I came across a poem by Shelley by accident this morning. It spoke to me about the futility of desire for fame or riches. The author advises us to relax, enjoy the ride; it will all be lost in the end anyway.
An education could be wrapped around this poem. At least I found it. Better late than never.
OZYMANDIASI 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.
