"Historia" by Nikolaos Gyzis‘History’s Rondel’ and Other Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson The Society July 24, 2025 Culture, Poetry, Rondel 16 Comments . History’s Rondel Human history’s plot repeats In variations, with refrain Each time we purpose to regain Eden, fooled by the deceits That conquered Eve. Then Flood defeats And drowns our pride—but, yet again, It rises; history’s plot repeats Its variations, with refrain. Each Babel built on our conceits Collapses with discordant din, Resounding, as we try again To finish what we can’t complete. Thus, human history’s plot repeats. . . Utopia “ ‘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 “Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand.” —Matthew 7: 26 You mean to tell me there is something else, Besides ourselves, we should be living for? That we can learn from those who went before— Though we’re the ones who’ve conquered all their hells? We’ll get no help from turning back the clock; Our brave new world titanically upstages Whatever came before—the dread Dark Ages. There are no benefits to looking back; There’s nothing there. The god Technology Is ours; our every wish is its command. What do you mean, we’ve built our lives on sand? You can’t be serious—look at history?? What for? Why relive all the difficulty Progress has solved? Each human will succeed in Making this earth his paradise, her Eden (Whatever that is). Nothing will be faulty: No consequences, boundaries, no forbidden Fruit—no sin!—Each Eve will have her apple, Each Adam have and eat his cake, all people Be unrestrained, no moral laws be written. No cause will have an ill effect; we’ll revel In any kind of pleasure; what we want Will be the measure of all things; and “evil” And “guilt” archaic nonsense—those words won’t Be spoken any longer. The inferior Lives of unenlightened generations Who built on what they christened “firm foundations” Will be forgotten. There will be no barrier To us. We’re at the top. No-one can stop Us now; our culture is so elevated That all past times are totally outdated. Of course we have nowhere to go but up. The fall of Rome and Egypt? How surreal Of you to say that. Who was Ozymandias? . . Cynthia Erlandson is a poet and fitness professional living in Michigan. Her third collection of poems, Foundations of the Cross and Other Bible Stories, was released in July, 2024 by Wipf and Stock Publishers. Her other collections are These Holy Mysteries and Notes on Time. Her poems have also appeared in First Things, Modern Age, The North American Anglican, The Orchards Poetry Review, The Book of Common Praise hymnal, The Catholic Poetry Room, and elsewhere. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. ***Read Our Comments Policy Here*** 16 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2025 History repeating itself has always been an enigma to me. The answer of course is too many fail to study history and few learn the lessons from it. I especially liked the phrase “Each Bable built on our conceits.” Then diving into your Ozymandias poem, I found a perfect continuation of the first poem with words and phrases to rival Shelley. “Else” and “hells” was an inspired duet! What a wonderful thread of inspiration throughout with the perfect question at the end mocking his own disregard for history! Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you very much for your kind comments, Roy! Reply Janice Canerdy July 24, 2025 Cynthia, your skillfully-written, vividly descriptive poems convey powerful messages about the never-ending blind arrogance of man! Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you, Janice! I’m so glad you found the poem meaningful. Reply Margaret Coats July 25, 2025 These poems are well paired with one another to carry several profound layers of meaning, Cynthia. The telling satire on contemporary thought and morals in “Utopia” emerges both from the Gospel and from the romanticism of Shelley (who had the nickname “the Atheist”). I especially like “Eden/(Whatever that is)” expressing the thorough contempt for the letter of Scripture found in so many (both secularist and nominally religious persons) among us. There are numerous caustically entertaining touches here, but let me mention only an implicit sexual role reversal in Eve having her apple (Adam’s apple being a feature of male physiology) and Adam having and eating his cake, when “Let them eat cake” is attributed (probably falsely, but what does that matter) to the despised flighty female Queen Marie Antoinette. The rondel predicts the “Babel” to come in “Utopia,” but has its own beauties. First is taking the original sin of pride and its concomitant story line as the si[g]nificant beginning of repetitive human history. But the little “din” of imperfect rhyme is fun, too. In most American pronunciation, “din” does rhyme with “again,” but it does not rhyme with “refrain.” “Again” rhymes with “refrain” to most speakers of British English, clearly allowing Babel’s “din” to deviate from the rondel rhyme scheme, as one might expect, considering Babel the place where human languages diverged. And “complete” should be “completes” for perfect rhyme, but in that line we are trying in pride to “finish what we can’t complete.” Quite acceptable rhyming imperfection in a fallen world. You could get some criticism for entitling the second poem “Utopia,” as the root meaning of that word is “nowhere,” when you want to jeer at the folly of actually existing thought. But the word has come to mean an unrealistically imagined paradise, and you could also derive it from text slang “u-top-ia,” relative to the expressions of your technologically oriented speaker, “We’re at the top. No-one can stop/Us now.” You do include “nowhere but up” as where this speaker thinks he has yet to go, so you’ve taken note of the “nowhere” meaning. Most enjoyable reading! Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Margaret, I’m so happy that you enjoyed these. Thank you very much for your insightful comments! I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat at them — especially because you’ve seen more in the poems than I knew was there! The “implicit sexual role reversal” you discovered would never have occurred (consciously??) to me; but your discovery of them makes sense! I also hadn’t consciously planned the variations on American and English pronunciations for the rhymes you mention, but it’s fun that you heard them. Thank you again for taking the time to find and express all of these things. Reply BDW July 25, 2025 Ms. Erlandson’s choice of a rondel for her first poetic theme was inspired; however, it was her second poem, that played around with ideas of time, that most spoke to me; and particularly the last questions, triggering associative responses. “The fall of Rome and Egypt? How surreal…” reminds me of T. S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland”: “Falling towers Jerusalem Athens Alexandria Vienna London Unreal” and Ms. Erlandson continues on in her casual, second-person voice, “Of you to say that. Who was Ozymandias? I must admit to trying to answer that last question a few decades ago in the following qasida: Ozimand He was the ruler of an antique land, the Pharaoh Rameses the Second. Grand, stone temples crossed his kingdom of the sand, like that at Abu Simbel, now o’erspanned by th’ Aswan High Dam’s watery command, or Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. These stand as monuments, with others, to the hand that led a nation to the world he scanned. Such was the empire that his subjects spanned: it went from Upper Egypt to the strand along the Delta of the Nile and fanned up to Kadesh, where with twice ten thousand he faced the Hittites, twice as many manned. And afterwards, that bloody act’s demand, the first peace treaty in the world was planned. Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you so much! Time has always been an obsessive theme for me, which does a lot to explain why I love T.S. Eliot; thank you for that reference. And thank you for your “Ozimand”. I love it, particularly your Bob-Dylanesque rhyme scheme. (I think you may have broken his record for how long the a-a-a-a-a-a went on — very clever!) Reply Martin Briggs July 25, 2025 Thank you for sharing these, Cynthia. I really admired both pieces, not least for the way they complement, and comment on each other, and take the whole sweep of human history as their canvas. Together they propose a convincing history (and explanation) of a culturally and spiritually impoverished civilisation, and of its arrogance. Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Many thanks for your comments, Martin. Subconsciously I think I’m always worrying about the fall of our civilization. Reply Warren Bonham July 25, 2025 Two very powerful, yet very different ways of conveying the same message. These were immensely enjoyable. I’m drawn to surprising rhymes such as what you pulled off with “succeed in” and “eden”. Our culture would be more elevated if we’d read poetry such as this and actually learn from our history. Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you, Warren; I’m grateful that you’ve had the response you have had to these poems. Reply Margaret Brinton July 25, 2025 Cynthia, although these poems are eye-openers, there are those who need the message most of all who still won’t see the truth. Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you, Margaret. I’m afraid you’re right; most people hear and believe only what they want to hear and believe. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 25, 2025 Cynthia, thank you for this perfectly paired poetic treat. The messages in both hit home with me, but it is the rondel that has stolen my heart with your spot-on choice of form used to pump up the potency of the musical words to get an earnest point across. Very well done indeed! Reply Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you so much, Susan. Your comment about the rondel is extremely meaningful, coming from one who is a rondel virtuoso! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2025 History repeating itself has always been an enigma to me. The answer of course is too many fail to study history and few learn the lessons from it. I especially liked the phrase “Each Bable built on our conceits.” Then diving into your Ozymandias poem, I found a perfect continuation of the first poem with words and phrases to rival Shelley. “Else” and “hells” was an inspired duet! What a wonderful thread of inspiration throughout with the perfect question at the end mocking his own disregard for history! Reply
Janice Canerdy July 24, 2025 Cynthia, your skillfully-written, vividly descriptive poems convey powerful messages about the never-ending blind arrogance of man! Reply
Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you, Janice! I’m so glad you found the poem meaningful. Reply
