueca en la boca, y desdén de frío dominio,
cuentan que su escultor comprendió bien esas pasiones
que todavía sobreviven, grabadas en la piedra inerte,
a la mano que se mofó de ellas y al corazón que las alimentó.
Y en el pedestal se leen estas palabras:
"Mi nombre es Ozymandias, rey de reyes:
¡Contemplad mis obras, oh poderosos, y desesperad!"
No queda nada a su lado. Alrededor de las ruinas
de ese colosal naufragio, infinitas y desnudas
se extienden las solitarias y llanas arenas.»

***

I met a traveller 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 yer survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart thad fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Fuentes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias
http://www.lainsignia.org/2006/noviembre/cul_049.htm