King Ozy
copyright © 2020 by Robert L. Blau
                                                                                                                        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.”
                                                                                                                                                --- Percy Bysshe Shelley

King Ozymandias looked on his works and rejoiced.  Round the opulence of his colossal mansion, boundless and burgeoning, the thriving metropolis stretched far away.

"Everyone loves me, of course," reflected the King, "save only those bloody anti-royalists.  I call them 'antiro.'  It sounds more radical and disguises the actual meaning of the word.  Much better.  But everyone else loves me, of course."

Things had not been going so smoothly in the kingdom these last few weeks ... months ... ok,  years.  It was all the fault of antiro.  And his predecessor Obamias.  They didn't like his big beautiful wall to keep out foreigners.  They complained about the Royal Guard shooting down unarmed peasants.  Well, what else was a Royal Guard for? They pulled down his statues.  Well, they weren't going to be able to pull down his new statue!  No, it was too big and strong.  And it had a great inscription on it, too.

Then there was that plague thing.  Alleged plague.  All a hoax by antiro.  But King Ozy was going to show them.  He was going to have a great big beautiful rally in honor of himself.  And to unveil the new statue.  All of his adoring, admiring fans were invited ...

Ok, so the big extravaganza didn't turn out so well.  But it was their fault!  Antiro!  Obamias!  Bearers of fake tidings, scaring people away with fake plague warnings!  There were antiro thugs in the streets!  Waving ... signs!!!

And then, his closest retainers started dropping like flies.  And the faithful who had attended the rally.  And then, he didn't feel so well himself.  But that statue was going to last forever.