Margaret Coats July 25, 2025 These poems are well paired with one another to carry several profound layers of meaning, Cynthia. The telling satire on contemporary thought and morals in “Utopia” emerges both from the Gospel and from the romanticism of Shelley (who had the nickname “the Atheist”). I especially like “Eden/(Whatever that is)” expressing the thorough contempt for the letter of Scripture found in so many (both secularist and nominally religious persons) among us. There are numerous caustically entertaining touches here, but let me mention only an implicit sexual role reversal in Eve having her apple (Adam’s apple being a feature of male physiology) and Adam having and eating his cake, when “Let them eat cake” is attributed (probably falsely, but what does that matter) to the despised flighty female Queen Marie Antoinette. The rondel predicts the “Babel” to come in “Utopia,” but has its own beauties. First is taking the original sin of pride and its concomitant story line as the si[g]nificant beginning of repetitive human history. But the little “din” of imperfect rhyme is fun, too. In most American pronunciation, “din” does rhyme with “again,” but it does not rhyme with “refrain.” “Again” rhymes with “refrain” to most speakers of British English, clearly allowing Babel’s “din” to deviate from the rondel rhyme scheme, as one might expect, considering Babel the place where human languages diverged. And “complete” should be “completes” for perfect rhyme, but in that line we are trying in pride to “finish what we can’t complete.” Quite acceptable rhyming imperfection in a fallen world. You could get some criticism for entitling the second poem “Utopia,” as the root meaning of that word is “nowhere,” when you want to jeer at the folly of actually existing thought. But the word has come to mean an unrealistically imagined paradise, and you could also derive it from text slang “u-top-ia,” relative to the expressions of your technologically oriented speaker, “We’re at the top. No-one can stop/Us now.” You do include “nowhere but up” as where this speaker thinks he has yet to go, so you’ve taken note of the “nowhere” meaning. Most enjoyable reading! Reply
Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Margaret, I’m so happy that you enjoyed these. Thank you very much for your insightful comments! I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat at them — especially because you’ve seen more in the poems than I knew was there! The “implicit sexual role reversal” you discovered would never have occurred (consciously??) to me; but your discovery of them makes sense! I also hadn’t consciously planned the variations on American and English pronunciations for the rhymes you mention, but it’s fun that you heard them. Thank you again for taking the time to find and express all of these things. Reply
BDW July 25, 2025 Ms. Erlandson’s choice of a rondel for her first poetic theme was inspired; however, it was her second poem, that played around with ideas of time, that most spoke to me; and particularly the last questions, triggering associative responses. “The fall of Rome and Egypt? How surreal…” reminds me of T. S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland”: “Falling towers Jerusalem Athens Alexandria Vienna London Unreal” and Ms. Erlandson continues on in her casual, second-person voice, “Of you to say that. Who was Ozymandias? I must admit to trying to answer that last question a few decades ago in the following qasida: Ozimand He was the ruler of an antique land, the Pharaoh Rameses the Second. Grand, stone temples crossed his kingdom of the sand, like that at Abu Simbel, now o’erspanned by th’ Aswan High Dam’s watery command, or Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. These stand as monuments, with others, to the hand that led a nation to the world he scanned. Such was the empire that his subjects spanned: it went from Upper Egypt to the strand along the Delta of the Nile and fanned up to Kadesh, where with twice ten thousand he faced the Hittites, twice as many manned. And afterwards, that bloody act’s demand, the first peace treaty in the world was planned. Reply
Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you so much! Time has always been an obsessive theme for me, which does a lot to explain why I love T.S. Eliot; thank you for that reference. And thank you for your “Ozimand”. I love it, particularly your Bob-Dylanesque rhyme scheme. (I think you may have broken his record for how long the a-a-a-a-a-a went on — very clever!) Reply
Martin Briggs July 25, 2025 Thank you for sharing these, Cynthia. I really admired both pieces, not least for the way they complement, and comment on each other, and take the whole sweep of human history as their canvas. Together they propose a convincing history (and explanation) of a culturally and spiritually impoverished civilisation, and of its arrogance. Reply
Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Many thanks for your comments, Martin. Subconsciously I think I’m always worrying about the fall of our civilization. Reply
Warren Bonham July 25, 2025 Two very powerful, yet very different ways of conveying the same message. These were immensely enjoyable. I’m drawn to surprising rhymes such as what you pulled off with “succeed in” and “eden”. Our culture would be more elevated if we’d read poetry such as this and actually learn from our history. Reply
Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you, Warren; I’m grateful that you’ve had the response you have had to these poems. Reply
Margaret Brinton July 25, 2025 Cynthia, although these poems are eye-openers, there are those who need the message most of all who still won’t see the truth. Reply
Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you, Margaret. I’m afraid you’re right; most people hear and believe only what they want to hear and believe. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 25, 2025 Cynthia, thank you for this perfectly paired poetic treat. The messages in both hit home with me, but it is the rondel that has stolen my heart with your spot-on choice of form used to pump up the potency of the musical words to get an earnest point across. Very well done indeed! Reply
Cynthia L Erlandson July 25, 2025 Thank you so much, Susan. Your comment about the rondel is extremely meaningful, coming from one who is a rondel virtuoso! Reply
