Poetry

For Tasha, without whom I wouldn't be aware of National Poetry Month. :-)

This is the only poem I remember from Mr. Bonzo's AP English class. We had a study group one night in a classmate's basement as we were preparing for the AP exam. A group of us sat and tore this poem apart, trying to figure out what in the world it might mean. I don't know if we came up with any meaningful insights, but it was one of my first experiences with analyzing the intricacies of poetry and seeing beyond the obvious.

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

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 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 beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

This next poem I stumbled on in one of my Grandma Seegmiller's poetry books. She loved poetry. I memorized it when I was 15 because it so perfectly expresses the love and appreciation I feel towards those true friends who have made my path through life a little (or a lot) easier. The author also wrote the lyrics to the hymn, "Because I Have Been Given Much."

Thank You Friend
by Grace Nowell Crowell

I never came to you, my friend,
And went away without
Some new enrichment of the heart,
More faith and less of doubt.
More courage for the days ahead
And often in great need,
Coming to you I went away
Comforted indeed.

How can I find the shining words,
The glowing phrase that tells
All that your love has meant to me,
All that your friendship spells?
There are no words,
No phrase for you,
On whom I so depend.
All I can say to you is this,
God bless you, precious friend.