Time Passing – Forgotten in Time
Like footprints in sand washed away by the sea, most humans are not remembered after enough time passes and snuffs out even minor thoughts about the one who has died. On the other hand, is it possible that we can keep the dead alive stored in our brain-housed memories.
An author whose name I cannot bring to mind said – and I paraphrase – when someone dies (s)he is remembered by those still living, be the memories favorable or not. As long as one living person remembers the one who has died, the deceased remains alive. But when no one brings the departed to mind, the dead one is truly gone.
What does it mean to be remembered? Are there multiple ways? What about a memorial be it grave stone, boseki, Taj Mahal, Lincoln Monument, the United States Marine Corp War Memorial , or with a beautiful blog post? Is it reasonable to conclude that if the last person remembering the one who has died passes on memories to a next generation or to those who did not know the deceased that the deceased continues a memory-life?
Are hateful memories fated to last longer than favorable ones? Or does love win out in the remembrance contest? Commemorations and monuments stand that recall those who were/are hated, but memorialized so their deeds are not forgotten, their offenses are not repeated, and sometimes when the heretofore hero has been pulled down from his/her pedestal for all to see, a warning and usually a sign of anger. This a hotbed for debate, often volatile. Some monuments portray individuals who were once thought heroic but have fallen out of favor. Civil war statues fall in this category. Another incident involves a statue of Christopher Columbus in front of the St. Paul Capitol Building. A series of protests followed the murder of George Floyd in 1920, and in June of that year, the American Indian Movement activists toppled the statue as part of protests.*
What about beloved animals: a racehorse like Secretariat; Hachiko in Japan, the canine companion who waited for his master at the train station for years after the master was dead. Local people who knew of Hachiko’s dedication gathered donations and had a fine bronze statue made of him. The statue remains at the station. A similar commemorative statue is located in Rhode Island. But that’s another story. Personal animal companions almost always receive a “funeral” or at least a marked grave, and are mourned and remembered for a long time.
Today, we have several poems that address various forms of memorial from the huge sandstone image of Ramses II (Shelley, “Ozymandias)” which is one of the best-known European sonnets, on to Robert Frost’s minimal “Patch of Snow”, and the first of two Sonnets — both interestingly numbered “19” — by John Milton (English poet and prose writer, 1608 – 1674). The second Sonnet 19, by Shakespeare, will appear in a forthcoming 6 March 23 post, where he ponders youth and time.
As you read, please take your time – as it passes – and forgetfulness looks over your left shoulder . . .
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.”**
by Robert Frost
There's a patch of old snow in a corner
That I should have guessed
Was a blow-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.
Sonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent
By John Milton
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”***
Background
NOTE: If you are curious about time passing and those forgotten in time, click here. Though brief (8–10-minute read), there's a great deal of significant explanation, definitions, and historical data, as well as a discussion of the variations of monuments, commemoration, and memorials, each based in human memory. No kidding; it’s worth 10 minutes.
Exploration 1: Do you have a favorite monument or memorial or grave site? Why?
Exploration 2: Who would you choose to honor today who has not yet had a statue or monument created in honor of him/her/them? Extra Credit: Whose statue or memorial would you destroy if you could? The world of all sentient beings is at your service.
Exploration 3: How do you think you will be remembered? Who will do the remembering? How long do you think you will be remembered?
Exploration 4: Ozymandias was once famous and respected but who has since been utterly forgotten. How can this be so according to the introduction to this post, wherein as long as one person remembers those who have passed on, they live in the memories of those who knew him/her/them? Discuss, only if you wish – it’s a mind-full exercise.
Footnotes
*A bronze statue of Christopher Columbus was installed on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1931. The 10-foot statue was created by Italian American Carlo Brioschi.
**Shelley and Smith remembered the Roman-era historian Diodorus Siculus, who described a statue of Ozymandias, more commonly known as Rameses II – r,1279 – 1213 BC (possibly the pharaoh referred to in the Book of Exodus). Diodorus reports the inscription on the statue, which he claims was the largest in Egypt, as follows: “King of Kings Ozymandias am I. If any want to know how great I am and where I lie, let him outdo me in my work.” (The statue and its inscription do not survive, and were not seen by Shelley; his inspiration for “Ozymandias” was verbal rather than visual.) Stimulated by their conversation, Smith and Shelley wrote sonnets based on the passage in Diodorus. Smith produced a now-forgotten poem with the unfortunate title “On a Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, with the Inscription Shelley’s contribution was “Ozymandias,” one of the best-known European sonnets. The view of modern scholarship is that Shelley never saw the statue, although he might have learned about it from news reports, as it was well known even in its previous location near Luxor.
***While Milton’s impact as a prose writer was profound, of equal or greater importance is his poetry. He referred to his prose works as the achievements of his “left hand.” Like the illustrious literary forebears with whom he invites comparison, Milton used his poetry to address issues of religion and politics, the central concerns also of his prose. Placing himself in a line of poets whose art was an outlet for their public voice and using, like them, the pastoral poem to present an outlook on politics, Milton aimed to promote an enlightened commonwealth. . .
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